Displaying the American genius: The electromagnetic telegraph in the wider world

British Journal for the History of Science

Volumn 34, Issue 2, 2001, Pages 199-232

  Bektas, Yakup ^a  

^a Smithsonian s National Museum of American History   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 18044398093     PISSN: 00070874     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0007087401004320     Document Type: Article

References (176)

1. The quotations are from Julia Pardoe, The City of the Sultan; and Domestic Manners of the Turks in 1836, 2 vols., London, 1837. This is one of the most perceptive Western accounts of the life and scenes of Istanbul at the time.
2. I discuss John Lawrence Smith later in the paper. Cyrus Hamlin (1811-1900), a graduate of Bowdon College (1834) and Bangor Theological Seminary (1837), went to Istanbul in 1838 as a congregational missionary (of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions), where he established the Bebek Seminary (1840) and Robert College (1860), which he ran as its president until 1877. A 'Yankee genius', Hamlin built a steam engine in Maine in 1837 (an illustration is in the Robert College Heritage Collection, Istanbul). While in Istanbul, he founded a stove factory, a last factory, flourmills, a steam-powered bakery and a laundry. The quotation is from Cyrus Hamlin, Among the Turks, New York, 1877. John Porter Brown (1814-72) first went to Istanbul in 1832 to join his uncle, David Porter, the first United States chargé d'affaires (1831-9) and Minister (1839-43) to the Ottoman Empire. Mastering Turkish and Arabic, Brown became the Chief Dragoman of the Legation and corresponded with learned institutions in the United States. He maintained close contact with the Sultan and the Ottoman officials, and was an influential figure until he died in Istanbul in 1872. He arranged the first Ottoman mission to the United States in 1850 with the idea of replacing the British in the service of the Sultan with Americans. He obtained an insider's knowledge of the dervishes, Sufis, Bektashi and other orders in Istanbul. Sec John Porter Brown, Turkish Evening Entertainments, New York, 1850, and Dervishes, or Oriental Spiritualism, Philadelphia, 1868.
3. I discuss John Lawrence Smith later in the paper. Cyrus Hamlin (1811-1900), a graduate of Bowdon College (1834) and Bangor Theological Seminary (1837), went to Istanbul in 1838 as a congregational missionary (of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions), where he established the Bebek Seminary (1840) and Robert College (1860), which he ran as its president until 1877. A 'Yankee genius', Hamlin built a steam engine in Maine in 1837 (an illustration is in the Robert College Heritage Collection, Istanbul). While in Istanbul, he founded a stove factory, a last factory, flourmills, a steam-powered bakery and a laundry. The quotation is from Cyrus Hamlin, Among the Turks, New York, 1877. John Porter Brown (1814-72) first went to Istanbul in 1832 to join his uncle, David Porter, the first United States chargé d'affaires (1831-9) and Minister (1839-43) to the Ottoman Empire. Mastering Turkish and Arabic, Brown became the Chief Dragoman of the Legation and corresponded with learned institutions in the United States. He maintained close contact with the Sultan and the Ottoman officials, and was an influential figure until he died in Istanbul in 1872. He arranged the first Ottoman mission to the United States in 1850 with the idea of replacing the British in the service of the Sultan with Americans. He obtained an insider's knowledge of the dervishes, Sufis, Bektashi and other orders in Istanbul. Sec John Porter Brown, Turkish Evening Entertainments, New York, 1850, and Dervishes, or Oriental Spiritualism, Philadelphia, 1868.
4. I discuss John Lawrence Smith later in the paper. Cyrus Hamlin (1811-1900), a graduate of Bowdon College (1834) and Bangor Theological Seminary (1837), went to Istanbul in 1838 as a congregational missionary (of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions), where he established the Bebek Seminary (1840) and Robert College (1860), which he ran as its president until 1877. A 'Yankee genius', Hamlin built a steam engine in Maine in 1837 (an illustration is in the Robert College Heritage Collection, Istanbul). While in Istanbul, he founded a stove factory, a last factory, flourmills, a steam-powered bakery and a laundry. The quotation is from Cyrus Hamlin, Among the Turks, New York, 1877. John Porter Brown (1814-72) first went to Istanbul in 1832 to join his uncle, David Porter, the first United States chargé d'affaires (1831-9) and Minister (1839-43) to the Ottoman Empire. Mastering Turkish and Arabic, Brown became the Chief Dragoman of the Legation and corresponded with learned institutions in the United States. He maintained close contact with the Sultan and the Ottoman officials, and was an influential figure until he died in Istanbul in 1872. He arranged the first Ottoman mission to the United States in 1850 with the idea of replacing the British in the service of the Sultan with Americans. He obtained an insider's knowledge of the dervishes, Sufis, Bektashi and other orders in Istanbul. Sec John Porter Brown, Turkish Evening Entertainments, New York, 1850, and Dervishes, or Oriental Spiritualism, Philadelphia, 1868.
5. This point in reference to Morse's case is spelled out explicitly in Iwan R. Morus, 'Telegraphy and the technology of display: the electricians and Samuel Morse', History of Technology (1991), 13, 20-40. Debating Morse's electromagnetic telegraph broadly as a case of interaction between science and technology, most historians agree that Morse, with the help of his mechanics, transformed the work of Joseph Henry, William Sturgeon, Charles Wheatstone and others in electricity and magnetism into a commercially viable technological system. Considering the science-technology relationship strictly, Paul Israel sees Morse as a 'translator' between science and technology, and telegraphy as a product of the American machine-shop culture. David P. Hochfelder, on the other hand, asserts that the telegraph was a revolutionary technology, with strong ties to electrical science. See Paul Israel, From the Machine Shop to the Industrial Laboratory: Telegraphy and the Changing Context of American Invention, 1830-1920, New Brunswick, 1989, 58; David P. Hochfelder, 'Taming the lightning: American telegraphy as revolutionary technology, 1832-1860', Ph.D. dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, January 1999, 3-4.
6. This point in reference to Morse's case is spelled out explicitly in Iwan R. Morus, 'Telegraphy and the technology of display: the electricians and Samuel Morse', History of Technology (1991), 13, 20-40. Debating Morse's electromagnetic telegraph broadly as a case of interaction between science and technology, most historians agree that Morse, with the help of his mechanics, transformed the work of Joseph Henry, William Sturgeon, Charles Wheatstone and others in electricity and magnetism into a commercially viable technological system. Considering the science-technology relationship strictly, Paul Israel sees Morse as a 'translator' between science and technology, and telegraphy as a product of the American machine-shop culture. David P. Hochfelder, on the other hand, asserts that the telegraph was a revolutionary technology, with strong ties to electrical science. See Paul Israel, From the Machine Shop to the Industrial Laboratory: Telegraphy and the Changing Context of American Invention, 1830-1920, New Brunswick, 1989, 58; David P. Hochfelder, 'Taming the lightning: American telegraphy as revolutionary technology, 1832-1860', Ph.D. dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, January 1999, 3-4.
7. This point in reference to Morse's case is spelled out explicitly in Iwan R. Morus, 'Telegraphy and the technology of display: the electricians and Samuel Morse', History of Technology (1991), 13, 20-40. Debating Morse's electromagnetic telegraph broadly as a case of interaction between science and technology, most historians agree that Morse, with the help of his mechanics, transformed the work of Joseph Henry, William Sturgeon, Charles Wheatstone and others in electricity and magnetism into a commercially viable technological system. Considering the science-technology relationship strictly, Paul Israel sees Morse as a 'translator' between science and technology, and telegraphy as a product of the American machine-shop culture. David P. Hochfelder, on the other hand, asserts that the telegraph was a revolutionary technology, with strong ties to electrical science. See Paul Israel, From the Machine Shop to the Industrial Laboratory: Telegraphy and the Changing Context of American Invention, 1830-1920, New Brunswick, 1989, 58; David P. Hochfelder, 'Taming the lightning: American telegraphy as revolutionary technology, 1832-1860', Ph.D. dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, January 1999, 3-4.
8. For example, comparing it with European telegraphs, a Congressional report in 1842 hailed Morse's electromagnetic telegraph as 'the offspring of American genius', a genius which it traced to Franklin. The report declared it 'a matter of national pride', and asserted that it was advancing 'the scientific reputation of the country'. See the Report on 'Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs', of Representative Ferris of the Committee on Commerce, 30 December 1842, 27th Congress, 3rd Session. No. 17. The New American State Papers: Science and Technology, 14 vols., Wilmington, DE, 1973, iii, 65-8 . On the ideology of progress and technological change and enthusiasm in nineteenth-century America, see Merritt Roe Smith, 'Technological determinism in American culture', in Does Technology Drive History? The Dilemma of Technological Determinism (ed. Merritt Roe Smith and Leo Marx), Cambridge, MA, 1994, 2-35.
