History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network
Bibliography
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History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications |
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Bibliography |
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The best introductory book on the Atlantic Cable is Bern Dibner’s The Atlantic Cable, published by the Burndy Library in 1959. Dibner was an electrical engineer who owned a very successful manufacturing business, and assembled a major collection of books on the history of science and technology. In his extensive collection were many of the source materials on the Atlantic Cable listed below, which formed the basis of his book. Dibner’s book can often be found on the book search services in the $30 range, and is highly recommended. Dibner's Burndy Library also published several other books of interest to electrical engineering historians. Full-page images of Dibner’s The Atlantic Cable are available on line at the Smithsonian Institution's website. Of the books below, Dugan’s Great Iron Ship is easily found, and includes a lot of information on the Great Eastern’s part in laying the 1866 cable. McDonald's A Saga of the Seas is also fairly easy to acquire, and is an excellent popularization of the Atlantic Cable story. Samuel Carter's 1968 biography, Cyrus Field: Man of Two Worlds, is also readily available. Kenneth Haigh's Cableships and Submarine Cables is an invaluable reference to the entire history of cable-laying, containing details of almost every cable company, cableship, and cables laid, from the 1840s to 1977. Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction writer and inventor of the geosynchronous communications satellite, wrote Voice Across the Sea in 1958 to commemorate the centenary of the first Atlantic Cable; it's a very readable and informative look at 100 years of communications. There is a second edition with further history through 1974, and his 1992 book, How The World Was One, brings the story into the fiber optic cable era. More recent books on cable history include Gillian Cookson's The Cable: The Wire That Changed The World, Chester G. Hearn's Circuits in the Sea: The Men, the Ships, and the Atlantic Cable, and John Steele Gordon's A Thread Across the Ocean. W.H. Russell’s The Atlantic Telegraph, published in 1865, is a fabulous book on the subject, illustrated with 26 color lithographs, but is hard to find and costs upwards of $1,000. Fortunately, the book has been reprinted recently; See the Current Bibliography page for more information. The books by Cyrus Field’s brother, Henry, and his daughter, Isabella Field Judson (see below), are also worth reading, although both have a definite Victorian literary style, and turn up not infrequently on the book search engines. Many book titles are linked to cover images or detail pages. Click on a book's title to see the additional material, or click here for the Images of Book Covers page. Some books of the cable era have advertisements in the back, which provide an interesting record of contemporary practice. Click here to see Cable Company Ads A number of these books have been reprinted by Ayer Company Publishers, and are available now or in the near future. Click here to see my pages on Ayer's current and forthcoming books. |
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Index to Sections |
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| Author | Title | Description | Ref. | |||
| HARRIS, Robert Dalton and DeBLOIS, Diane | An Atlantic Telegraph: The Transcendental Cable | Schoharie, NY: The Ephemera Society of America, Inc., 1994. 80 pp., quarto. | * 6-248 |
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| RONALDS, Sir Francis | Catalogue of Books and Papers Relating to Electricity, Magnetism, the Electric Telegraph, &c. including the Ronalds Library | London: E. & F.N. Spon, 1880. 564 pp. The catalogue contains over 13000 entries, comprising not only the books, pamphlets, and other publications in the Ronalds Library, but also the titles of all other works on the subject of Electricity, Magnetism, &c. which came to the notice of the compiler. Sir Francis Ronalds died in 1873, and the Ronalds Library,which comprises about 2000 volumes and 4000 pamphlets on electricity and magnetism, was transferred in 1876 to the Society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians (later the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and now the Institution of Engineering and Technology). |
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| SHIERS, George | Bibliography of the History of Electronics | Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1972. 323 pp. The original version of the volume following. |
* |
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| STERLING, Christopher H. and SHIERS, George | History of Telecommunications Technology - An Annotated Bibliography | Lanham, MD and
London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2000. xii + 333 pp. An essential work for the collector or researcher of communications history. Christopher Sterling has updated and more tightly focused George Shiers' pioneering 1972 bibliography of the communications field. The book has a comprehensive listing of submarine telegraphy source material from 1855 through today - technical books, company histories, biographies, magazine articles, websites. Other sections of the book include telephony, electromagnetic waves, radio, electron tubes, television, and newer media. Highly recommended. |
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| WEAVER, William D. | Catalogue of the Wheeler Gift of Books, Pamphlets and Periodicals in the Library of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers | New York: AIEE, 1909. 504 & 333 pp. The catalogue of the library of Josiah Latimer Clark, of Westminster, Eng., purchased in 1901 by Schuyler Skaats Wheeler, and presented by him to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Mr. Andrew Carnegie donated the fund to house, catalog and complete the collection. The collection was dispersed in 1995; part is now at the New York Public Library Rare Books Division, and part at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology. |
