Telegraph Registers

With their large size and ornate machining, registers are probably the most impressive of the telegraph instruments. Registers were used to record the incoming Morse signal on a paper tape which was then read by the operator at the station; hence it was the first telegraph receiver. The earliest registers were weight driven, meaning they used a large weight on the end of a rope to turn the clockwork mechanism, much like the way an old Grandfather Clock works. These registers were “embossing” registers, meaning they did not use a pen and ink to mark the paper. Instead, they had a metal stylus that pressed against the paper, making  a shallow dent (embossing). Later register designs from the late 1800s and beyond were spring-wound and used pen and ink to mark the paper tape.

Probably the most widely known register is the Vail Register which was used in the famous 1844 demonstration of the telegraph between the Capitol Building in Washington DC and Alfred Vail's home in Baltimore Maryland. There were 2 other registers patented by Samuel Morse: The 1846 register (patent #4453) which looks quite similar to the Vail Register, and the 1849 register (patent #6420) which is a more compact design. President Obama had the 1849 patent model on display in the Oval Office.

 

At the left is a group of early weight driven registers from the K4KEY collection:

Front Row, L-R: Caton Instrument Shops, Ottawa Illinois (Ca. 1860); Joseph Burritt, Ithaca New York (Ca. 1845); Palmer & Hall, Boston (Ca. 1850); William Clark & Son, Philadelphia (Ca. 1848)

2nd Row, L-R: Henry J. Rodgers, New York (Ca. 1855); William Clark Morseograph, Philadelphia (Ca. 1846); James J. Clark Harp Register, Philadelphia (Ca. 1850); J.W. Norton, New York (Ca. 1853)

3rd Row, L-R: A.S. Chubbuck, Utica New York (Ca. 1864); G.M. Phelps Football Register, New York (Ca. 1862); G.M. Phelps Standard Register, New York (Ca. 1862); Charles Williams, Boston (Ca. 1865)

Back Row, L-R: Matthaus Hipp, Bern Switzerland (Ca. 1855); Carlo Dell'Acqua, Milano Italy (Ca. 1848-50); J.S. Keeling, New York (Ca. 1865)

 

Below are some pictures of Telegraph Registers from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Click on each thumbnail to view the full size image:

An Experimental Telegraph Register Made by James Green. Ca. Late 1830's (Smithsonian Museum) The Experimental Register Was Used by Rev. Henry Sheib of Baltimore and Samuel Morse for Demonstrations of the Telegraph Around 1838 Original Alfred Vail Register from the 1844 Demonstration Samuel Morse 1846 Patent Model (Smithsonian Museum)
Very Early Demonstration Register by Charles Grafton Page, Virginia. Ca. 1840's (Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Collection) Possibly Joseph Burritt, Ithaca NY, Ca. 1846 Another View of the Early Burritt Register A Third View of the Burritt Register
The Morseograph. A Harp Style Register Made by William Clark & Son, Philadelphia. 1846-1847 Another View of the William Clark Morseograph A 3rd View of the Morseograph Showing the Large Wire Gauge Coils Early William Clark Harp Register. Philadelphia. Ca. 1847 (Smithsonian Museum)
Another View of the Clark Harp Register. The Large Geared Wheel Was Used to Run a Flywheel for Speed Control William Clark & Son, Philadelphia. Ca. 1847-1848 A Slightly Different Version of the Clark & Son Register. Ca. 1847-1848 Joseph Burritt, Ithaca NY, Ca. 1848 (Smithsonian Museum)
Another View of the Burritt Register (Smithsonian Museum) 2 Very Early Demonstration Registers by Daniel Davis, Boston. Ca. 1848 (Wesleyan University Collection) Daniel Davis Demo Register, Boston. Ca. 1848 Very Early Chubbuck Register. Utica, NY. Ca. 1848
Close-Up of the Chubbuck Name Very Early Register by Edward N. Kent, NY. Used in Germany. Ca. 1848 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) Early Demonstration Register by Palmer & Hall (Successors to Daniel Davis), Boston. Ca. 1849 Another View of the Palmer & Hall Demo Register
Another Palmer & Hall Demo Register Ca. 1849 Samuel Morse 1849 Patent Model Early Register by SW Chubbuck, Used in Germany. Ca. Late 1840's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) Very Early German Register by Watchmaker Friedrich Heinrich Bruggemann. He Copied an Early Chubbuck/Kent Design. Ca. 1848-1850 (Museum of Communication, Berlin)
Very Early Italian Weight-Driven Register by Carlo Dell'Acqua, Milano. Ca. 1848-1850 James J. Clark Harp Register & Matching Camelback Key. Ca. 1848-1850