9. For example, comparing it with European telegraphs, a Congressional report in 1842 hailed Morse's electromagnetic telegraph as 'the offspring of American genius', a genius which it traced to Franklin. The report declared it 'a matter of national pride', and asserted that it was advancing 'the scientific reputation of the country'. See the Report on 'Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs', of Representative Ferris of the Committee on Commerce, 30 December 1842, 27th Congress, 3rd Session. No. 17. The New American State Papers: Science and Technology, 14 vols., Wilmington, DE, 1973, iii, 65-8 . On the ideology of progress and technological change and enthusiasm in nineteenth-century America, see Merritt Roe Smith, 'Technological determinism in American culture', in Does Technology Drive History? The Dilemma of Technological Determinism (ed. Merritt Roe Smith and Leo Marx), Cambridge, MA, 1994, 2-35.
10. For example, comparing it with European telegraphs, a Congressional report in 1842 hailed Morse's electromagnetic telegraph as 'the offspring of American genius', a genius which it traced to Franklin. The report declared it 'a matter of national pride', and asserted that it was advancing 'the scientific reputation of the country'. See the Report on 'Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs', of Representative Ferris of the Committee on Commerce, 30 December 1842, 27th Congress, 3rd Session. No. 17. The New American State Papers: Science and Technology, 14 vols., Wilmington, DE, 1973, iii, 65-8 . On the ideology of progress and technological change and enthusiasm in nineteenth-century America, see Merritt Roe Smith, 'Technological determinism in American culture', in Does Technology Drive History? The Dilemma of Technological Determinism (ed. Merritt Roe Smith and Leo Marx), Cambridge, MA, 1994, 2-35.
11. Brooke Hindle, Emulation and Invention, New York, 1981, 41-142; Eugene Ferguson, Engineering and the Mind's Eye, Cambridge, MA, and London, 1992, 155-6.
12. Brooke Hindle, Emulation and Invention, New York, 1981, 41-142; Eugene Ferguson, Engineering and the Mind's Eye, Cambridge, MA, and London, 1992, 155-6.
13. Detailed accounts of Morse's early experience in London are found in Samuel I. Prime, The Life of Samuel F. B. Morse, New York, 1873, 32-87, and in Morse's journal and letters during the years 1811 to 1815 in Papers of Samuel F. B. Morse, Department of Manuscripts, Library of Congress, Washington, DC (hereafter Morse Papers).
14. However, Congress did not select him. Morse attributed this decision, which was a great professional disappointment to him, to political factors. See Prime, op. cit. (6), 160.
15. Said expertly explores this Western fascination with the Orient, especially in the case of Egypt and the rest of the Arabic world, as it is reflected in the literary culture of Western Europe (mainly Britain and France), in which the Orient was invented. Said does not refer to the role of Western material culture, for example, through accounts of Eastern responses to scientific and technological apparatus, in the process of 'inventing' or 'orientalizing' the Orient. See Edward Said, Orientalism, New York, 1978. For the reflection of this fascination and exoticism in architecture, see Zeynep Celik, Displaying the Orient: Architecture of Islam at Nineteenth-Century World's Fairs, Berkeley, 1992. In his recent study, Selim Deringil shows that the Ottoman ruling elite was aware of, and during Abdul Hamid II's reign (1876-1909) was trying to avoid, the image of exotic and oriental. See Selim Deringil, The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1909, London, 1998, 150-65.
16. Said expertly explores this Western fascination with the Orient, especially in the case of Egypt and the rest of the Arabic world, as it is reflected in the literary culture of Western Europe (mainly Britain and France), in which the Orient was invented. Said does not refer to the role of Western material culture, for example, through accounts of Eastern responses to scientific and technological apparatus, in the process of 'inventing' or 'orientalizing' the Orient. See Edward Said, Orientalism, New York, 1978. For the reflection of this fascination and exoticism in architecture, see Zeynep Celik, Displaying the Orient: Architecture of Islam at Nineteenth-Century World's Fairs, Berkeley, 1992. In his recent study, Selim Deringil shows that the Ottoman ruling elite was aware of, and during Abdul Hamid II's reign (1876-1909) was trying to avoid, the image of exotic and oriental. See Selim Deringil, The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1909, London, 1998, 150-65.
17. Said expertly explores this Western fascination with the Orient, especially in the case of Egypt and the rest of the Arabic world, as it is reflected in the literary culture of Western Europe (mainly Britain and France), in which the Orient was invented. Said does not refer to the role of Western material culture, for example, through accounts of Eastern responses to scientific and technological apparatus, in the process of 'inventing' or 'orientalizing' the Orient. See Edward Said, Orientalism, New York, 1978. For the reflection of this fascination and exoticism in architecture, see Zeynep Celik, Displaying the Orient: Architecture of Islam at Nineteenth-Century World's Fairs, Berkeley, 1992. In his recent study, Selim Deringil shows that the Ottoman ruling elite was aware of, and during Abdul Hamid II's reign (1876-1909) was trying to avoid, the image of exotic and oriental. See Selim Deringil, The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1909, London, 1998, 150-65.
18. Adas rightly points out that Europeans came to consider scientific and technological accomplishments, in which they excelled all others, as 'key measures of human worth'. See Michael Adas, Machines as the Measure of Man: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance, Ithaca and London, 1989, 406. Lubar and others note the mediating role of machines in personal and social relationships, and among communities and cultures. Steven Lubar, 'Machine politics: the political construction of technological artefacts', in History from Things (ed. Steven Lubar and W. David Kingery), Washington, DC, 1993, 197-214, and 'In the footsteps of Perry: the Smithsonian goes to Japan', Public Historian (1995), 17, 25-59.
19. Adas rightly points out that Europeans came to consider scientific and technological accomplishments, in which they excelled all others, as 'key measures of human worth'. See Michael Adas, Machines as the Measure of Man: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance, Ithaca and London, 1989, 406. Lubar and others note the mediating role of machines in personal and social relationships, and among communities and cultures. Steven Lubar, 'Machine politics: the political construction of technological artefacts', in History from Things (ed. Steven Lubar and W. David Kingery), Washington, DC, 1993, 197-214, and 'In the footsteps of Perry: the Smithsonian goes to Japan', Public Historian (1995), 17, 25-59.
20. Adas rightly points out that Europeans came to consider scientific and technological accomplishments, in which they excelled all others, as 'key measures of human worth'. See Michael Adas, Machines as the Measure of Man: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance, Ithaca and London, 1989, 406. Lubar and others note the mediating role of machines in personal and social relationships, and among communities and cultures. Steven Lubar, 'Machine politics: the political construction of technological artefacts', in History from Things (ed. Steven Lubar and W. David Kingery), Washington, DC, 1993, 197-214, and 'In the footsteps of Perry: the Smithsonian goes to Japan', Public Historian (1995), 17, 25-59.
21. G. D. Coxe to John Rodger, 15 October 1825, Tunis, United States National Archives, RG 84, Washington, DC (hereafter NARA).
22. The Electrical Review, for example, referred to the introduction to Istanbul of electric lighting as 'one of the Arabian Nights'. See Electrical Review (15 July 1887), 21, 65.
23. Copleston was referring to Wheatstone's experiments with the electric telegraph in 1840. See W. J. Copleston, Memoir of Edward Copleston, D.D., Bishop of Llandaff, London, 1851, 169; quoted in Iwan Rhys Morus, Frankenstein's Children: Electricity, Exhibition, and Experiment in Early Nineteenth-Century London, Princeton, 1998, 194.
24. Copleston was referring to Wheatstone's experiments with the electric telegraph in 1840. See W. J. Copleston, Memoir of Edward Copleston, D.D., Bishop of Llandaff, London, 1851, 169; quoted in Iwan Rhys Morus, Frankenstein's Children: Electricity, Exhibition, and Experiment in Early Nineteenth-Century London, Princeton, 1998, 194.
25. Hankins and Silverman point to the persistence of natural magic in (and the complexity of its transition to) natural philosophy. The instruments of natural magic revealed the 'wonders of nature', and a feat such as 'communicating instantly around the globe' was one of its goals, now realized in the telegraph. See Thomas L. Hankins and Robert Silverman, Instruments and the Imagination, Princeton, 1995, 4-5, 70, 122. But the electric telegraph was also extended to the world of spirits. Noakes shows that Victorian spiritualists exploited telegraphy as an occult art to communicate with spirits, and that entrepreneurs, such as Cromwell F. Varley, welded together spiritualism and telegraphy to rebuild public confidence in telegraphic enterprises following the disappointing setbacks in submarine telegraphy in the late 1850s. See Richard J. Noakes, 'Telegraphy is an occult art: Cromwell Fleetwood Varley and the diffusion of electricity to the Other World', BJHS (1999), 32, 421-59. On the spirit rapping and spiritualism associated with telegraphy in America, see R. Laurence Moore, 'Spiritualism and science: reflections on the first decade of the spirit rapping', American Quarterly (1972), 24, 474-500; Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 312-16.
