14. Alexander
Graham Bell
March 10, 1876 the birth of the telephone and
the death of the multiple telegraph.
From dots and dashes to talking with electricity.
From the father of Economics, Adam Smith. Using an idea of specialization influenced by writings of Plato.
An early landmark moment came near the end of the 18th century when Samuel Slater brough new manufacturing technologies from Britain to the US and founded the first US cottom mill in Beverly Mass. Did not last long because of economic difficulties and pro
Title: The laying of the cable---John and Jonathan joining hands / W & P.
Creator(s): Baker & Godwin.,
Date Created/Published: [New York] : Published and for sale by Baker & Godwin, Printers, Printing House Square, corner Nassau and Spruce streets, New York, c1858.
Medium: 1 print on wove paper: woodcut with letterpress ; image 42.5 x 56.5 cm.
Summary: A crude but engaging picture, celebrating the goodwill between Great Britain and the United States generated by the successful completion of the Atlantic telegraph cable between Newfoundland and Valentia Bay (Ireland). Laid by the American steamer "Niagara" and British steamer "Agamemnon" (which appear in the background of the print), the cable transmitted its first message on August 17, 1858. The artist shows Brother Jonathan (left) shaking hands with John Bull. The two figures stand on opposite shores, set against a stormy, lightning-streaked sky over a choppy sea. "Brother Jonathan: "Glad to grasp your hand, uncle John! I almost feel like calling you Father, and will if you improve upon acquaintance! May the feeling of Friendship . . . be like the electric current which now unites our lands, and links our destiny with yours! May our hearts always beat together; and with one pulse--one Purpose, of Peace and Good-Will, we yet shall see ALL NATIONS speaking our Language, blessed with our Liberty, and led by that spirit of Love and Justice which leads to the only true happiness and Glory of Nations!" John Bull: "Happy to see and greet you, Jonathan! You feel like 'bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!' You have grown to be a tall and sturdy man--quite as big as your Father! Great times these, my boy! We won't think of quarreling any more. I have grown too wise for that; and I hope we will both agree to let by-gones be by-gones! Henceforth we treat each other as equals, and only strive which shall do most in making 'all the world and the rest of Mankind' (as one of your good old Presidents once said) realize 'How good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.'"
On July 9, 1819, Elias Howe, inventor of the first practical sewing machine, was born in Spencer, Massachusetts. At the age of sixteen, he began an apprenticeship in a factory in Lowell, Massachusetts, but lost that job in the Panic of 1837. Howe then moved to Boston, where he found work in a machinist’s shop. It was here that he began tinkering with the idea of inventing a mechanical sewing machine.
To make a daguerreotype, the daguerreotypist would polish a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish, treat it with fumes that made its surface light sensitive, expose it in a camera for as long as was judged to be necessary, which could be as little as a few seconds for brightly sunlit subjects or much longer with less intense lighting; make the resulting latent image on it visible by fuming it with mercury vapor; remove its sensitivity to light by liquid chemical treatment, rinse and dry it, then seal the easily marred result behind glass in a protective enclosure.
Viewing a daguerreotype is unlike looking at any other type of photograph. The image does not sit on the surface of the metal, but appears to be floating in space, and the illusion of reality, especially with examples that are sharp and well exposed, is unique to the process.
Title: The Original "Coxey Army" / W.A. Rogers.
Date Created/Published: 1894 May 12.
Medium: 1 print : wood engraving.
Summary: Cartoon showing well-dressed group of men representing various businesses and industries parading in front of the U.S. Capitol; Andrew Carnegie of the steel industry raising scroll at right.
The cover of the May 12, 1894, edition of Harper’s Weekly, features a cartoon titled “The Original ‘Coxey Army.'” This cartoon depicts Andrew Carnegie, who a few years later would be named the richest man in the world, arriving at the U.S. Capitol, followed by a crowd of well-dressed businessmen who had traveled by train. They carry signs that say “Help a Poor Sugar Refiner” and “Help the Poor Plutocrat.” Two men on the steps of the Capitol bow to them with open arms. When the real Coxey’s Army arrived at the Capitol to ask for help for the unemployed, they were forcibly dispersed by the police.
As industrialization spread in the late 1800s, American businesses grew in size and complexity. A few businesses, such as
John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, became giants. Rockefeller worked to control all aspects of oil production. Standard Oil drove rivals out of business and dominated the U.S. oil industry. Critics were alarmed at the wealth and power the company possessed. The cartoon below appeared in Puck magazine on September 7, 1904
Alexander Graham Bell's design sketch of the telephone. Sketches, undated; handwritten text top and bottom of page, 1876. Box 273, "Subject File: The Telephone--Drawing of the Telephone, Bell's Original." Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
"This model of Bell's first telephone is a duplicate of the instrument through which speech sounds were first transmitted electrically, 1875" on phone. Created/Published between 1915 and 1925. Reproduction Number LC-D420-2586. Detroit Publishing Company, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
Thomas Edison s Electric Lamp Patent Drawing Record Group 241 Records of the Patent and Trademark Office National Archives and Records Administration National Archives Identifier: 302053
Negative on glass. Possibly made for Ford Motor company
