On 5 August 1858, the Atlantic Telegraph Company, led by Cyrus Field (1819-1892), successfully laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean. Their success was short-lived owing to Wildman Whitehouse’s desire to apply excessive voltage to the cable which led to its ultimate destruction. On August 16, 1858, the first official telegram was delivered being a congratulatory message from Queen Victoria to the President of the United States, James Buchanan.
The next attempt to secure a transatlantic cable was not until 1865, when the Gutta Percha Company and Glass, Elliot and Company were merged to become the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Telcon). The NMM holds part of the company’s archive (TCM) and has interesting journal, diary, poems, hand- produced newspapers and telegrams for the SS Great Eastern, mostly as copies of the originals.
Extract from ‘The Great Eastern’s Entrance into Heart’s Content After letting go the End of the Atlantic Cable’ by George Colls Price [TCM/16/6]:
‘Success to the Great Eastern who did successfully lay
The telegraph that is working night and day
From her Gracious Majesty the Queen our message came
And President Johnson and Mr Suvard(?) the same
To Cyrus Field Esquire a vote of thanks and praise as loving hearts are able
For his skill and untiring zeal in laying the Atlantic cable.’
Setting off from the Nore on 24 June 1865, cable laying begins on 29 July. The project ends effectively after a series of rescue attempts to secure the cable, which snapped, becoming lost at a depth of 2000 fathoms on 31 July. In 1866 the cable was recovered under the Anglo-American Telegraph Company. On July 13, 1866 the Great Eastern started paying out cable and successfully completed her mission on 27 July with HMS Medway landing the shore end. The recovered cable was finally paid out and completed on 7 September 1866, resulting in two operational telegraph cable lines.
Extract from a poem by a signalman on board the SS Great Eastern [TCM/16/7(4)]:
‘Although small we care not at all
If our services prove true
We’ll sink all strife in this castle of life
While laying the cable through.’
The TCM collection contains a copy of the 27 July 1866 telegram which includes the Queen’s message, received on board the SS Great Eastern:
‘The Queen, Osborne, to the President of the United States, Washington. The Queen congratulates the President on the successful completion of an undertaking which she hopes may serve as an additional bond of union between the United States and England.’ [TCM/16/7(1)].
Mike (Manuscripts)
Avid readers of our blog may recall the post I wrote about cataloguing in closed week in which I mentioned development of a new web catalogue just for manuscripts. The beady-eyed among you may have already noticed the new links on the website (including to the right of this post) but for those who haven’t, we are pleased to announce the launch of the new Archive catalogue.
It can be used to search for over 65,000 catalogue records from the Museum’s archive and manuscript collections. You can browse by section of the catalogue (for example personal papers or business collections) or by collection title, do a quick keyword search or carry out a more advanced search.
Why have we made these changes? Well, the browse options are new and a great way to look through collections. It is now much easier to find and display catalogue records for manuscripts. One of the major developments is the hierarchical display of records which means you can see how records fit together in a collection. The other main reason for transferring all our records out of the Library catalogue and into a different database (MIMSY XG) is that now we can catalogue our archives according to an internationally recognised standard of archival description (ISAD(G)). This standard, used by archivists throughout the world, provides a consistent methodology for description and we have developed it further by writing new in-house cataloguing guidelines.
You will still see archive catalogue records within the Library catalogue as before, but please note that they are no longer up-to-date and will eventually be removed from view. Any new cataloguing we do, including what we did in closed week, will only show in the new catalogue.
You can still order items in advance using the ‘order in advance’ button in each catalogue record. The usual rules apply – up to three items can be ordered in advance on weekdays, more for a Saturday visit or if items are held off-site (this will be clearly displayed in the catalogue record as ‘Access conditions: 14 DAYS NOTICE REQUIRED FOR ACCESS’).
We are continuing to develop the new online catalogue (for example help text and tips will be added), add new records and improve existing entries. We will also be offering short introductory sessions about the new catalogue in the E-Library during September or October. If you would like to register your interest, or if you have any queries about the catalogue, please contact us by email at manuscripts@nmm.ac.uk.
Hannah, Archive and Manuscripts Manager
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Extracted from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the stories of 37 men and women remembered for lives spent on, over, beside, and under the sea. Arranged around an interactive map of the British Isles.
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Detailing the history of maritime archaeology in the bay of Galle in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately the unit was destroyed in the tsunami of 2004, and many of the artefacts displayed on this website were washed away. Details of the major shipwreck which the unit had already excavated fully and mapped, with pages describing the wrecking of the ship, thee Avondster, in 1659, others showing maps of the ship's remains, photographs of items salvaged and others still in place on the sea bed. With a good history of the East India company, and of trade in the East.
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Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, information on the battle, the role it played in the Second World War, personal memories of the battle, and an e-tour around, and history of, the Western Approaches building. The website contains a number of photographs and pictures, providing a lively and bright commentary to this most important of battles in World War Two.
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International Year of Astronomy 2009, marking 400 years since Galileo's first use of an astronomical telescope. Website aims 'to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.'
August’s item of the month is the illustrated diary of Alfred Withers, covering his voyage on the James Baines from Liverpool to Melbourne, Australia in 1857 (JOD/171).
This diary caught my eye when I was looking through some of the first items of the month published on the website. Despite being one of the Museum’s treasures, only a couple of brief paragraphs had been written about it. The diary had been about to be put into a display case so the author of the original article had only a very short time to look at it. I was delighted to discover that the diary had recently returned to our stores after being on display both here in the Museum and in galleries over in Australia. It is full of illustrations and the diary entries and descriptions are delightful.
Hannah (Archive and Manuscripts Manager)
During the period 2009 -12 there will be changes to operation of the Library due to redevelopment of the Museum’s South-West Wing. On completion, this wing will include a new and enhanced modern research and reading room, and greatly extended archive and library storage.
The South-West Wing at present houses a considerable quantity of this material, which must be moved off-site for the rebuilding work. The Caird Library will be entirely closed from early/mid-spring to early summer 2009, while this move takes place: exact dates will be confirmed as soon as possible.
When the Caird Library reopens in summer 2009, opening hours and days will temporarily change. We will then be open to readers by appointment only, Tuesday to Thursday, 10.00 – 16.45, and on the first Saturday of every month, 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.00 – 16.45. These altered opening times will continue until the new research and reading room comes into use in 2012.
From Caird Library re-opening in summer 2009, readers will need to order material in advance as well as making an appointment. This is because none of the archive and library collections will be on the main Museum site, except books shelved in the present reading room and rare books store. Further details on how to make appointments, requirements for advance ordering, and the number of items that can be requested at one time will also be widely publicised as soon as possible.
We are sorry for the inconvenience this will undoubtedly cause in the short term, but the long-term gains will be immeasurable. The South-West Wing project will provide entirely new, modern and extended library provision and vastly increase the proportion of the Museum’s paper-based collections of all sorts readily available to readers and users at all levels.
Eleanor (Head of Archive and Library)
