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Telegraph Register
Telegraph Register
The Smithsonian catalogs Telegraph Register as telegraph receiver in its Communication, telegraph records.
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
George M. Phelps at Western Union designed this telegraph register, one of many types he designed for the company. Telegraph registers are electrically-activated printers that receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The pulses energize the register’s electromagnets which move a lever-arm holding a pen or stylus. A clockwork mechanism pulls