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| Submarine Cables and Cable Ships | ||||||
| Author | Title | Description | Ref. | |||
| No author listed | An Act to incorporate and regulate the Atlantic Telegraph Company, and to enable the Company to establish and work Telegraphs between Great Britain, Ireland and Newfoundland and for other Purposes |
London: 27 July 1857; folio, I6 pp. An issue of the original grant. The full text of the Act was reprinted in The Reports of the Committees of the Senate of the United States, 1858. The report of the Committee on the Judiciary, dated 9 June 1858, was in response to a memorial of the Magnetic Telegraph Company requesting the passage of a law to prohibit the establishment of the Atlantic Telegraph Company in the United States, and the response to this by the A.T. Company. |
* (PDF) |
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| ANDERSEN, Eva Wistoff, FRILANDER, Søren, & GØRICKE, Jan Hybertz: | Den store søslange (The Great Sea-Serpent) - Pictures from the infancy of telegraphy |
Copenhagen, Denmark: Post & Tele Museum, 2004. 90 pp. Danish and English text. Written to accompany the exhibition of 2004 at the Post & Tele Museum in Copenhagen and the corresponding web-exhibition, The Great Sea-Serpent traces the history of 150 years of telegraphic communications within Denmark, and in the wider context of worldwide links. |
* | |||
| ANDERSEN,Sir James | London: Waterlow & Sons, 1872. 121pp. Includes diagrams of cables from many manufacturers of the period. | * (PDF) 6-048 |
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| No author listed | The Atlantic Telegraph: Its History, From the Commencement of the Undertaking in 1854, to the Return of the Great Eastern in 1865 | London: Bacon & Co, 1865. 117 pp, 2 maps, foldout diagram of Great Eastern, four tipped-in photographs. Written at the conclusion of the unsuccessful expedition of 1865. A second edition was published in 1866 after the cable was successfully laid and the 1865 cable retrieved and completed. |
* 6-195 |
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| AVERY, John G. | Southampton, Beech Books 2004, 34pp. A short history of the cableships based at Turnchapel, Plymouth. | * |
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| BAINES, G.M. | Beginner's Manual of Submarine Cable Testing and Working | New York: The Electrician Printing & Publishing Co., 1903. 217pp. Image courtesy of Jim Kreuzer |
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| BALDWIN, Maurice S. |
Image courtesy of Jim Kreuzer |
Montreal: Dawson Brothers, 1877. 41 pp. From a contemporary review: "Canon Baldwin, Rector of the Parish of Montreal, and Canon of the Cathedral. in this clear and impressive discourse, beautifully works out the illustration of human sin resembling a break in the cable of connection between earth and heaven, and the work of Christ viewed as a rejoining of the cable." |
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| BELL, James & WILSON, S. | Submarine Telegraphy: and other papers | London: "Electricity", 1895. 63pp. A practical book for practical men. Info & image courtesy of Jim Kreuzer. |
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| BEAUCHAMP, Ken | History of Telegraphy | London: Institution of Electrical Engineers, 2001. 413pp. From mechanical systems through landline and submarine cables to wireless telegraphy. An excellent overview with much historical material and a detailed bibliography for each chapter. |
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| BLACK, Robert M. | The History of Electric Wires and Cables | London: Peter Peregrinus Ltd., 1983. Historical development of both communications and power cables. | * 3-026 |
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| BLAKE-COLEMAN, B.C. | Copper Wire and Electrical Conductors - The Shaping of a Technology | Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1992. 284 pp. A comprehensive history of copper wire in its role as a conductor, with much information on its use in submarine telegraphy. Includes an extensive bibliography. | * | |||
| BLUNDELL, J. Wagstaff | Manual of Submarine Telegraph Companies | First edition: London: Bixon and Arnold, 1871. 64pp. Second edition: London: Published by the Author, 1872. 115pp. Financial and technical details of the companies. |
* (PDF) 6-208 |
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| BODIE, James | Observations on Telegraphic Cables | Devonport: (ca. 1858). 9 pp. A proposal for yarn-covered cable by one who served in the first expedition. | ||||
| BRANAGAN, J.G. | The Story of the Bass Strait Submarine Telegraph Cable 1859-1967 | Launceston, Tasmania: Regal Publications, 1987. 44 pp. The history of the first submarine cable in the southern hemisphere. | * | |||
| BRETON, Philippe, and De ROCHAS, Alphonse B. | Théorie Mécanique des Télégraphes Sous-Marins | Paris: Dalmont et Dunod, 1859. 4, 72 pp., plates. | ||||
| BRETT, John W. | On the Origin and Progress of the Oceanic Electric Telegraph | London: 1858. 104 pp. A documentation of events from 1845 to 1858. Another edition in the same year was expanded to 175 pp. | 6-174 | |||
| BRIGGS, Charles F., and MAVERICK, Augustus | The Story of the Telegraph and a History of the Great Atlantic Cable |
New York: Rudd & Carleton.1858. 255 pp. A clear, contemporary narrative reproducing important records. | * 6-176 |
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| BRIGHT, Charles | Imperial Telegraphic Communication | London: P.S. King & Son, 1911. 212 pp. Much information on the All-British globe-circling telegraph network. | * 6-148 |
