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Details
GIOVANNI CASELLI (1815-1891)
A message, including a portrait of Lord Palmerston, transmitted using Caselli's pantelegraph, c.1863. Printed in blue on two leaves of paper (together 117 x 165mm), mounted on board, matted, framed, and glazed (frame opened). Provenance: Paul Gustave Froment (manuscript ticket mounted on the glass, and pencilled inscription on the print, both recording the gift).
AN ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION MADE BY PANTELEGRAPH, THE FIRST FUNCTIONAL FAX SYSTEM, and an important landmark in the transmission of images at a distance. Caselli's pantelegraph was made of cast iron and stood more than 2 meters high. The original message was inscribed in non-conducting ink on a sheet of tin, which was in turn fixed to a curved metal plate and scanned by a needle three lines to a millimetre. The signals were carried by telegraph and marked out on paper treated with potassium ferro-cyanide. Very accurate clocks controlling pulleys connected to the needles on both ends were used to ensure that these scanned at the same rate -- effective synchronization had been a major stumbling block in pervious attempts. This pantelegraphic transmission was probably sent in 1863 when Caselli was in England for four months, having received permission to test a line between London and Liverpool. The message, sent from Captain Thomas Hall in Liverpool to Richard Smart and Co in London, includes a portrait of Lord Palmerston, and records the arrival of The Mercury. Caselli established the first commercial fax network in 1865, which linked Paris to other French cities. This example is from the collection of Paul Gustave Froment, the French mechanical engineer and inventor who gave Caselli decisive help in developing his system; Emperor Napoleon III visited Froment's workshop on 10 May 1860 to observe a demonstration of the device, as a result of which Caselli gained Napoleon's support in future experiments in Paris.
A message, including a portrait of Lord Palmerston, transmitted using Caselli's pantelegraph, c.1863. Printed in blue on two leaves of paper (together 117 x 165mm), mounted on board, matted, framed, and glazed (frame opened). Provenance: Paul Gustave Froment (manuscript ticket mounted on the glass, and pencilled inscription on the print, both recording the gift).
AN ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION MADE BY PANTELEGRAPH, THE FIRST FUNCTIONAL FAX SYSTEM, and an important landmark in the transmission of images at a distance. Caselli's pantelegraph was made of cast iron and stood more than 2 meters high. The original message was inscribed in non-conducting ink on a sheet of tin, which was in turn fixed to a curved metal plate and scanned by a needle three lines to a millimetre. The signals were carried by telegraph and marked out on paper treated with potassium ferro-cyanide. Very accurate clocks controlling pulleys connected to the needles on both ends were used to ensure that these scanned at the same rate -- effective synchronization had been a major stumbling block in pervious attempts. This pantelegraphic transmission was probably sent in 1863 when Caselli was in England for four months, having received permission to test a line between London and Liverpool. The message, sent from Captain Thomas Hall in Liverpool to Richard Smart and Co in London, includes a portrait of Lord Palmerston, and records the arrival of The Mercury. Caselli established the first commercial fax network in 1865, which linked Paris to other French cities. This example is from the collection of Paul Gustave Froment, the French mechanical engineer and inventor who gave Caselli decisive help in developing his system; Emperor Napoleon III visited Froment's workshop on 10 May 1860 to observe a demonstration of the device, as a result of which Caselli gained Napoleon's support in future experiments in Paris.
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