Front View of the Harp Register by James J. Clark, Philadelphia. Ca. 1848-1850

Another View of the James Clark Harp Register
A Third View of the James Clark Harp Register Comparison of the Original William Clark Morseograph (Left) With His Son James Clark's Harp Register (Right) Early Register by Palmer & Hall, Boston. Ca. 1850 Another View of the Palmer & Hall Register
A 3rd View of the Palmer & Hall Register A 4th View of the Palmer & Hall Register Close-Up of the Palmer & Hall Name Stamp Very Early German Register. Maker Unknown. Ca. 1850 (Museum of Communication, Berlin)
Very Early Key & Register Set by Beneche & Wasserlein. Ca. 1852 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) Very Early German Register, Key, and Relay. Ca. Early 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) Hinds & Williams, Boston. Ca. Early 1850's JW Norton, NY. Ca. Early 1850's
Henry J. Rodgers, NY. Ca. 1850's James J. Clark Register With H.B.R.R Marking (Hanover Branch Railroad, Pennsylvania). Ca. 1850's Close-Up of the James Clark Name and H.B.R.R. Marking James Clark Harp Register. Ca. 1850's
Self-Winding Register by James Clark, Philadelphia. 1853 Another View of the Clark Self-Winding Register Early Register by the Watchmaker, Lorenz Bob. Ca. 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) JH Eckling, Austria. Ca. 1850's
Close-Up of the JH Ekling Name An Early Austrian Register by Johann Leopolder. Ca. 1850's. Note the Similarity in Design to the Early Chubbuck Register A Similar Leopolder Register, Part of a Key/Relay/Galvanometer/Register Set Early German Weight Driven Register by Carl Sickler. Carlsruhe Germany. Ca. 1855
Austrian Register by K.K.T.W. (Kaiserliche Konigliche Telegraphen Werstatte, Which Means "Imperial Royal Telegraph Workshops"). Likely Made by JH Ekling. Ca. 1850's Early Swiss Weight-Driven Register by Matthäous Hipp. ETW Suisse (Eidgenössische Telegraphen Werkstätte, Which Means "Federal Telegraph Workshop"). Ca. 1850's Early German Weight-Driven Register by Siemens-Halske. Ca. 1854 Unknown Early Register. Ca. 1850's
A Beautiful Combination Set Consisting of a Register, Camelback Key & Relay. Charles Chester, NY. Ca. Late 1850's (Museum Victoria, Australia) A Close-Up of the Chester Register With the Glass Cover Removed A Close-Up of the Charles Chester Camelback Key Another Combination Set by Charles Chester, NY. Ca. Late 1850's (Museum Victoria, Australia)
Another View of the Charles Chester Combination Set A Portable Telegraph Set by Siemens-Halske. Ca. Late 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) Early German Telegraph Set With a Register, Key, and Relay. Ca. Late 1850's (Museum of Communication, Berlin) Thomas Hall, Boston. Ca. 1860
An Unpainted Version of the Previous Thomas Hall Register. From the Delaware & Hudson Transportation Department (Smithsonian Museum) Another View of the Unpainted Hall Register (Smithsonian Museum) Caton Instrument Shops, Ottawa Illinois. Ca. 1860 German Weight-Driven Register. Siemens. Ca. 1860
Weight-Driven Register by Siemens-Halske. Ca. 1860 (Museum of Communication, Berlin) GM Phelps, NY. "Football" Register. Ca. Early 1860's GM Phelps, NY. Ca. 1860's Another View of the Phelps Register
AS Chubbuck, Utica NY. Ca. 1860's Charles Chester, NY. Ca. 1860's Charles Williams, Boston. Ca. 1860's (Edison Museum, Ft. Myers FL) Charles Williams, Boston. Ca. 1860's
Thomas Hall, Boston. Ca. 1860's Charles T & JN Chester, NY. Ca. 1860's JS Keeling, NY. Ca. 1865 Another View of the Keeling Register
A Keeling Register of Different Design Clark & Splitdorf. Ca. 1865 (Smithsonian Museum) Another View of the Clark & Splitdorf Register (Smithsonian Museum) Weight-Driven Register With Markings From Both JS Keeling and EM Pierson. Likely Made by Pierson as the Hardware Matches Other Pierson Instruments
James Clark, Philadelphia. Ca. Mid 1860's An Unmarked Register Possibly Made by James Clark LG Tillotson, NY. Ca. 1860's Another View of the Tillotson Register
A Tillotson Register of Different Design Another View of the Tillotson Register Early German Weight-Driven Register. Ca. 1860's Early French Register by Breguet. Ca. 1860's (Smithsonian Museum)
Late Model Weight-Driven Register by Wiesenthal & Co. Aaachen Germany A Small Register by Leopolder, Vienna Austria. Ca. 1870 Spring Wound Register by W. Wolters, Vienna Austria. Ca. 1870 Close-Up of the Wolters Name
Flemming-Potter & Co, Philadelphia. Ca. 1870 Another View of the Flemming-Potter Register Knox & Shain, Philadelphia. Ca. 1870 (Smithsonian Museum) Another View of the Knox & Shain Register (Smithsonian Museum)