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| BRIGHT, Charles | Submarine Telegraphs, Their History, Construction and Working The full text of this book is available at Google Books |
London: Corsby Lockwood, 1898. 4to, 38. 744 pp.. plates. An elaborate, technical exposition by the son of Charles T. Bright. | * 6-218 |
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| " " | The Story of the Atlantic Cable | New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1903. 222 pp. A clear account condensed from the above. | * 6-219 |
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| " " | Submarine Telegraphy | London: 1907; 31 pp. A historical review. | ||||
| BRIGHT, Edward B. | The Electric Telegraph by Dr. Lardner | London: 1867; 10, 272 pp., 140 figs. | * (PDF) 6-026 |
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| BRINE, Capt. Frederic | Map of Valentia and the Atlantic Telegraph | London: 1859. Folio. Shows the positions of ships and cables of 1857, 1858. | ||||
| CAMERON, Duncan H. | Submarine Telegraphy | Scranton: International Textbook Company, c.1927. 83 pp, diagrams. Bluebooks 492. | ||||
| CASPER, Louis | Telephone and Telegraph Cables | Scranton: International Textbook Company, 1928. 51 + 67 pp. Has a short but detailed section (with diagrams) on the 1921 Key West to Havana telephone cables, and a note on the New York to Azores link, the first permalloy cable placed in service. | * | |||
| van CHOATE, S.F. | Ocean Telegraphing |
Cambridge, (Massachusetts): Riverside Press, 1865. 41 pp. By a proponent of a transatlantic route via Bermuda. | * |
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| CLARK, Latimer | Experimental Investigation of the Laws which Govern the Propagation of the Electric Current in Long Submarine Telegraph Cables | London: 1861; 50 pp., folio, plates. Evidence before the Joint Committee of the Government and the Atlantic Telegraph Company. | 6-188 | |||
| CLARKE, A. C. | Voice Across the Sea | New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958. 15, 208 pp. An account of submarine telegraph and telephone lines. Harper & Row: 1974, second edition, updated and revised. |
* 6-222 |
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| CLARKE, A.C. | How the World Was One: Beyond the Global Village | New York: Bantam Books, 1992. 296 pp. A further updating of Voice Across the Sea, including sections on satellites and fiber optic cables. | * 3-027 |
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| Clarkson Research Services Limited | Clarkson Research Services Limited, 2006, 88 pp, A4 softcover. See full review.
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| CLAYTON, Howard | Atlantic Bridgehead | London: The Garnstone Press, 1968.192 pp. Includes a 75-page section on the Atlantic Cable. | * 6-223 |
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| COATES, Vary T. and FINN, Bernard | A Retrospective Technology Assessment: Submarine Telegraphy | San Francisco: San Francisco Press, Inc., 1979. A historical case study of the Atlantic cable of 1866, and its consequences on society. | * 6-224 |
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| COOKSON, Gillian | The Cable: The Wire That Changed The World Available in the USA from amazon.com, or order through History Bookshop in the UK. |
Stroud: Tempus Publishing, 2003.160 pp. + 32 pp. color plates. An excellent new account of the cable story. See full review. |
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| CORNELL, Alonzo B. | History of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph | Schenectady: 1894. 24 pp. A pamphlet of the paper presented by Cornell at Union College on Jan 19, 1894. | 6-084 |
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| CROUCH, Archer P. | On a Surf-bound Coast: or, Cable-Laying in the African Tropics |
London: Sampson Low, 1887. 338pp + 32pp catalog. An account of three months on a cable laying ship. Ship and company names have been changed by the author, but history shows that the company was the West African Telegraph Company, promoted by the India Rubber, Gutta Percha, and Telegraph Works Company. The book describes the laying of cable from Bathurst in Portuguese Guinea to Loanda in 1885-6. The cableships were Dacia, Silvertown, and Buccaneer. The author also wrote a sequel, Glimpses of Feverland, published in 1889, describing the final three months of his voyage. The Gulf of Guinea Islands' Biodiversity Network has more information on Crouch and his books. |
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| D’ALIGNY, H. F.Q. | Outline of the History of the Atlantic Cables | Washington, Government Printing Office, 1868. 13 pp. A review by the U.S. Commissioner to the Paris Universal Exposition of 1867. | * | |||
| DAVIS, L.J. | Fleet Fire: Thomas Edison and the Pioneers of the Electric Revolution |
New York: Arcade Publishing, 2003. 350pp. A comprehensive and entertaining history of electricity, including the stories of Morse and Field and the Atlantic Cable. | * | |||
| DE GIULI, Italo | Submarine Telegraphy - A Practical Manual | London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., 1932. | * 6-226 |
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| DIBNER, Bern | The Atlantic Cable | Norwalk: Burndy Library, 1959. An excellent overview of the story of the Atlantic Cable. View the entire text of the book on line at the Smithsonian Institution website. |
* 6-227 |
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| DODD, George | Railways, Steamers and Telegraphs | London: W. & R. Chambers, 1867. 7, 326 pp. A concise resume of the inter-woven story. | * 6-040 |
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| Du MONCEL, Th. | Notice sur le Cable Transatlantique | Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1869. 46 pp., 25 figs. The cables’ electrical characteristics. | * (copy) |
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| DWYER, John B. | To Wire theWorld Perry M. Collins and the North Pacific Telegraph Expedition |
Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2001. 183pp. From the author's preface: "My goal was to tell the story of this nineteenth-century, multicountry, trans-Pacific adventure in its entirety, with a primary focus on first-hand accounts of experiences in British Columbia, Russian America, Siberia, and at sea, by those who participated in exploring, surveying, and building Western Union's North Pacific telegraph line. | * | |||
| ELWOOD, Tony | Ships of the Line: A History of Cableships |
London, British Telecomms PLC, 1986, 32 pp. Written to accompany an exhibition at the Telecom Technology Showcase, London, January 15th - May 30th 1986. | * 6-228 |
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| FIELD, Cyrus W. | The Atlantic Telegraph | London: 1856. 20 pp. The original prospectus. | ||||
| " " | Prospects of the Atlantic Telegraph | New York: 1862. 15 pp. A paper read before the American Geographical and Statistical Society. | * (copy) |
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| " " | The Atlantic Cable Projectors 1854-1895 | New York: Press of the Chamber of Commerce, 1895. 35 pp. A report of the session of May 23d, 1895, in which the painting by Daniel Huntington was presented to the Chamber of Commerce. | * | |||
| FIELD, Henry M. | History of the Atlantic Telegraph |
New York: Charles Scribner & Co., 1866 (367 pp.); 1867, (438 pp.); 1869, (437 pp.). The early editions. | * 6-201 |
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| " " | The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph | London: Scribners, 1892, also 1893. 9, 415 pp., portrait, figures. This volume provided the main source of the data used in Dibner's monograph; it is a revised version of the author's History of the Atlantic Telegraph, above. |
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| FINN, Bernard | Submarine Telegraphy: The Grand Victorian Technology |
London, HMSO (Science Museum), 1973, 48 pp. | * 6-229 |
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| FORESTIER-WALKER, E.R. | A History of the Wire Rope Industry of Great Britain | Federation of Wire Rope Manufacturers of Great Britain, 1952. 162 pp. Some useful background material on the wire rope companies which became the first manufacturers of submarine cables. Click here to read my article on this topic. See also these books: 200 Years of Richard Johnson & Nephew The Iron Masters of Penns Thomas Bolton & Sons in the Company Histories section below |
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| GARNHAM, Capt. S. A. and HADFIELD, Robert L. | The Submarine Cable: The Story of the Submarine Telegraph Cable from its Invention down to Modern Times | London: Sampson, Low, Marston & Co. Ltd., ca. 1934. 12, 242 pp.; photos and figs. Cable history, cable ships, cable laying and repair. 16 pages of photographs and illustrations. | * 6-231 |
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| GARRATT, G. R. M. | One Hundred Years of Submarine Cables | London: Science Museum, 1950. 8, 60 pp. | * 6-232 |
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| GISBORNE, F.N. | Automatic and Multiplex Telegraphy | Trans. Royal Soc. of Canada, 1891. 4to.; 5 pp., plate. By the man who started it all. Victoria University, Toronto, has the Gisborne Archive |
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| GOLDSMID, Sir Frederick John | Telegraph and Travel: A Narrative of the Formation and Development of Telegraphic Communication Between England and India, Under the Orders of Her Majesty's Government, with Incidental Notices of the Countries Traversed by the Lines | London, Macmillan, 1874. 673 pp. including 3 maps, 2 folding, errata slip, 60pp. publishers' catalogue at end. | * (PDF) 6-153 |
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| GORDON, John Steele | A Thread Across the Ocean | New York: Walker, 2002. 240pp. A new account of the early cable history. | * | |||
| No author listed | Great North Atlantic Telegraph Route | London: 1866. 48 pp. A prospectus favoring the Iceland, Greenland route. | ||||
| GRISCOM, George | The telegraph cable. Historical view of the art of electro-magnetic telegraphing in connection with the telegraph cable, and its insulation by gutta percha. |
Philadelphia: King & Baird, 1867. 40pp. An argument addressed to the U.S. Senate Committee on patents, etc., by George Griscom. In answer to the arguments filed on behalf of G.B. Simpson's claims. A long-running dispute on US cable insulation patent claims. |
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| HAIGH, K.R. | Cableships and Submarine Cables | London: Adlard Coles, 1968. 416 pp. A historical survey of cable ships and cable companies, from the 1840s to the 1960s. Second edition, London: Standard Telephones & Cables Limited, 1978. 454pp. Some corrections to the first edition, and updated through 1977. |
* 6-234 |
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| HEARN, Chester G. | Circuits in the Sea: The Men, the Ships, and the Atlantic Cable |
Westport, Praeger Publishers 2004, 280pp. A detailed chronology of the Atlantic cable history with extensive notes and bibliography. See full review. |
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| HIGGINSON, Lieutenant Francis | The ocean, its unfathomable depths and natural phenomena: comprising authentic narratives and strange reminiscences of enterprise, delusion, and delinquency: with the voyage and discoveries of Her Majesty's Ship "Cyclops" | London, Edward Stanford, 1857 |
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| HOSKIAER, Capt. V. | A Guide for the Electric Testing of Telegraph Cables | London: E. & F.N. Spon, 1873. 54pp, 10 figures. Second edition 1879. 72 pp, 11 figures. Testing during fabrication, installation, and in fault. The author was a member of the Royal Danish Engineers. | * (PDF) 6-049 |
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| " " | Laying and Repairing of Electric Telegraph Cable | London: Spon, 1878. 8, 71 pp. | * (PDF) 6-061 |
