This is an old, old pamphlet about private line telegraphy. It
covers topics such as batteries, line sizes, learning Morse code,
abbreviations, and procedures. I cannot find anything that indicates a
publication date. There is reference to the telephone in the text
and on the inner back cover there is a list of books that were sold by
Manhattan Electric Supply Company (MESCO). Dolbear published a book as early as 1877 on
telephony ( http://www.telephonetribute.com/telephone_inventors.html).
However, X-rays weren't discovered until 1896 (there is a
book in the list by Meadowcraft on X-rays). Also wireless didn't get
popular until 1901 when Marconi did his trans-Atlantic work.
Since the text could have existed for a while with the cover updated to
reflect the latest offering, my guess is that this particular pamphlet
was published around 1905, but the text was probably first published in
the
1890s. (If you are interested in the history of international telegraphy,
this is a good resource:
https://www.hmy.com/under-the-atlantic-ocean-history-of-the-transatlantic-telegraph-cable/)
The specific key on board (KOB) described in the pamphlet is part of a
training kit called the "Eureka". It is described on page 37 and
38. This is an image of the KOB
described in the pamphlet. Another
view. Tom Perera's web site
has similar (or perhaps the same) KOBs (item 1834 is the MESCO). Apparently the kit also
had a crowfoot battery that I don't have.
The KOB and pamphlet
came to me from an older neighbor who got it from his dad.
Interestingly, that same neighbor spent W.W.II as a CW intercept
operator in
Morocco, listening in on Russian communications and typing it up on a
Cyrillic typewriter. I could never get him interested in amateur
radio.
Page 35 has a short list of abbreviations to use (including the
familiar 73, which is already plural and grates my nerves when someone
sends their 73s). That page also has tips on how to deal with
"cranky" or "mule" operators.
Cover
Inner cover
Title page
Table of Contents-page 3
Page 4-5
Page 6-7
Page 8-9
Page 10-11
Page 12-13
Page 14-15
Page 16-17
Page 18-19
Page 20-21 (relay)
Page 22-23
Page 24-25
Page 26-27
Page 28-29 (illustration)
Page 30-31
Page 32-33
Page 34-35
Page 36-37
Page 38-39 (illustration)
Page 40-41
Page 42
Diagram 15
Diagram 16-17
Diagram 18
Diagram 19
Diagram 20
Inner Back page