A Nickel Plated Version of the Knox & Shain Register, Philadelphia. Ca. 1870 Electrical Construction Co, San Francisco. Ca. 1872 George Bliss, Chicago. Ca. Early 1870's (Smithsonian Museum) Relief Writer by Siemens-Halske. Ca. 1870's. Used to Punch a Paper Tape
Charles T Chester, NY. Ca. 1870's Hochhausen, NY. Ca. 1875 A Very Late Weight-Driven Register by Partrick-Bunnell, Philadelphia, Ca. 1872 Another View of the Partrick-Bunnell Register. The Design is Nearly Identical to the Later Registers Made by Charles Chester, NY
GM Phelps Spring Wound Register. Ca. 1875 Spring-Wound Register by L.G. Tillotson, NY. Ca. 1870s Another View of the Tillotson Spring-Wound Register Early Spring Wound Register Styled Like a Tillotson Weight-Driven Register. JH Bunnell, NY. Ca. Late 1870's (Smithsonian Museum)
Frederick-Pearce, NY. Ca. Late 1870's Another View of the Frederick-Pearce Register Frederick-Pearce, NY. Ca. 1880 Lewert-Berlin. 1881
French Register by Digney A Small Embossing Register by Breguet Another View of the Breguet Embossing Register Swedish Register by Anton Oller. Ca. 1880's
Oki Japanese Boxed Register & Key. 1890 A Later Embossing Register Possibly Made by ES Greeley, NY. Ca. 1890s Weiny-Phillips Printing Telegraph. JH Bunnell, NY. Ca. 1890s Another View of the Weiny-Phillips Printing Telegraph
A Third View of the Weiny-Phillips Printing A Swiss Register by Hasler & Escher, Bern Dutch Register Made by Caminada, Rotterdam (PA3EGH Collection) A Dutch Register Made by Funckler, Haarlem
An Italian Register by Standard Elettrica Italiana An Italian Register by Societa Telefonica Lombarda A Combination Set Consisting of a Key, Register, Galvanometer, and Relay by Siemens-Halske Another Siemens-Halske Key & Register Set With a Galvanometer on the Side
French Key, Register & Galvanometer Set by Ste. Indelle des Telephones Another View of the French Combination Set Showing an Unusual Candle Holder Attachment to Provide Illumination for the Operator French Register by Vinay French Register-Breguet. Ca. 1900
Swedish Register-LM Ericsson. Ca. 1900 A Boxed Portable Key, Register, and Galvanometer Set by Siemens. Ca. 1900 A Top View of the Siemens Portable Set A Very Complex Swedish Key & Register Set by LM Ericsson
Danish Register-Evald Andersens, Copenhagen. Ca. 1900 A Small Register by Evald Andersens, Copenhagen. Ca. 1900 Close-Up of the Andersens Name Stamp Swiss Register. Hasler & Escher. 1909
Austrian Register. Nissl & Co. Vienna. Ca. Early 1900's Austrian Register, Key, and Galvanometer on Board A Danish Key, Register, and Galvanometer Set by Store Nordiske Telegrafselskabs. The Register Was Made by Siemens & Halske Another Similar Danish Set Minus the Tape Wheel
Close-Up of the Name on the Galvanometer Italian Register. Ca. Early 1900's British Wheatstone Register. Ca. Early 1900's A View Inside the Wheatstone Register
Small German Register by Gebrueder-Naglo, Berlin. Early 1900's Unusual Australian Register Used by Victoria Railways Close-Up of the Australian Register Showing the Lever That Forms Part of a Sounder Dutch Demonstration Register by Van Sonsbeek & Co, Utrecht (PA3EGH Collection)
Dutch Demonstration Register by Merkelbach & Co, Amsterdam (PA3EGH Collection) Dutch Demonstration Register by M. Prins & Co, Utrecht (PA3EGH Collection) Romanian Demonstration Register Close-Up of the Nameplate on the Romanian Register
A Small Austrian Demonstration Register French Demo Register & Key. Ca. 1900

Another Small Demonstration Register Similar to the Previous Register

A Hungarian Novelty Key & Register Attached to a Dance Card. 1915
A View Inside the Dance Card. Measures Only 87x60mm Register, Key & Galvanometer Set Used by the French Military Another View of the French Military Set Italian Army Register, Key, and Galvanometer in Carrying Case by Pio-Pion, Ca. 1920
Another View of the Pio-Pion Register Set Compact Portable Set with Register, Key, and Galvanometer. Maker Unknown, Probably German Another View of the Portable Register Set Miniature Italian Key & Register Set. Just 4.5" Wide
Oki Japanese Register. 1939 Australian Key, Register & Galvanometer Set Russian Register, Key, and Galvanometer Set. Ca. Early 1940's Unusual Register Built Into a Carrying Case. Made by Foote-Pierson, NY
 
Register Contains a Sheet Listing Codes Associated With Different Cities. If Anyone Knows How This Register was Used, Please Let me Know Danish Register & Key by Great Northern Telegraph Co. Made in 1960 The Back Side of the GNT Register  

 

home


Questions or comments?

You can reach me at telegraphdude@comcast.net