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| HOYT, Franklin Kaye | The French Atlantic Cable 1869 | Duxbury: 1982. 25 pp.. Published by the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society and may be ordered through the Society's website. | * | |||
| ITU | Nomenclature des câbles formant le réseau sous-marin du globe. Dressée d'après des documents officiels par le Bureau international de l'Union télégraphique. |
Berne: Bureau international de l'Union télégraphique (ITU), 1910. 68 pp. 10th edition. The "Berne List". Nomenclature of the cables forming the underwater network of the globe. Drawn up according to official documents by the International Telegraphic Union. A list of the world's submarine cables. Image courtesy of Allan Green. |
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| JENKIN, Fleeming | Report on Electrical Instruments | (London: 1862): 54 pp. The instruments at the International Exhibition of 1862. | ||||
| JOHNSON, George, Ed. | The All Red Line - The Annals and Aims of The Pacific Cable Project | Ottawa: James Hope & Sons, 1903. 486 pp. | * 6-220 |
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| KIEVE, Jeffrey.L. | Electric Telegraph - A Social and Economic History | Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1973. A history of the British telegraph industry, with a chapter on the Atlantic cable. | * 6-162 |
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| No author listed | The Landing of the French Atlantic Cable at Duxbury, Mass., July, 1869
The book has an interesting inscription on the endpaper: "Saml. Lossing, Duxbury. I was present at the landing of the Cable and assisted in taking it on shore. S. Lossing. |
Boston: Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers, 1869. 57 pp., 6 tipped in photographs. Images courtesy of the Ken Rosen Image Archive |
* (PDF) |
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| LISTER, Raymond | Private Telegraph Companies of Great Britain and Their Stamps | Cambridge: The Golden Head Press Ltd., 1961. 58pp. Includes a useful history of each company, together with details of the stamps. | * | |||
| McCARTHY, Michael, GALGAY, Frank, OKEEFE, Jack | The Voice of Generations. A History of Communications in Newfoundland | St. John's: Robinson-Blackmore, 1994. A history from the first telegraph line to the present time. | * | |||
| MACOMBER, George S. | Modern Land And Submarine Telegraphy | Chicago: American Technical Society, 1914. 89 pp. 59 illus. A brief up-to-date treatise on the electric telegraph, including the development of modern methods and equipment. | * |
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| McCLENACHAN, Charles T. | New York: Edmund Jones, 1863. 4, 282 pp. A detailed account of the 1858 New York celebration. | * 6-193 |
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| MANN, Robert. J. | The Atlantic Telegraph: A History of Preliminary Experimental Proceedings and a Descriptive Account of the Present State and Prospects of the Undertaking | London: Jarrold and Sons, July 1857. 4, 70 pp. A prospectus of the experiments and plans of the company. Images courtesy of Jim Kreuzer. |
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| No author listed | Manual No. 3. Technical Equipment of the Signal Corps | Washington: Government Printing Office, 1917. | * | |||
| MARCOARTU, Arturo de | Universal Telegraphic Enterprise. Telegraphic Submarine Lines between Europe and America, and the Atlantic and Pacific | New York: 1863; 55 pp.; map. A proposal to girdle the globe with cables. | 6-192 |
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| MARLAND, E.A. | Early Electrical Communication | London: Abelard-Schuman Ltd, 1964. A history of electrical communication from the invention of the telegraph through the telephone, with a good section on submarine telegraphy. | * 3-043 |
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| MAVER Jr., William | American Telegraphy & Encyclopedia of the Telegraph | New York: Maver Publishing Company, 1912. 563 pp. Reprinted 1997 by Lindsay Publications Inc. Perhaps the best single book on telegraphy in general; includes a chapter on submarine telegraphy. | * |
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| MERRETT, John | Three Miles Deep | London: Hamish Hamilton, 1958. 191 pp.; 9 illustrations. The story of the transatlantic cables by a cable-man who spent 23 years in transatlantic telegraphy. | * 6-240 |
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| MOLL, O | Die Untersee-Kabel in Wort und Bild | Cologne, Germany: Westdeutscher Schriftenverein, 1904. Images courtesy of Bob Voss. |
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| MOYER, Claire B. | Ocean Cable Lore | New York: Heath Cote Publishing Co., 1974. 58pp. A brief survey of current cable-laying procedures, with many illustrations. | * 6-241 |
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| MULLALY, John | A Trip to Newfoundland: Its Scenery and Fisheries: With an Account of the Laying of the Submarine Telegraph Cable | New York: T.W. Strong, 1855. 108pp. The first book on what would become the Atlantic Cable project. | * 6-169 |
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| MULLALY, John | The Laying of the Cable, or the Ocean Telegraph |
New York: D. Appleton, 1858. 329 pp. A detailed report of the 1857 and 1858 cables by the correspondent of the New York Herald, on board the Niagara. | * 6-178 |
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| NAIR, C.N.N. | The Story of India's Overseas Communications | Bombay: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd., 1988. 199 pp. A general historical survey. with a small amount of information on cables. | * | |||
| NEERING, Rosemary | Continental Dash - The Russian-American Telegraph | Ganges, British Columbia: Horsdal & Schubart, 1989. xii + 233 pp. The history of the unsuccessful competitor to the Atlantic cable. | * 6-137 |
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| NEWALL, R. S. | Facts and Observations Relating to the Invention of the Submarine Cable (click on title to see full text) |
