Victorian Texting
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During the Christmas 2009 break I managed to visit and take the tour of Porthcurno Telegraph Museum in Cornwall (http://www.porthcurno.org.uk/). A truly amazing place, full of historical artefacts depicting the history of telegraph, morse code etc. I recommend all UK and international examiners and experts who haven't been to the Museum to visit and learn about the history of telegraphy communications, its role enabling communications around the British Empire when it covered two-thirds of the world, its links to wireless communications and developed telegraphy devices and services associated with modern mobile communications today.
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"Victorian Texting" is a good example of one such development associated with telegraph and mobile communications. I have not been able to trace the precise origin how the label 'Victorian Texting' came about but perhaps it originated in the latter part of the 20th century following the introduction of mobile phones and short message service (SMS) text messages.
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Victorian Texting was made possible with the use of the Wheatstone's ABC Telegraph originated in 1842 developed by the English physicist and inventor Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875).
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Image 1: Charles Wheatstone - Illustration by Mary Bellis
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The significant difference between morse code and morse code devices (already in use at that time) and Wheatstone's ABC Telegraph is that it was noted that with the latter device that it was an example of "de-skilling". Unlike Morse telegraphs, no knowledge of a code was needed. The button next to the desired letter was held down and the handle cranked. The needles of the instruments at both ends moved until they pointed to the chosen letter. The foreground part of the instrument is the transmitter, and the part at the back is the receiver (commentary from BT Museum Memorial Pages - Telegraphy 1).
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Image 2: Wheatstone's ABC Telegraph
.In action the operator of the ABC Telegraph could only communicate for a short distance due to the electricity needed to transmitter to the distant receiver. a cartoon depicting the use of the ABC Telegraph can be seen below (created by the engineer and cartoonist Tim Hunkin - www.timhunking.com)
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Image 3: Hunkin's cartoon depicting the use of Wheatstone's ABC Telegraph
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The Porthcurno Telegraph Museum website has a useful webpage that allows visitors to their website to simulate sending a text message on the Wheatstone's ABC Telegraph, so do give it a try (http://www.porthcurno.org.uk/html/object4.html).
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Image 4: Porthcurno Telegraph Museum interactive webpage - Wheatstone's ABC Telegraph.
Telegraph - Morse Code
Telegraph - Morse Code
The above is, of course, not the first time developments associated telegraph has been linked with mobile communications texting. For instance, the "Special" tone available to users of Nokia phones when receiving SMS (text messages) is actually Morse code for "SMS". Similarly, the "Ascending" SMS tone is Morse code for "Connecting People," Nokia's slogan. The "Standard" SMS tone is Morse code for "M" (Message).
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Reference Sources:
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