26. Hankins and Silverman point to the persistence of natural magic in (and the complexity of its transition to) natural philosophy. The instruments of natural magic revealed the 'wonders of nature', and a feat such as 'communicating instantly around the globe' was one of its goals, now realized in the telegraph. See Thomas L. Hankins and Robert Silverman, Instruments and the Imagination, Princeton, 1995, 4-5, 70, 122. But the electric telegraph was also extended to the world of spirits. Noakes shows that Victorian spiritualists exploited telegraphy as an occult art to communicate with spirits, and that entrepreneurs, such as Cromwell F. Varley, welded together spiritualism and telegraphy to rebuild public confidence in telegraphic enterprises following the disappointing setbacks in submarine telegraphy in the late 1850s. See Richard J. Noakes, 'Telegraphy is an occult art: Cromwell Fleetwood Varley and the diffusion of electricity to the Other World', BJHS (1999), 32, 421-59. On the spirit rapping and spiritualism associated with telegraphy in America, see R. Laurence Moore, 'Spiritualism and science: reflections on the first decade of the spirit rapping', American Quarterly (1972), 24, 474-500; Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 312-16.
27. Hankins and Silverman point to the persistence of natural magic in (and the complexity of its transition to) natural philosophy. The instruments of natural magic revealed the 'wonders of nature', and a feat such as 'communicating instantly around the globe' was one of its goals, now realized in the telegraph. See Thomas L. Hankins and Robert Silverman, Instruments and the Imagination, Princeton, 1995, 4-5, 70, 122. But the electric telegraph was also extended to the world of spirits. Noakes shows that Victorian spiritualists exploited telegraphy as an occult art to communicate with spirits, and that entrepreneurs, such as Cromwell F. Varley, welded together spiritualism and telegraphy to rebuild public confidence in telegraphic enterprises following the disappointing setbacks in submarine telegraphy in the late 1850s. See Richard J. Noakes, 'Telegraphy is an occult art: Cromwell Fleetwood Varley and the diffusion of electricity to the Other World', BJHS (1999), 32, 421-59. On the spirit rapping and spiritualism associated with telegraphy in America, see R. Laurence Moore, 'Spiritualism and science: reflections on the first decade of the spirit rapping', American Quarterly (1972), 24, 474-500; Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 312-16.
28. Hankins and Silverman point to the persistence of natural magic in (and the complexity of its transition to) natural philosophy. The instruments of natural magic revealed the 'wonders of nature', and a feat such as 'communicating instantly around the globe' was one of its goals, now realized in the telegraph. See Thomas L. Hankins and Robert Silverman, Instruments and the Imagination, Princeton, 1995, 4-5, 70, 122. But the electric telegraph was also extended to the world of spirits. Noakes shows that Victorian spiritualists exploited telegraphy as an occult art to communicate with spirits, and that entrepreneurs, such as Cromwell F. Varley, welded together spiritualism and telegraphy to rebuild public confidence in telegraphic enterprises following the disappointing setbacks in submarine telegraphy in the late 1850s. See Richard J. Noakes, 'Telegraphy is an occult art: Cromwell Fleetwood Varley and the diffusion of electricity to the Other World', BJHS (1999), 32, 421-59. On the spirit rapping and spiritualism associated with telegraphy in America, see R. Laurence Moore, 'Spiritualism and science: reflections on the first decade of the spirit rapping', American Quarterly (1972), 24, 474-500; Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 312-16.
29. Morus's recent work explores much of the electrical culture and exhibition. For example, see Morus, op. cit. (12); and 'Currents from the underworld: electricity and the technology of display in early Victorian England', Isis (1993), 84, 50-69. Marsden shows how air engine inventors, such as John Ericsson, employed various strategic schemes (rather similar to those of electric telegraph inventors), such as public experiments, to promote the image of their respective versions of air engines. See Ben Marsden, 'Blowing hot and cold: reports and retorts on the status of the air-engine as a success or failure, 1830-1855', History of Science (1998), 36, 373-420. Some key concepts and analyses of electrical culture arc found in James A. Secord, 'Extraordinary experiment: electricity and the creation of life in Victorian England' and in other articles in The Uses of Experiments (ed. David Gooding, Trevor Pinch and Simon Schaffer), Cambridge, 1989, 337-83. Collins claims that the persuasive force of an experiment is not embedded in the experiment itself but resides largely outside it, such as in the statements of other experimenters. This view emphasizes the role of the audience in evaluating an experiment or demonstration. See Harry M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice, Beverley Hills and London, 1985; Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, Princeton, 1985. For a popular account of the exhibition culture in America see David Lindsay, Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors, New York, 1997.
30. Morus's recent work explores much of the electrical culture and exhibition. For example, see Morus, op. cit. (12); and 'Currents from the underworld: electricity and the technology of display in early Victorian England', Isis (1993), 84, 50-69. Marsden shows how air engine inventors, such as John Ericsson, employed various strategic schemes (rather similar to those of electric telegraph inventors), such as public experiments, to promote the image of their respective versions of air engines. See Ben Marsden, 'Blowing hot and cold: reports and retorts on the status of the air-engine as a success or failure, 1830-1855', History of Science (1998), 36, 373-420. Some key concepts and analyses of electrical culture arc found in James A. Secord, 'Extraordinary experiment: electricity and the creation of life in Victorian England' and in other articles in The Uses of Experiments (ed. David Gooding, Trevor Pinch and Simon Schaffer), Cambridge, 1989, 337-83. Collins claims that the persuasive force of an experiment is not embedded in the experiment itself but resides largely outside it, such as in the statements of other experimenters. This view emphasizes the role of the audience in evaluating an experiment or demonstration. See Harry M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice, Beverley Hills and London, 1985; Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, Princeton, 1985. For a popular account of the exhibition culture in America see David Lindsay, Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors, New York, 1997.
31. Morus's recent work explores much of the electrical culture and exhibition. For example, see Morus, op. cit. (12); and 'Currents from the underworld: electricity and the technology of display in early Victorian England', Isis (1993), 84, 50-69. Marsden shows how air engine inventors, such as John Ericsson, employed various strategic schemes (rather similar to those of electric telegraph inventors), such as public experiments, to promote the image of their respective versions of air engines. See Ben Marsden, 'Blowing hot and cold: reports and retorts on the status of the air-engine as a success or failure, 1830-1855', History of Science (1998), 36, 373-420. Some key concepts and analyses of electrical culture arc found in James A. Secord, 'Extraordinary experiment: electricity and the creation of life in Victorian England' and in other articles in The Uses of Experiments (ed. David Gooding, Trevor Pinch and Simon Schaffer), Cambridge, 1989, 337-83. Collins claims that the persuasive force of an experiment is not embedded in the experiment itself but resides largely outside it, such as in the statements of other experimenters. This view emphasizes the role of the audience in evaluating an experiment or demonstration. See Harry M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice, Beverley Hills and London, 1985; Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, Princeton, 1985. For a popular account of the exhibition culture in America see David Lindsay, Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors, New York, 1997.
32. Morus's recent work explores much of the electrical culture and exhibition. For example, see Morus, op. cit. (12); and 'Currents from the underworld: electricity and the technology of display in early Victorian England', Isis (1993), 84, 50-69. Marsden shows how air engine inventors, such as John Ericsson, employed various strategic schemes (rather similar to those of electric telegraph inventors), such as public experiments, to promote the image of their respective versions of air engines. See Ben Marsden, 'Blowing hot and cold: reports and retorts on the status of the air-engine as a success or failure, 1830-1855', History of Science (1998), 36, 373-420. Some key concepts and analyses of electrical culture arc found in James A. Secord, 'Extraordinary experiment: electricity and the creation of life in Victorian England' and in other articles in The Uses of Experiments (ed. David Gooding, Trevor Pinch and Simon Schaffer), Cambridge, 1989, 337-83. Collins claims that the persuasive force of an experiment is not embedded in the experiment itself but resides largely outside it, such as in the statements of other experimenters. This view emphasizes the role of the audience in evaluating an experiment or demonstration. See Harry M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice, Beverley Hills and London, 1985; Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, Princeton, 1985. For a popular account of the exhibition culture in America see David Lindsay, Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors, New York, 1997.
33. Morus's recent work explores much of the electrical culture and exhibition. For example, see Morus, op. cit. (12); and 'Currents from the underworld: electricity and the technology of display in early Victorian England', Isis (1993), 84, 50-69. Marsden shows how air engine inventors, such as John Ericsson, employed various strategic schemes (rather similar to those of electric telegraph inventors), such as public experiments, to promote the image of their respective versions of air engines. See Ben Marsden, 'Blowing hot and cold: reports and retorts on the status of the air-engine as a success or failure, 1830-1855', History of Science (1998), 36, 373-420. Some key concepts and analyses of electrical culture arc found in James A. Secord, 'Extraordinary experiment: electricity and the creation of life in Victorian England' and in other articles in The Uses of Experiments (ed. David Gooding, Trevor Pinch and Simon Schaffer), Cambridge, 1989, 337-83. Collins claims that the persuasive force of an experiment is not embedded in the experiment itself but resides largely outside it, such as in the statements of other experimenters. This view emphasizes the role of the audience in evaluating an experiment or demonstration. See Harry M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice, Beverley Hills and London, 1985; Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, Princeton, 1985. For a popular account of the exhibition culture in America see David Lindsay, Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors, New York, 1997.