London: E & F.N. Spon, 1882. 8 pp. A case for priority in the use of gutta-percha covered cable in the Dover-Calais, 1851 line. See also On Submarine Electric Telegraphs, by F.R. Window, below. |
* (copy) |
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| OSLIN, George P. | The Story of Telecommunications | Macon: Mercer University Press, 1992. 507 pp. Oslin, (1899-1996), was involved in telecommunications for many years, and personally spoke to Thomas Edison, to Martin Cahoon (who was on the Great Eastern's Atlantic Cable laying voyage), to Morse's grand-daughter, and many others. An excellent overview of the field, currently available in paperback. | * 3-048 |
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| PARKINSON, J.C. | The Ocean Telegraph to India:
A Narrative and a Diary
Engravings of Daniel Gooch and John Pender |
Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood, 1870. 328pp. An account of the Great Eastern's laying of the cable from Bombay to Aden. | * 6-207 |
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| PRESCOTT, George B. | History, Theory and Practice of the Electric Telegraph | Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1866. 508 pp. Reprinted 1972 by Frank Jones, available from Artifax Books. Another excellent single-volume reference to telegraphy, with two chapters on submarine cables. | * 6-031 |
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| No author listed | London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1861. Folio; 44, 520 pp.; plates. Testimony of cable and telegraph experts during Dec. 1859 to Sept. 1860. The list of witnesses is a who's who of the cable industry, and the volume contains much primary source material on the early cable laying attempts. Page images of the report had been available on line, courtesy of the British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service (BOPCRIS), but are no longer accessible. However I have tabulated the Index to Evidence (see link to left), which is a useful guide to the main content of the Report. |
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| ROWETT, W. | The Ocean Telegraph Cable: Its Construction, the Regulation of its Specific Gravity, and Submersion Explained | London: Sampson Low, Son & Marston, 1865. 125 pp.. plates. The case for hemp cable covering. Image courtesy of Bob Voss |
* (PDF) 6-196 |
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| RUNGE, Peter K. and TRISCHITTA, Patrick R., Eds. | Undersea Lightwave Communications | New York: IEEE Press, 1986. 621 pp. An early book on fiber optic submarine cable technology. The editors have compiled 43 technical articles on all aspects of undersea fiber optic cables. | * | |||
| RUSSEL, Major Edgar | Manual No. 4. Handbook of Submarine Cables of the U.S. Signal Corps | Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905. | * | |||
| RUSSEL, Florence Kimball | A Woman's Journey through the Philippines: On a Cable Ship that Linked Together the Strange Lands Seen en Route Images of the Title Page and Map |
Boston: L.C. Page & Company, 1907. 270 pp. Folding map, 40 plates. The c. 1902 cable-laying voyage of the US Army's cableship Burnside, by the wife of Signal Corps Major Edgar Russel (see his book above). The book is largely a travelogue of the Philippine Islands, but contains some interesting descriptions of cable-laying. From the introduction: "Life on a cable-ship would be a lotus-eating dream were it not for the cable." |
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| RUSSELL, W.H. | The Atlantic Telegraph | London: Day & Son, (1865). 4to; 4, 117 pp. With 26 magnificent lithographs. One of the prime books, especially in describing the 1865 expedition. | * 6-197 |
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| SABINE, Robert | The Electric Telegraph | London: Virtue Brothers & Co., 1867. 12mo., 428 pp. The electrical equipment. | * (PDF) 6-042 |
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| SABINE, Robert | The History and Progress of the Electric Telegraph with Descriptions of some of the Apparatus | London: Virtue & Co., 1869, 14, 280 pp. Second edition of the above book, "with additions". |
* (PDF) 6-042 |
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| SALVADOR, René | Cabliers (Cableships) |
(France), Les Editions Chourgnoux, 1991. 32 x 27 cm, 175 pp. A large format book on the French cable industry, with text in French and English and photographs by Jean-Marie Chourgnoux and Patrick Godiniaux | * | |||
| (SAWARD, George) | Deep Sea Telegraphs; Their Past History and Future Progress being A Series of Articles Recently Published in the “Mechanics’ Magazine” and now Revised and Enlarged by the Author. |
London: 1861; 48 pp. A review by the Secretary to the Atlantic Telegraph Company, describing the failings of earlier cables and their promoters and proposing methods of improvement. Click on the title for the full text. |
* (copy) 6-189 |
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| SAWARD, George | The Trans-Atlantic Submarine Telegraph: A Brief Narrative of the Principal Incidents in the History of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Compiled from Authentic and Official Documents by the Late George Saward Secretary to the Company | London: Printed for private circulation, 1878; 4, 80 pp. A keen and factual account. Click on the title for the full text. |
* 6-210 |
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| SCHELLEN, Dr. Thomas Joseph Heinrich | Das Atlantische Kabel (The Atlantic Cable: its Manufacture, Laying, and Working) |
Braunschweig, Germany: 1867. 168 pp., 60 illustrations. Book image courtesy of Jim Kreuzer |
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| SCHENCK, Howard H. | The World's Submarine Telephone Cable Systems
(OT Contractor Report 75-2) |
Washington, Government Printing Office: 1975. 291 pp. A survey of repeatered submarine telephone cables in service as of 1974, created for the US Department of Commerce, Office of Telecommunication. First edition. A second edition was published in 1980, and a third in 1990. |
