Telegraph (1867) by Siemens & HalskeDeutsches Museum
From telegraph to smartphone: a brief history of our communication devices
There’s nearly no limit to what smartphones can do today: find a recipe, snap a photo, send a dancing cat cartoon to your best friend and, of course, most important of all, call your mom. But where did it all start?
Here’s a look at the device which dramatically changed the way we communicate today.
Where It All Began: The Telegraph
Towards the middle of the 19th century, the telegraph became the breakthrough communication device, capable of sending long-distance transmissions, replacing the then long-distant method of communication – handwritten letters. Messages which once took weeks and months to transport, now took barely minutes thanks to innovators such as Samuel Morse, inventor of the single-wire telegraph (co-inventor of Morse code).
There were just a few hang-ups to the new method – the telegraph was limited to sending one message at a time, and they had to be in Morse code. It didn’t take long for commercial and personal communication to grow, making the world as we knew it, slightly smaller.
Telegraph, Siemens & Halske, 1867 (From the collection of Deutsches Museum)
Dots & Dashes Turn Harmonic
Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish born scientist, took the telegraph to the next level, allowing for multiple tones and telegraphs to be transmitted, replacing telegram dots and dashes with a design for the harmonic human voice to travel. Story has it, Bell patented his invention only a few hours before Elisha Gray, an American electrical engineer.
LIFE Photo Collection
1876, Illustrations of Alexander Graham Bell's newly invented telephone at work (From the collection of LIFE Photo Collection)
Getting Their Wires Crossed
It didn’t take long for the phone to revolutionize communication. The first telephone line connected Boston and Sommerville, Massachusetts in 1877 and within 3 years 50,000 more lines were installed. It would take another 35 years for transcontinental service and a few more decades (1927) more for the first transatlantic call from London to New York.
LIFE Photo Collection
Alexander Graham Bell inaugurating the New York-Chicago telephone line while others look on, 1892 (From the LIFE Photo Collection)
It Takes Two to Talk
Originally telephones were were rented out in pairs with lines that connected directly to another person. Since they were quite the commodity, the only people who were able to afford a phone rental were wealthy businessmen, who would install one phone in their place of business and the other connected to their home.
Jigsaw puzzle:Girl and Man at Telephone (ca. 1910) by Valdemar T. HammerThe Strong National Museum of Play
Jigsaw puzzle: Girl and Man at Telephone, Valdemar T. Hammer, ca. 1910 (From the collection of The Strong National Museum of Play)
The (Now) Vintage Candlestick Phones
Once the telephone began slowly making its way into everyday households in the 1890s, they became slightly more innovative, and smaller. The most popular type of phone which dominated the market at the turn of the century was the candlestick phone, the now ‘vintage’ device which separated mouthpiece from earpiece.
Telephone (1801 - 1900) by The Consolidated telephone construction & MaintenanceMuseu Imperial
Telephone, 1801-1900 (From the collection of Museu Imperial)
Farmer's Phone, 1894 (1894)Original Source: http://collections.thehenryford.org/Collection.aspx?objectKey=359131
Farmer's Phone, 1894 (From the collection of The Henry Ford)
Switchboard Operators Connecting People to People
Early phones were subject to intermediary intervention to manually connect calls, a role filled by young, agile, teenage boys, as they were already adept at telegraph communication. But this soon proved different when it came to voice calls. According to The Atlantic, teenage boys were prone to playing pranks and crossing lines and were soon replaced with women operators.
Lisbon Telephone Exchange. Inter-urban switchboard. (1928 - 20th century) by Núcleo Fotográfico ReportagemFundação Portuguesa das Comunicações
Lisbon Telephone Exchange. Inter-urban switchboard, Núcleo Fotográfico Reportagem 1928 - 20th century (From the collection of Fundação Portuguesa das Comunicações)
The Invention of the Rotary
In 1891, Almon B. Strowger patented the ‘stepping switch’, a device which allowed telephone users to make their own phone calls, via a rotary dial system of numbers. Telephones were capable of connecting to 100 different lines, and the rotary dial allowed for multiple codes so phone numbers wouldn’t need to pass through switchboard operators for much longer.
Phone box (Candle Stick) (1926) by S.B & CªChamber of Deputies, Brazil
Phone box (Candle stick), S B & Ca, 1926 (From the collection of Chamber of Deputies, Brazil)
The Public Art of Talk: Pay Phones
Not everyone was able to afford this turn-of-the century invention for their home. Considering calls were exclusively domestic, the price of having a phone in the home was based on a flat fee rate of $1.50 a month. This would be the equivalent of $300 today. And so, the coin operated pay phone soon became a hot commodity. The world’s first pay phone was invented by William Gray and was placed in the Hartford Trust Company Building.
Pay Telephone, 1905-1915 (1905/1915)Original Source: http://collections.thehenryford.org/Collection.aspx?objectKey=359171
Pay Telephone, 1905/1915 (From the collection of The Henry Ford)
Phone calls were paid for after the completion of a call, not before. The production of pay phones skyrocketed within 15 years of invention.
Journalists in the telephone booths at the Land parliament press centre (1955)State Chancellery Saarland
Journalists in the telephone booths at the Land parliament press centre, 1955 (From the collection of State Chancellery Saarland)
Less Time Dialing, More Time Talking: Touch Tone Phones
The first official push phone was released on the market in 1963, soon becoming a standard in the telephone industry.
Timber telephone (1972) by GfellerPowerhouse Museum
Timber telephone, Gfeller, 1972 (From the collection of Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
As the telephone became more widespread, phone numbers became longer, and the concept of touch dial naturally emerged. The more numbers there are to dial, the more room for error. The touch dial became a symbol of efficiency and time-saving.
The 70s Just Got Better: Cordless Phones
As technology advanced, and radio frequencies became more powerful in the production of telephones, the cordless phone became the must-have item of the 1970s.
Wireless Phone (Republic of Korea/Since the Liberation of Korea) by unknownNational Folk Museum of Korea
Wireless Phone, unknown and 작자미상, Republic of Korea/Since the Liberation of Korea (From the collection of National Folk Museum of Korea)
Now We’re Talking: Mobile Phones
In 1983 the first mobile phone was released by Motorola. The demographic market was wealthy businessmen who could afford the exuberant prices, as 80s handsets carried a hefty price tag of around $3000.
The Bi-Bop mobile phone (1993) by France Télécom, SagemMusée des arts et métiers
The Bi-Bop mobile phone, France Télécom, Sagem, 1993 (From the collection of Musée des arts et métiers)
Over time, the mobile phone became smaller and smaller, while the screen became bigger and bigger. And the rest is technology history in the making...
iPhone, 2007 (2007)Original Source: http://collections.thehenryford.org/Collection.aspx?objectKey=359642
iPhone, 2007 (From the collection of The Henry Ford)