34. Morus's recent work explores much of the electrical culture and exhibition. For example, see Morus, op. cit. (12); and 'Currents from the underworld: electricity and the technology of display in early Victorian England', Isis (1993), 84, 50-69. Marsden shows how air engine inventors, such as John Ericsson, employed various strategic schemes (rather similar to those of electric telegraph inventors), such as public experiments, to promote the image of their respective versions of air engines. See Ben Marsden, 'Blowing hot and cold: reports and retorts on the status of the air-engine as a success or failure, 1830-1855', History of Science (1998), 36, 373-420. Some key concepts and analyses of electrical culture arc found in James A. Secord, 'Extraordinary experiment: electricity and the creation of life in Victorian England' and in other articles in The Uses of Experiments (ed. David Gooding, Trevor Pinch and Simon Schaffer), Cambridge, 1989, 337-83. Collins claims that the persuasive force of an experiment is not embedded in the experiment itself but resides largely outside it, such as in the statements of other experimenters. This view emphasizes the role of the audience in evaluating an experiment or demonstration. See Harry M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice, Beverley Hills and London, 1985; Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, Princeton, 1985. For a popular account of the exhibition culture in America see David Lindsay, Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors, New York, 1997.
35. Morus's recent work explores much of the electrical culture and exhibition. For example, see Morus, op. cit. (12); and 'Currents from the underworld: electricity and the technology of display in early Victorian England', Isis (1993), 84, 50-69. Marsden shows how air engine inventors, such as John Ericsson, employed various strategic schemes (rather similar to those of electric telegraph inventors), such as public experiments, to promote the image of their respective versions of air engines. See Ben Marsden, 'Blowing hot and cold: reports and retorts on the status of the air-engine as a success or failure, 1830-1855', History of Science (1998), 36, 373-420. Some key concepts and analyses of electrical culture arc found in James A. Secord, 'Extraordinary experiment: electricity and the creation of life in Victorian England' and in other articles in The Uses of Experiments (ed. David Gooding, Trevor Pinch and Simon Schaffer), Cambridge, 1989, 337-83. Collins claims that the persuasive force of an experiment is not embedded in the experiment itself but resides largely outside it, such as in the statements of other experimenters. This view emphasizes the role of the audience in evaluating an experiment or demonstration. See Harry M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice, Beverley Hills and London, 1985; Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, Princeton, 1985. For a popular account of the exhibition culture in America see David Lindsay, Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors, New York, 1997.
36. Morus, op. cit. (3), 26; also 'Different experimental lives: Michael Faraday and William Sturgeon', History of Science (1992), 30, 1-28.
37. Morus, op. cit. (3), 26; also 'Different experimental lives: Michael Faraday and William Sturgeon', History of Science (1992), 30, 1-28.
38. John M. Staudenmaier, Technology's Storytellers: Reweaving the Human Fabric, Cambridge, MA, 1985, 173-4.
39. Iwan R. Morus, 'The electric Ariel: telegraphy and commercial culture in early Victorian England', Victorian Studies (Spring 1996), 39, 339-78; and op. cit. (12), 194-230.
40. Iwan R. Morus, 'The electric Ariel: telegraphy and commercial culture in early Victorian England', Victorian Studies (Spring 1996), 39, 339-78; and op. cit. (12), 194-230.
41. Indeed, historians have pointed to the similarity between the cases of Cooke and Morse, the two key inventors of electric telegraphs. Most important, perhaps, was that both men lacked scientific and mechanical skills, and had to collaborate with scientists and mechanics to make their telegraphs work. See, for instance, Brian Bowers, 'Early electric telegraphs', in Semaphores to Short Waves (ed. Frank A. J. L. James), London, 1998, 20-4.
42. In addition, Morse's failures with his earlier inventions might have convinced him to develop a new strategy. Morse and his brother Sidney had designed and promoted a fire engine pump (1816) and a machine for cutting marble (1823), but failed with both.
43. E. L. Morse, Samuel F. B. Morse: His Letters and Journals, 2 vols., New York, 1873, ii, 49.
44. Historians have explained Morse's efforts to associate with leading men of science as a way to obtain the scientific credibility that he lacked. Most of his rivals were in fact professors of science. In his analysis of Morse's relations with the American scientific community, and with Joseph Henry in particular, Hochfelder suggests Morse aimed at scientific respectability, while Morus stresses his need for government funding, which required the approbation of men of science. Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 135-40; Morus, op. cit. (3), 34-5.
45. Historians have explained Morse's efforts to associate with leading men of science as a way to obtain the scientific credibility that he lacked. Most of his rivals were in fact professors of science. In his analysis of Morse's relations with the American scientific community, and with Joseph Henry in particular, Hochfelder suggests Morse aimed at scientific respectability, while Morus stresses his need for government funding, which required the approbation of men of science. Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 135-40; Morus, op. cit. (3), 34-5.
46. E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 74-7.
47. E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 104, 107; MSS 10424 (S. F. B. Morse and Dominique François Arago), Dibner Library, National Museum of American History.
48. From the beginning Morse designated his invention as 'the American Telegraph'. See, for instance, Morse to Levi Woodbury (Secretary of the Treasury), New York City University, 27 September 1837, Doc. No. 15, Morse to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Paris, 27 October 1838, Doc. No. 58, op. cit. (4).
49. Morse to F. O. J. Smith, 24 May 1839, New York, Morse Papers.
50. The dots and dashes initially represented numbers, which then were translated to words with the help of a special dictionary. The dot-dash code was soon modified to represent letters directly. The crucial expertise and skills of Leonard Gale and Alfred Vail, later his partners, and others in Morse apparatus are not issues of this paper. They have been well debated and documented in several studies. For a recent account, see Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 102-20.
51. Wheatstone and Cooke received their first patent in Britain for a five-needle telegraph many months before Morse received a caveat in the United States in October 1837. Morse's failure to receive a British patent was apparently the consequence of the publication of a description of the Morse system in Mechanics Magazine (10 February 1838) prior to his application, which according to the British laws invalidated his application for a patent. See Carleton Mabee, The American Leonardo: A Life of Samuel F. B. Morse, New York, 1943, 214-16; E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 91-5.
52. Wheatstone and Cooke received their first patent in Britain for a five-needle telegraph many months before Morse received a caveat in the United States in October 1837. Morse's failure to receive a British patent was apparently the consequence of the publication of a description of the Morse system in Mechanics Magazine (10 February 1838) prior to his application, which according to the British laws invalidated his application for a patent. See Carleton Mabee, The American Leonardo: A Life of Samuel F. B. Morse, New York, 1943, 214-16; E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 91-5.
53. Wheatstone and Cooke received their first patent in Britain for a five-needle telegraph many months before Morse received a caveat in the United States in October 1837. Morse's failure to receive a British patent was apparently the consequence of the publication of a description of the Morse system in Mechanics Magazine (10 February 1838) prior to his application, which according to the British laws invalidated his application for a patent. See Carleton Mabee, The American Leonardo: A Life of Samuel F. B. Morse, New York, 1943, 214-16; E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 91-5.
54. Prime, op. cit. (6), 388.
55. The Morse Papers do not give any details of Morse's dealings with Chamberlain. A genealogical record of Chamberlain suggests that he had already become a partner with Morse before their departure to Europe in 1838, and that Chamberlain travelled there 'in the interest of the firm'. See Eastman Family of America (compiled by Guy S. Rix and N. H. Concord), 1901, 311. I thank David Cepil for this reference.
56. S. G. Brown to Morse, 31 August 1853, Hanover, Morse Papers.
57. See the contract between Morse and Chamberlain (signed by Samuel Gilman Brown as witness), dated 12 September 1838, Chamberlain Papers, Vermont Historical Society. I thank Marjorie Strong of the Vermont Historical Society for her help with Chamberlain papers there.
58. Chamberlain was not new to deals like the telegraph contract. In 1833 he obtained exclusive rights from Erastus and Thaddeus Fairbanks to sell their scales west of the Alleghany Mountains, a concession that prospered. See DOC BOX 73 WM. Chamberlain Papers, Vermont Historical Society.
59. Morse to F. O. J. Smith, Paris, 22 November 1838, Morse Papers; Prime, op. cit. (6), 371-4.
60. Morse, op. cit. (33).
61. E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 112.
62. Morse to F. O. J. Smith, 13 February 1839, Paris, Morse Papers. In consequence of this engagement, Morse 'laid aside all his projects for introducing his telegraph into other countries of Europe' and concentrated his efforts on the Russian Empire. They planned to begin construction in the summer of 1839. See Morse to His Imperial Majesty Alexander II, 26 July 1856. Morse Papers.