* 7-121 |
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| SCOTT, R. Bruce | Gentlemen on Imperial Service | Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1994. 131 pp. A Story of the Trans-Pacific Telecommunications Cable, told in their own words by those who served. | * 6-243 |
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| SELWYN, Capt. J.H. | Explanation of the Floating Cylinders for Laying Telegraphic Submarine Cables | London: T. Piper, c. 1860. 18pp. Info & image courtesy of Jim Kreuzer. |
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| SHAFFNER, Taliaferro P. | Memorial of Tal. P. Shaffner of Kentucky, praying for an amendment of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1857, entitled "An act to expedite telegraphic communication for the uses of the government in its foreign intercourse," so that the subsidy granted by the said act shall be general in its application to all Atlantic ocean telegraph lines. | Washington, DC: 35th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Mis. Doc No. 263, 1858. 46 pp. disbound. Shaffner planned a northern overland/submarine telegraph route in competition to Field's proposal, and was attempting to get the US government to fund it. | * | |||
| SHAFFNER, Taliaferro Preston. | The Telegraph Manual: A Complete History and Description of the Semaphoric, Electric and Magnetic Telegraphs of Europe, Asia, Africa and America, Ancient and Modern. | New York: Pudney & Russell, 1859; 851 pp., portraits. A technical manual by the proponent of the Northern telegraph route. Contains a good overview of the state of submarine telegraphy at the time of publication. | * |
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| SHIMURA, Seiichi., Ed. | International Submarine Cable Systems | Tokyo: KDD Engineering and Consulting, Inc., 1984. 509pp. A text on modern submarine cable systems. | * 7-153 |
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| SIEMENS, C. William | The Scientific Works of C. William Siemens |
London: John Murray, 1869, two volumes. Vol. II contains several papers on telegraphy and cables | * (PDF) |
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| SIMONTON, J. W., and FIELD, Cyrus W. | Atlantic Cable Mismanagement | New York: 1871. 24 pp. About favoritism in scheduling messages. | 6-209 | |||
| SMITH, Willoughby | A Résumé of the Earlier Days of Electric Telegraphy | London: 1881. 56 pp. In English and French, by a participant of the 1865 and 1866 expeditions. | 6-214 | |||
| " " | London: J.S. Virtue & Co., 1891. 4to.; 13, 390 pp., plates. Reprinted New York, 1974, Arno Press. | * 6-216 |
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| SOLOMON, Louis | Voiceway to the Orient | New York: McGraw Hill, 1964. 64pp. The laying of the first US - Japan Telephone Cable. Some good photographs of cable-laying equipment, and a prescient quote from 1964: "Some day, in the as yet inestimable future, a laser beam may simultaneously transmit more messages than all existing wires and radio waves put together". | * 7-154 |
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| STEPHENS, J.H., Ed. | Text Book on Telegraph Cable Engineering, Volume II: Construction and Maintenance of Submarine Cables and Land Lines | London: Eastern Associated Telegraph Companies, 1927. 812 pp. Includes chapters on cable manufacture, laying, and repairing. | * | |||
| SUTTON, Richard (Reporter) | The Arguments in Favor of the International Submarine Telegraph in the Senate of the United States | Washington: Printed at the Congressional Globe Office, 1857. 16pp. Info and image courtesy of Jim Kreuzer. |
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| TARRANT, D.R. | Atlantic Sentinel. Newfoundland's Role in Transatlantic Cable Communication | St. John's, Newfoundland: Flanker Press, 1999. The history of submarine cable communications in Newfoundland from 1856 to the present. | * | |||
| THOMSON, William | Atlantic Telegraph Cable - The Forces Concerned in the Laying and Lifting of Deep-sea Cables |
London: William Brown, 1866. 12 pp. An address delivered before the Royal Society of Edinburgh, December 18th, 1865. Another edition of 31 pp. includes appendices. Image courtesy of Bob Voss |
* 6-203 |
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| TUCKER, Eleanor M. | Laying the First Deep Sea Cable Between Cuba and Key West | Los Angeles: Bedrock Press, N.D. (author's inscription dated 1954). 53pp. The author's father was a 14-year-old cabin boy on the 1867 Dacia cable expedition between Havana, Cuba, and Key West, Florida, and later told his story to his children. His daughter, Eleanor Tucker (who wrote Gospel stories under the name "Aunt Eleanor") re-tells his experiences in this book for young people. She intersperses stories of the cable laying with religious homilies, but if one can ignore the heavy-handed moralistic interjections this short work does present an interesting picture of life aboard an early cable ship. |
* | |||
| (WEST, Charles) | The Story of My Life. By the Submarine Telegraph | London: C. West, 1859. 96 pp. An anonymous, biting review of the early history of submarine telegraphy. Images courtesy of Bob Voss |
* 6-184 |
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| WHITEHOUSE, Edward O. W. | Reply to the Statement of the Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company | London: 1858. 27 pp. Stamp, Carlton Club. A defense after his discharge by the company. | ||||
| WILKINSON, H. D. | Submarine Cable Laying and Repairing | London: "The Electrician" Printing and Publishing Company Ltd.,1896 first edition. 15, 406 pp. 1908 second edition, 557pp. |
* 6-217 |
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| WINDOW, Frederick Richard | On Submarine Electric Telegraphs | London: Institute of Civil Engineers, 1857. 40 pp. Principally an engineering discussion of the early cables, but raising questions of priority, later rebutted by R. S. Newall. See Newall's Facts and Observations Relating to the Invention of the Submarine Cable, above. | * |
