Set of 19th Century Pieces of Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
Date: 19th Century
PRICE: SOLD
Dimensions: W 13 cm Diameter 6,5 cm
This quirky set has eight pieces, some of them have labels on which dates and French words are visible but hard to read.
Dates vary: 1878, 1894, 1901 and 1902.
The oldest cables consist of copper wires (seven) covered with coats of gutta-percha (an Indonesian rubber-like material) wound with tarred hemp over which a sheath of iron wires was laid in spiral. The 'younger' cables consist of multiple covered copper wires and the 'youngest' 1902 one has multiple copper wires wrapped in cotton, captured in a thick lead pipe.
Needless to say these little pieces are heavy, imagine the original cable, being miles and miles on the bottom of the sea.
The first telegraph cable (1857) weighed nearly 550 kg/km (1.1 tons per nautical mile), but was relatively flexible and was able to withstand a pull of several tons.
The longest piece is this set is 13cm and the smallest 6cm long. The diameter of the thickest is 6.5cm and of the thinest 1cm.
This makes for a great addition to your historical curiosity collection.
For all inquiries and shipping quotes send me an email on: zuskorsten@gmail.com