63. Morse to Mellen Chamberlain, 22 February 1839, Paris, Morse Papers.
64. S. G. Brown to Morse, 31 August 1853, Hanover, Morse Papers.
65. Brown, op. cit. (38).
66. Indeed, the extant records reveal that the Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History (Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale) did acquire in 1847 'an electric telegraph based on Morse's model, with improvements and modifications by Professor Tito Puliti, constructed by the craftsman Corrado Wolf'. This information corroborates Brown's report, and suggests that what Brown saw in May 1839 was probably a first attempt by Puliti. An unsigned Morse telegraph preserved in the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, which now houses most collections of the former museum, is probably this very instrument or a later version of it. I thank Mara Miniati of the Institute for her kind help with this reference.
67. S. G. Brown to Morse, 31 August 1853, Hanover, Morse Papers.
68. Chamberlain to Lovering, 9 January 1839, in E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 149.
69. New York Observer, 10 August 1839.
70. When Levering told Morse of Chamberlain's wishes, the latter reportedly replied, 'I will add that, if he will bring me the purse just now, I can dispense with the beauty and the something else.' Chamberlain to Lovering (in Paris), 9 January 1839, Syria, in E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 149.
71. Chamberlain, op. cit. (44).
72. Cyrus Hamlin, Among the Turks, New York, 1878, 85.
73. 'Death of Meilen Chamberlain Esq.', New York Observer, 10 August 1839, gives only brief details of the event and of Chamberlain's travels.
74. Morse to F. O. J. Smith, 29 July and 12 August 1839, Morse Papers.
75. Shortly after hearing about the tragic death of Chamberlain, Morse also received the news in early August of the Tsar's decision against the telegraph, which ruined Morse's high expectations for the planned experimental line in Russia. The Tsar's key objection was that 'malevolence can easily interrupt the communication' in Morse's telegraphic system. See Morse to F. O. J. Smith, 12 August 1839, Morse Papers; Mabee, op. cit. (27), 221-5.
76. Report of House of Representatives (C. G. Ferris, the Committee on Commerce), 30 December 1842, Doc. No. 17, includes a letter from Joseph Henry to Morse, Princeton College, 24 February 1842 and a minute of the American Institute of New York, New York, 12 September 1842, supporting Morse's petition to Congress, op. cit. (4), 65-82.
77. For example, Hochfelder defines the four major technical innovations in the Morse system during this period as the use of overhead wires, the ground return, the transmitting key and the receiving magnet. See Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 164.
78. Morse successfully managed, as Hochfelder noted, to expand the scope of his patent claims and intellectual property rights in the United States after his caveat in 1837, and thus by 1848 Morse patents had covered all recording telegraphs. See Hochfelder, op. cit. (3), 180-96.
79. E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 248.
80. The claim reflects the prevalent ideology of American republican technology, which supposedly constituted a 'kind of folk art'. Historians have argued that 'baldness', 'simplicity' and 'economy' were particular characteristics of nineteenth-century American technology (in contrast to rich, refined and expensive or 'royal' European technology), and that it shaped and was shaped by republican values and ideology. See, for example, John A. Kouwenhoven, Made in America: The Arts in Modern Civilization, New York, 1948, 30-1; John F. Kasson, Civilizing the Machine: Technology and Republican Values in America, 1779-1900, New York, 1976, 154, 180; Brooke Hindle and Steven Lubar, Engines of Change: American Industrial Revolution, 1790-1860, Washington, 1986, 256.
81. The claim reflects the prevalent ideology of American republican technology, which supposedly constituted a 'kind of folk art'. Historians have argued that 'baldness', 'simplicity' and 'economy' were particular characteristics of nineteenth-century American technology (in contrast to rich, refined and expensive or 'royal' European technology), and that it shaped and was shaped by republican values and ideology. See, for example, John A. Kouwenhoven, Made in America: The Arts in Modern Civilization, New York, 1948, 30-1; John F. Kasson, Civilizing the Machine: Technology and Republican Values in America, 1779-1900, New York, 1976, 154, 180; Brooke Hindle and Steven Lubar, Engines of Change: American Industrial Revolution, 1790-1860, Washington, 1986, 256.
82. The claim reflects the prevalent ideology of American republican technology, which supposedly constituted a 'kind of folk art'. Historians have argued that 'baldness', 'simplicity' and 'economy' were particular characteristics of nineteenth-century American technology (in contrast to rich, refined and expensive or 'royal' European technology), and that it shaped and was shaped by republican values and ideology. See, for example, John A. Kouwenhoven, Made in America: The Arts in Modern Civilization, New York, 1948, 30-1; John F. Kasson, Civilizing the Machine: Technology and Republican Values in America, 1779-1900, New York, 1976, 154, 180; Brooke Hindle and Steven Lubar, Engines of Change: American Industrial Revolution, 1790-1860, Washington, 1986, 256.
83. The sites of their demonstrations included Hamburg, Berlin and St Petersburg. See Prime, op. cit. (6), 527-37; E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 255.
84. The sites of their demonstrations included Hamburg, Berlin and St Petersburg. See Prime, op. cit. (6), 527-37; E. L. Morse, op. cit. (20), 255.
85. Prime gives a long account of Fleischmann's displays and observations in Vienna. See Prime, op. cit. (6), 527-37; also see 'Morse's telegraph in Austria', Niles' National Register, 3 January 1846, 282-3.
86. Prime gives a long account of Fleischmann's displays and observations in Vienna. See Prime, op. cit. (6), 527-37; also see 'Morse's telegraph in Austria', Niles' National Register, 3 January 1846, 282-3.
87. A good example is John Webster Cochran, an American artillery inventor, who spent most of 1835 with his mechanics in the Tophane, the Imperial Gun Foundry, to develop his secret gun, or 'cylinder cannon'. He subsequently tested it before the Sultan and his military court, firing one hundred times. David Porter, the United States chargé d'affaires, exploited the occasion as 'the means of inducing the Sultan to call to his aid the genius of Americans for mechanical inventions'. See David Porter to John Forsyth (Secretary of State), 9 March 1835, Constantinople, RG 84, NARA; American Artisan, 8 March 1871, 151-3.
88. Indeed, the treaty of commerce and friendship between the Ottoman Empire and the United States, which was signed in 1830 after a delay of ten years due to European objections, hinged on a secret article giving the Sultan access to American naval technology and timber. Although the Senate did not ratify the secret article, the government sanctioned it unofficially. See the agreement dated 7 May 1830, Constantinople, RG 84, 16 December 1830, NARA.
89. When Smith discovered two new minerals in Asia Minor in 1848, he called one of them Medjidite in honour of Sultan Abdul Mejid. The other he called Liebigite after Justus von Liebig, the celebrated German agricultural chemist of Giessen, under whom Smith had spent some time studying agricultural chemistry. See J. Lawrence Smith, 'Two new minerals: Medjidite (Sulfate of Uranium and Lime), and Liebigite (Carbonate of Uranium and Lime)', Silliman's American Journal of Science (1848), 5, 336-42.
90. Davis (1807-55), a cotton-planter in South Carolina, was put in charge of the Sultan's agricultural reforms from 1846 to 1849. On his return, he introduced Angora goats, water oxen and Brahmin cattle to the United States. Smith (1818-83), a rising figure in agricultural chemistry, explored a large number of mines, minerals and thermal waters of Asia Minor between 1846 and 1850. His discovery and study of corundum there led to the discovery of similar minerals in the United States. Smith later became an authority in analytical chemistry, and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1874.
91. Benjamin Silliman to Morse, 4 February 1847, New Haven, Morse Papers.
92. Morse to B. F. Copeland, 19 May 1847, New York, Morse Papers.
93. 'Mr John P. Brown's letter, relative to an exhibition of Professor Morse's magnetic telegraph before the Sultan', read before the Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society at the rooms of the American Academy in Boston, 31 May 1848, Journal of the American Oriental Society (1849), 1, pp. liv-lvii.
94. Brown, op. cit. (63).
95. Hamlin, op. cit. (46), 188.
96. Hamlin, op. cit. (46), 190.
97. I.D. 7919, 11 August 1847, Ottoman Archives; Hamlin, op. cit. (46), 185-6; A. Tanrikut, Türkiye Posta ve Telgraf Teskilat ve Mevzuati, Ankara, 1984, 536; Nesimi Yazici, 'Osmanli Devleti'nde Posta Teskilati', Ph.D. Thesis, 1981, Ilahiyat Fakültesi, Ankara, 350-3.
98. I.D. 7919, 11 August 1847, Ottoman Archives; Hamlin, op. cit. (46), 185-6; A. Tanrikut, Türkiye Posta ve Telgraf Teskilat ve Mevzuati, Ankara, 1984, 536; Nesimi Yazici, 'Osmanli Devleti'nde Posta Teskilati', Ph.D. Thesis, 1981, Ilahiyat Fakültesi, Ankara, 350-3.
