Box of terrestrial and submarine telegraph cable samples

The acquisition of these terrestrial and submarine cable samples, donated to the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers by the Rattier company in 1866, highlights the advances achieved by French industry in this growing communications sector during the Second Empire. To meet the challenges posed by communications networks in major towns and cities, and international submarine links, industrialists sought to facilitate the laying of cables, to improve their long-term conservation and ensure the optimum transmission of electrical signals. Rattier’s innovative cable fabrication techniques overtook those of English manufacturers and established the superiority of French cables. Their twisted copper wire was enveloped with cotton thread, tarred ribbon and gutta-percha. They could be replaced section-by-section using a system of coupling sleeves. Rattier was awarded a gold medal for these innovations by the Société d’Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale in 1867.