99. I.D. 7919, 11 August 1847, Ottoman Archives; Hamlin, op. cit. (46), 185-6; A. Tanrikut, Türkiye Posta ve Telgraf Teskilat ve Mevzuati, Ankara, 1984, 536; Nesimi Yazici, 'Osmanli Devleti'nde Posta Teskilati', Ph.D. Thesis, 1981, Ilahiyat Fakültesi, Ankara, 350-3.
100. Brown, op. cit. (63). Some of the pashas, including Reshid Pasha, the Grand Vizier, Ali Pasha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Sarim Pasha, Minister of Finance, had already seen electric telegraphs in London and Paris.
101. Brown, op. cit. (63).
102. Hamlin reports that after the grand demonstration before the Sultan and officials of the Ottoman government, the wire was found mysteriously cut. See Hamlin, op. cit. (46), 194.
103. Babazade Mustafa, 'Müslimanlik Ilmî ve Fennî bir Dindir', Sebil-ür Resad (1912), 207, quoted in Niyazi Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey, Montreal, 1964, 362-3.
104. Babazade Mustafa, 'Müslimanlik Ilmî ve Fennî bir Dindir', Sebil-ür Resad (1912), 207, quoted in Niyazi Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey, Montreal, 1964, 362-3.
105. Y. Bektas, 'The Sultan's messenger: cultural constructions of Ottoman telegraphy, 1847-1880', Technology and Culture (2000), 41, 669-96.
106. However, J. L. Smith later lamented to Silliman that he did not get any credit for exhibiting Morse's telegraph. See Benjamin Silliman, The Sketch of the Life and Scientific Work of Dr John Lawrence Smith, Washington, 1884, 11-12.
107. See a memorandum giving details of John Lawrence Smith's part in the exhibition of the Morse telegraph before the Sultan (n.d., n.a.), Morse Papers. Morse also heard the story from John Lawrence Smith himself when they met in Washington in 1854. See Morse to Sarah E. Morse, Washington, 26 September 1854, Morse Papers; Silliman, op. cit. (73), 11.
108. J. L. Smith's Memorandum, op. cit. (74).
109. Sefik Bey (First Secretary of the Sultan) to D. S. Carr, 1 Muharrem 1263 (9 December 1847) (in dispatch October 1848), Constantinople, RG 84, NARA. I thank Roger Sherman for translating the original letter in French into English.
110. The original translation of the diploma by John Porter Brown, the Dragoman of the United States in Istanbul is in Morse Papers. Brown also sent a copy to the American Oriental Society. See The Journal of the American Oriental Society (1849), 1, p. lvii.
111. 'The Sultan to Prof. Morse', a newspaper clipping, March 1849, Morse Papers.
112. Morse to the Secretary of State, New York, 28 November 1848. Morse Papers.
113. The reason for this long delay is not clear. Smith D. Carr, the United States Minister at Istanbul, received the decoration in early December 1847, and the diploma the following month. In his letter to Morse, he alleged that he did not have 'such an opportunity as he could trust to' of sending them. But it seems that the minister for some other reason kept them. Morse mentions hearing news of their being put on display in the Legation's residence in Istanbul. It was not until mid-December 1848 that Morse finally received the news that a package from the Sultan containing 'a rich diamond ornament' was deposited in the Customhouse in Boston. See Smith Dabney Carr to Morse, 23 October 1848, Constantinople, RG 84, NARA; (Unidentified) to Morse, 16 December 1848, Washington, and Morse to the Collector of the Customhouse, Boston, 18 December 1848, New York, Morse Papers.
114. Morse to Sultan Abdul Mejid Khan, 6 January 1849, Morse Papers.
115. Morse to John Porter Brown, 6 January 1849, Morse Papers.
116. Morse to J. Rogers, 15 December 1849, Morse Papers. I have not been able to locate these instruments. They were probably destroyed in the fire that completely consumed the Beylerbey Palace some years later.
117. Morse to Marsh, 20 December 1849, Morse Papers. Morse put the instruments in the care of Rev. H. G. O. Dwight, who was due to travel to Istanbul.
118. The visit of Amin Bey, an Ottoman naval officer (1850-1), aroused a strong interest both in official circles and in the general public. As he travelled around the country, Amin Bey, a representative of the exotic Orient, became a fascinating topic for the news media and endless public gossiping. In Washington, Congress divided on whether to entertain him in oriental or European style, and in the end voted a large sum to render him 'the oriental hospitality'. See The Congressional Globe, 21 September 1850, 1872-5.
119. Morse to John Porter Brown, 11 November 1850, Morse Papers.
120. Morse to John Porter Brown, New York, 1 April 1851, Morse Papers.
121. Morse wrote, I take great pleasure in sending you a set of my telegraph instruments, in duplicate, furnishing two termini complete, and consisting of two Registers, two Receiving magnets, and two Keys, handsomely mounted on walnut platforms. Accept them from me for your College, hoping they may be acceptable to Government, the Officers of the Institution and pupils, and be an agreeable appendage to your philosophical apparatus. I the more readily make this donation to an institution in the Turkish Empire, since I am proud to say that the first honorary acknowledgement of the value of my invention from a European government, was received from the late amiable Sultan Abdul Mejid Khan, being the Nishan-i Iftihar in diamonds, which honor has been since repeated from other sovereigns in the bestowment of several orders of knighthood. See Morse to Hamlin, 15 May 1863, New York, Robert College Heritage Collections, Istanbul. The set of instruments is still kept in their collections. The Robert College is now a part of the Bosphorus University. What is now still called the Robert College was the Girls' section of the original Robert College.
122. The list of references to the prestigious decorations of the sovereigns gradually lengthened. For example, see Morse to J. Brequet, New York, 21 April 1851; Morse, 'A memoir showing the grounds of my claim to some indemnity on the different governments of European states', 8 June 1857, Paris, Morse Papers. Similar sentiments are expressed also in Morse to Haidar Efendi, Ottoman Ambassador in Paris, I. H. 8587, 15 September 1858, Ottoman Archives.
123. Silliman, op. cit. (3), 11-12.
124. Morse to family, 14 August 1856, St Petersburg, Russia, Morse Papers.
125. The United States Navy Department sent Perry to Britain and France in 1838 to report on the advantages of steam for naval vessels, and on lighthouses. See Perry's journal for 1838, Papers of M. C. Perry, Library of Congress.
126. In a letter years later, Perry told Morse that he still possessed the slips of paper on which Morse in Paris had marked with his apparatus the characters indicating his name. See M. C. Perry to Morse, 22 July 1852, New York, Morse Papers.
127. M. C. Perry to Navy Department, 27 March 1852, Captains' Letters, Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC.
128. On the American achievements at the fair and their political implications, see, for example, Hindle and Lubar, op. cit. (54), 249-68.
129. In the Ottoman Empire Perry, according to some of his biographers, had 'practiced diplomacy with Orientals', which together with his physical appearance qualified him as an 'oriental negotiator'. Frederick W. Williams points to Perry's 'intuitive perception of the measure of patience and dignity needed in combination with severity and show of force when dealing with Oriental magnates'. See Frederick Wells Williams, Life and Letters of Samuel Wells Williams, New York and London, 1889, 183. Perry was apparently of 'portly' build, which served him well, according to Morison, who believed (even in 1967) that 'Orientals regard a full belly as an emblem of affluence and honor'. See Samuel Elliot Morison, 'Old Bruin': Commodore Matthew C. Perry, 1794-1858, Boston and Toronto, 1967, 270.
130. In the Ottoman Empire Perry, according to some of his biographers, had 'practiced diplomacy with Orientals', which together with his physical appearance qualified him as an 'oriental negotiator'. Frederick W. Williams points to Perry's 'intuitive perception of the measure of patience and dignity needed in combination with severity and show of force when dealing with Oriental magnates'. See Frederick Wells Williams, Life and Letters of Samuel Wells Williams, New York and London, 1889, 183. Perry was apparently of 'portly' build, which served him well, according to Morison, who believed (even in 1967) that 'Orientals regard a full belly as an emblem of affluence and honor'. See Samuel Elliot Morison, 'Old Bruin': Commodore Matthew C. Perry, 1794-1858, Boston and Toronto, 1967, 270.
131. Some details of M. C. Perry's experience with the Ottoman navy and pashas during his duty in the United States Mediterranean squadron is found in the Rodgers Family Papers, 1788-1944, Library of Congress. John Rodgers (1773-1838) was the commodore of the squadron at the time. For a brief account of Perry's experience in the Ottoman Empire, see Morison, op. cit. (96), 96-102.
132. The naval ships were the most attractive to the Ottomans, especially after the battle of Navarino in 1827, which significantly diminished Ottoman naval power. See Porter, op. cit. (57).
133. Perry saw these objects not only as diplomatic tools, but also as means of promoting American markets in Japan, with a notion that 'the introduction among uncivilized or half-civilized people, of commodities (in quantities however small) whether of usefulness or ornament' begets 'a desire to obtain larger supplies'. He believed that in this way 'the consumption of American products in the East has increased in a very extraordinary degree'. Perry, op. cit. (94).
134. The note suggests that Perry was even aware of Morse's earlier work with the daguerreotype process. M. C. Perry to Morse, 22 July 1852, New York, Morse Papers.
135. Charles Chester to Morse, 28 July 1852, Morse Papers.
136. Chester was reluctant to join the expedition. He explained to Morse that his services would not be needed and that Perry's officers would easily understand how to operate the telegraph in Japan. Chester, op. cit. (101).
137. Secretary of State to M. C. Perry, 14 June 1852, Officers, Ships of War, No. 47, US Navy Department, Naval Historical Foundation. The Navy Department sought to form a scientific corps, such as the one that accompanied Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, but Congress did not approve it on the grounds that civilians would not submit to military discipline. On the Pacific Exploring Expedition of 1838 to 1844, the civilian artists and men of science did not get along with the naval officers. Perry's experts appointed as acting master's mates were subject to the naval code of discipline and received a pay of only 525 a month. See, for example, Morison, op. cit. (96), 278.
138. There is little information about these two operators. Williams, younger brother of S. Wells Williams, Perry's chief interpreter, is described as 'the first operator who became perfect in the art of taking messages by ear without recourse to the tape'. See Frederic Wells (Yale University, History Department) to Colonel Samuel Reber, 28 December 1916, in 'Memorandum on the introduction of the electric telegraph to Japan by the Perry Expedition in 1854', compiled by Samuel Reber, October 1916. At the time of my consultation this file was at the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC, but was subsequently turned over to the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. I thank James W. Lee of the Naval Historical Foundation for pointing me to this file. The two men died in 1857, two years after the expedition: Draper in Washington, of a paralytic stroke while waiting for compensation from Congress; Williams after being poisoned by arsenic in bread in Hong Kong, where he had taken command of a steamer plying the Canton River since his discharge in 1855. See Weekly Argus and Democrat, 7 April 1857, 2, col. 4; House of Representatives Report on W. B. Draper, 36th Congress, 1st Session, Report Number 207, 23 March 1860; F. Wells Williams, The Life and Letters of Samuel Wells Williams, New York and London, 1889, 242.
139. There is little information about these two operators. Williams, younger brother of S. Wells Williams, Perry's chief interpreter, is described as 'the first operator who became perfect in the art of taking messages by ear without recourse to the tape'. See Frederic Wells (Yale University, History Department) to Colonel Samuel Reber, 28 December 1916, in 'Memorandum on the introduction of the electric telegraph to Japan by the Perry Expedition in 1854', compiled by Samuel Reber, October 1916. At the time of my consultation this file was at the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC, but was subsequently turned over to the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. I thank James W. Lee of the Naval Historical Foundation for pointing me to this file. The two men died in 1857, two years after the expedition: Draper in Washington, of a paralytic stroke while waiting for compensation from Congress; Williams after being poisoned by arsenic in bread in Hong Kong, where he had taken command of a steamer plying the Canton River since his discharge in 1855. See Weekly Argus and Democrat, 7 April 1857, 2, col. 4; House of Representatives Report on W. B. Draper, 36th Congress, 1st Session, Report Number 207, 23 March 1860; F. Wells Williams, The Life and Letters of Samuel Wells Williams, New York and London, 1889, 242.
140. There is little information about these two operators. Williams, younger brother of S. Wells Williams, Perry's chief interpreter, is described as 'the first operator who became perfect in the art of taking messages by ear without recourse to the tape'. See Frederic Wells (Yale University, History Department) to Colonel Samuel Reber, 28 December 1916, in 'Memorandum on the introduction of the electric telegraph to Japan by the Perry Expedition in 1854', compiled by Samuel Reber, October 1916. At the time of my consultation this file was at the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC, but was subsequently turned over to the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. I thank James W. Lee of the Naval Historical Foundation for pointing me to this file. The two men died in 1857, two years after the expedition: Draper in Washington, of a paralytic stroke while waiting for compensation from Congress; Williams after being poisoned by arsenic in bread in Hong Kong, where he had taken command of a steamer plying the Canton River since his discharge in 1855. See Weekly Argus and Democrat, 7 April 1857, 2, col. 4; House of Representatives Report on W. B. Draper, 36th Congress, 1st Session, Report Number 207, 23 March 1860; F. Wells Williams, The Life and Letters of Samuel Wells Williams, New York and London, 1889, 242.
141. Bayard Taylor, A Visit to India, China and Japan in the Year 1853, New York and London, 1855, 450.
142. M. C. Perry, Japan Expedition 1852-1854: The Personal Journal of Commodore Matthew C. Perry (ed. Roger Pineau), Washington, 1968, 120.
143. Williams's diaries of 27 February and 6 March give some details of the Japanese officials studying the telegraph onboard the Powhatan. See Samuel Wells Williams, 'A journal of the Perry expedition to Japan, 1853-1854', Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan (1910), 37, 117-22.
144. Tomiji Kawanobe, Teregarafu komonjo ko: Bakumatsuno dengon, Tokyo, 1987, 161; Morison, op. cit. (96), 358-61.
145. M. C. Perry, 'Private journals of Commodore Mathew C. Perry, 1853-1854', iii, 112, 3 vols., NARA. In return, Perry received gifts, such as various fabrics, lacquers, ceramics and rice. For a comprehensive list and description of the Japanese gifts, together with a list of the American gifts, see Chang-su Houchins, Artifacts of Diplomacy: Smithsonian Collections from Commodore Matthew Perry's Japan Expedition (1853-1854), Washington, 1995. Most of the Japanese gifts had some symbolic meaning, which the Americans did not understand. For a discussion on the culturally embedded meaning of American and Japanese gifts, see Lubar, 'In the footsteps of Perry', op. cit. (9).
146. M. C. Perry, 'Private journals of Commodore Mathew C. Perry, 1853-1854', iii, 112, 3 vols., NARA. In return, Perry received gifts, such as various fabrics, lacquers, ceramics and rice. For a comprehensive list and description of the Japanese gifts, together with a list of the American gifts, see Chang-su Houchins, Artifacts of Diplomacy: Smithsonian Collections from Commodore Matthew Perry's Japan Expedition (1853-1854), Washington, 1995. Most of the Japanese gifts had some symbolic meaning, which the Americans did not understand. For a discussion on the culturally embedded meaning of American and Japanese gifts, see Lubar, 'In the footsteps of Perry', op. cit. (9).
147. M. C. Perry, 'Private journals of Commodore Mathew C. Perry, 1853-1854', iii, 112, 3 vols., NARA. In return, Perry received gifts, such as various fabrics, lacquers, ceramics and rice. For a comprehensive list and description of the Japanese gifts, together with a list of the American gifts, see Chang-su Houchins, Artifacts of Diplomacy: Smithsonian Collections from Commodore Matthew Perry's Japan Expedition (1853-1854), Washington, 1995. Most of the Japanese gifts had some symbolic meaning, which the Americans did not understand. For a discussion on the culturally embedded meaning of American and Japanese gifts, see Lubar, 'In the footsteps of Perry', op. cit. (9).
148. Perry, op. cit. (109), iii, 126-8.
149. Francis L. Hawks, Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Sea and Japan under the Command of Commodore M. C. Perry, United States Navy, Washington, 1856, 357. It was rumoured that 'awed officials examined the telegraph wires to see if they were hollow', and no matter how fast they might run from one end of the line to the other, the message would always be waiting for them there. See Arthur C. Walworth, Black Ships off Japan: The Story of Commodore Perry's Expedition, New York, 1946, 195. To further stimulate the curiosity of the spectators, an electric machine was connected with the telegraph to give them shocks, according to the diary of George Henry Preble, The Opening of Japan: A Diary of Discovery in the Far East, 1853-1856 (ed. Boleslaw Szczesniak), Oklahoma, 1962, 147.
150. Francis L. Hawks, Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Sea and Japan under the Command of Commodore M. C. Perry, United States Navy, Washington, 1856, 357. It was rumoured that 'awed officials examined the telegraph wires to see if they were hollow', and no matter how fast they might run from one end of the line to the other, the message would always be waiting for them there. See Arthur C. Walworth, Black Ships off Japan: The Story of Commodore Perry's Expedition, New York, 1946, 195. To further stimulate the curiosity of the spectators, an electric machine was connected with the telegraph to give them shocks, according to the diary of George Henry Preble, The Opening of Japan: A Diary of Discovery in the Far East, 1853-1856 (ed. Boleslaw Szczesniak), Oklahoma, 1962, 147.
151. Francis L. Hawks, Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Sea and Japan under the Command of Commodore M. C. Perry, United States Navy, Washington, 1856, 357. It was rumoured that 'awed officials examined the telegraph wires to see if they were hollow', and no matter how fast they might run from one end of the line to the other, the message would always be waiting for them there. See Arthur C. Walworth, Black Ships off Japan: The Story of Commodore Perry's Expedition, New York, 1946, 195. To further stimulate the curiosity of the spectators, an electric machine was connected with the telegraph to give them shocks, according to the diary of George Henry Preble, The Opening of Japan: A Diary of Discovery in the Far East, 1853-1856 (ed. Boleslaw Szczesniak), Oklahoma, 1962, 147.
152. Perry's emphasis on such artefacts is noted by Lubar, 'In the footsteps of Perry', op. cit. (9).
153. See, for example, Preble, op. cit. (111), 109. However, Edward Y. McCauley and William H. Rutherford believed that the Japanese were not at all 'astonished' at it. McCauley even assumed, probably wrongly, that 'they must have read all about it for they seemed 'familiar with the theory of the thing'. Edward Y. McCauley, With Perry in Japan: The Diary of Edward Yorke McCauley (ed. Allan B. Cole), Princeton, 1942, 90; William H. Rutherford to Sarah J. Baldwin, 23 March 1854, Bay of Edo, Treaty Letter, Department of Manuscripts, Library of Congress.
154. See, for example, Preble, op. cit. (111), 109. However, Edward Y. McCauley and William H. Rutherford believed that the Japanese were not at all 'astonished' at it. McCauley even assumed, probably wrongly, that 'they must have read all about it for they seemed 'familiar with the theory of the thing'. Edward Y. McCauley, With Perry in Japan: The Diary of Edward Yorke McCauley (ed. Allan B. Cole), Princeton, 1942, 90; William H. Rutherford to Sarah J. Baldwin, 23 March 1854, Bay of Edo, Treaty Letter, Department of Manuscripts, Library of Congress.
155. Williams, op. cit. (104), 212.
156. Hawks, op. cit. (111), 590.
157. A large collection of Japanese diaries and notes are found in Kawanobe, op. cit. (108).
158. A good example is Sakuma Shōzan (1811-64), a scholar of Dutch Studies. He is said to have experimented with magnets and made wires after reading a Dutch book on telegraphy. Although some believe that he carried out some experiments in the years prior to Perry's visit (for example, see Neil Pedlar, Imported Pioneers, Kent, 1990, 159), this assertion has not really been documented. In fact, Shōzan was a 'guard' in Yokohama during Perry's visit. His telegraphic experiments were probably inspired by Perry's telegraphic demonstration. On Shōzan, see Noboru Wakai and Yuzo Takahashi, Terekomu no yoake, Tokyo, 1996, 47.
159. A good example is Sakuma Shōzan (1811-64), a scholar of Dutch Studies. He is said to have experimented with magnets and made wires after reading a Dutch book on telegraphy. Although some believe that he carried out some experiments in the years prior to Perry's visit (for example, see Neil Pedlar, Imported Pioneers, Kent, 1990, 159), this assertion has not really been documented. In fact, Shōzan was a 'guard' in Yokohama during Perry's visit. His telegraphic experiments were probably inspired by Perry's telegraphic demonstration. On Shōzan, see Noboru Wakai and Yuzo Takahashi, Terekomu no yoake, Tokyo, 1996, 47.
160. Here I do not discuss what can be called the Perry myth in the historiography of Japan's technological development, according to which Japan was sealed off from the outside world until Perry with his black ships arrived to open and force it to westernize. Pointing to the simplicity and shortcomings of this approach, Tessa Morris-Suzuki and others have noted that by the time of Perry's visit, Japan had already acquired a substantial industrial expertise, especially in shipbuilding, iron works and agriculture, some of which came from the Dutch. See Tessa Morris-Suzuki, The Technological Transformation of Japan: From the Seventeenth to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge, 1994, 55-67. For a recent critique of the Perry myth, see Graeme J. N. Gooday and Morris F. Low, 'Technology transfer and cultural exchange: Western scientists and engineers encounter late Tokugawa and Meiji Japan', Osiris (1998), 13, 99-128, 102-4.
161. Here I do not discuss what can be called the Perry myth in the historiography of Japan's technological development, according to which Japan was sealed off from the outside world until Perry with his black ships arrived to open and force it to westernize. Pointing to the simplicity and shortcomings of this approach, Tessa Morris-Suzuki and others have noted that by the time of Perry's visit, Japan had already acquired a substantial industrial expertise, especially in shipbuilding, iron works and agriculture, some of which came from the Dutch. See Tessa Morris-Suzuki, The Technological Transformation of Japan: From the Seventeenth to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge, 1994, 55-67. For a recent critique of the Perry myth, see Graeme J. N. Gooday and Morris F. Low, 'Technology transfer and cultural exchange: Western scientists and engineers encounter late Tokugawa and Meiji Japan', Osiris (1998), 13, 99-128, 102-4.
162. W. E. Griffis, Matthew Calbraith Perry: A Typical American Naval Officer, Boston, 1887, 368; E. R. Beauchamp (ed.), Schoolmaster to an Empire: Richard Henry Brunton in Meiji Japan 1868-1876, New York and London, 1991, 8.
163. W. E. Griffis, Matthew Calbraith Perry: A Typical American Naval Officer, Boston, 1887, 368; E. R. Beauchamp (ed.), Schoolmaster to an Empire: Richard Henry Brunton in Meiji Japan 1868-1876, New York and London, 1991, 8.
164. A 'technological dialogue' is a process of a country's interaction with new machines or technical knowledge in an innovative way. See Arnold Pacey, Technology in World Civilization, Cambridge, MA, 1990, 155-7, 204.
165. The Yōgakusho was renamed the Banshoshirabesho (Institute for Investigating Barbarian Documents) in 1856, Yōshoshirabesho (Institute for Investigating Western Documents) in 1862 and Kaiseisho (Centre for Development) in 1863. It later became part of the Tokyo Imperial College (later Tokyo University) in 1877, together with Perry's telegraph instruments. The instruments, which were declared an 'important cultural treasure' in 1997, are kept at the Communications Museum in Tokyo. I thank Keiko Inoue of the museum for this information.
166. They had little success with operating it. What was worse was that they lost some parts after disassembling the instrument to see its minute details. Kawanobe, op. cit. (108), 103-5
167. Kawanobe, op. cit. (108), 192-206.
168. Kawanobe, op. cit. (108), 396-407.
169. Shigenobu Ōkuma, (compiler), Fifty Years of New Japan (Kaikoku gojūnen shi), London, 2 vols., 1910, i, 418. Shimazu is said to have improved the stylus or pen of the instrument, and attempted to make batteries. The Communications Museum preserves his battery designs.
170. Yasaburō Ōno, an official clockmaker, who managed to replicate a Morse instrument, went to Holland in 1862 to study magnets at a Leiden clock factory. Similarly, the daimio of Satsuma sent Matsuki Tereshima to Europe to study telegraphy. See Kawanobe, op. cit. (108), 371-4.
171. There were widespread riots against the installations of the telegraph when it was introduced in early Meiji Japan. Many believed, for example, that foreigners were planning to use the telegraph and the railroad to occupy Japan. See Tameji Ogawa, 'Kaika mondou', in Meiji bunka zenshū (ed. Yoshino Sakuzō), 24 vols., Tokyo, 1929, xx, 105-68. The public resistance to the telegraph is well covered in Zenshichi Takahashi, Oyatoi gaikokujin, tsūshin, Tokyo, 1969, 36-65.
172. There were widespread riots against the installations of the telegraph when it was introduced in early Meiji Japan. Many believed, for example, that foreigners were planning to use the telegraph and the railroad to occupy Japan. See Tameji Ogawa, 'Kaika mondou', in Meiji bunka zenshū (ed. Yoshino Sakuzō), 24 vols., Tokyo, 1929, xx, 105-68. The public resistance to the telegraph is well covered in Zenshichi Takahashi, Oyatoi gaikokujin, tsūshin, Tokyo, 1969, 36-65.
173. Morus and others show that demonstration places had an enormous role in shaping and defining the meaning of the apparatus and of the image of their makers. See Morus, op. cit. (12), 96-8.
174. On the machine as a symbol of value, and of 'the inventive genius' in America, see Leo Marx, The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America, New York, 1964, 180-205; Smith, op. cit. (4), 2-10; Adas, op. cit. (9), 404.
175. On the machine as a symbol of value, and of 'the inventive genius' in America, see Leo Marx, The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America, New York, 1964, 180-205; Smith, op. cit. (4), 2-10; Adas, op. cit. (9), 404.
176. On the machine as a symbol of value, and of 'the inventive genius' in America, see Leo Marx, The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America, New York, 1964, 180-205; Smith, op. cit. (4), 2-10; Adas, op. cit. (9), 404.