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| WINDOW, Frederick Richard | The Atlantic, and South Atlantic, Telegraphs | London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1859. 32pp + map. A pamphlet published in February 1859 after the failure of the 1858 cable, written by "A Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers", revealed in the text as F.R. Window. While describing itself as an impartial review of possibilities for future cables, the pamphlet is, in fact, a proposal for a cable on the South Atlantic route. | * |
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| WINSECK, Dwayne R and PIKE, Robert M | Communication and Empire: Media, Markets, and Globalization, 1860-1930 | Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2007. 429 pp., softcover Available from amazon.com |
* |
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| WÜNSCHENDORFF, E. | Traité de Télégraphie Sous-marine | Paris: Librairie Polytechnique, 1888; 4to.; 14, 556 pp., 469 figs. A technical treatment for the engineer. Charles Bright's 1898 book Submarine Telegraphs was "founded in part" on this work. | * (PDF) |
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| Cable Meetings and Banquets | ||||||
| 1859 | Report of the proceedings of the meeting held at the Silvertown India rubber works: for the purpose of discussing the merits of S.W. Silver & Co.'s patent caoutchouc insulator, May 27, 1859 |
London: John K. Chapman and Company, 1859. 16 pp. Burndy Library, Smithsonian |
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| 1862 | Epitome of Proceedings at a Telegraphic Soirée, given by Samuel Gurney M.P., At 25, Prince's Gate, Hyde Park, March 26,1862. (click on title to see full text) |
London: printed by Thomas Piper, 1862. 16 pp. A gathering of scientists and statesmen listen to Mr. Field and others on the practicality of international telegraphy. | * (copy) |
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| 1863 | Report of Proceedings of a Meeting Called to Further the Enterprise of the Atlantic Telegraph held at the Hall of the Chamber of Commerce, New-York, Wednesday, March 4, 1863. Prepared under the Supervision of John Austin Stevens, Jr., Secretary of the Meeting. (click on title to see full text) |
New York: Chamber of Commerce, 1863. 26 pp. Plans for the 1865 cable. | * (copy) |
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| 1864 | Europe and America. (click on title to see full text) |
London: William Brown & Co., 1864. 32 pp. Printed for private circulation only. | * (PDF) |
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| 1866 | Report of the Proceedings at a Banquet given to Mr. Cyrus W. Field, by the Chamber of Commerce of New-York, at the Metropolitan Hotel, November 15th, 1866 | New York: 1866. 4to.; 94 pp.; includes facsimile invitation, speeches, guest list. | * | |||
| 1868 | Proceedings at the Banquet Held in Honour of Cyrus W. Field, Esq. of New York, in Willis's Rooms, London, on Wednesday, 1st July, 1868. Revised by the Speakers. | London: Metchim & Son, 1868. 80 pp.; includes Mr. Field’s reply to the honors paid him, telegraphic messages, and press reports of the banquet. | * | |||
| 1870 | Souvenir of the Inaugural Fete, In Commemoration of the Opening of Direct Submarine Telegraph with India | London: June 23rd, 1870. The souvenir book for the event held at John Pender's house. | * | |||
| 1872 | Proceedings at the Banquet, given by Mr. Cyrus W. Field, at the Palace Hotel, Buckingham Gate, London, on Thursday the 28th November, 1872. The day appointed by the President of the United States for the (click on title to see full text) |
London: R. Clay, Sons, and Taylor, 1872. 46pp. | * (PDF) |
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| 1873 | Europe and America. Report of the Proceedings at an Anniversary Banquet given by Mr. Cyrus W. Field, of New York at the Buckingham Palace Hotel, London, on Monday, the 10th March, 1873, in Commemoration of the Signature of the Agreement on the 10th of March, 1854, for the Establishment of a Telegraph across the Atlantic. (click on title to see full text) |
London: [Joseph Causton] 1873. 23pp. Although described as an anniversary banquet, the text makes it clear that this was an informal meeting of "The Globe Telegraph Company", an association of all the major figures in the cable industry which was intended to create a monopoly for the administration of worldwide cable communications. |
* (copy) |
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| 1879 | Ocean Telegraphy: The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary | New York: 1879. 64 pp. A celebration at Mr. Field’s home. | * |
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| 1885 | Twenty-Seventh Anniversary of The First Atlantic Cable. Mr. Cyrus W. Field's Banquet at the Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond, on August 5th, 1885 | London: 1886. Printed for Private Circulation; 32 pp.; wraps. | * | |||
| 1894 | Records of the Proceedings at Festivals Held in Connection with the Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of Submarine Telegraphic Communication with the Far East | London: privately printed, 1894. Proceedings of the banquet for Sir John Pender (16 Nov 1894); the dinner to the staffs of the companies (23 Nov 1894); and the dinner to the staff of the London station (1 Dec 1894). Pender's speech at the dinner includes some interesting reminiscences of the early days of the Atlantic Cable. |
* | |||
| Sermons on the Atlantic Cable | ||||||
| Author | Title | Description | Ref. | |||
| COPP, Joseph A., D.D. | Rev. Dr. Copp's Discourse on the Atlantic Telegraph |
Boston: T. R. Marvin & Son, 1858. 24 pp. | * |
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| GANNETT, Ezra S. | The Atlantic Telegraph: A Discourse Delivered in the First Church, August 8, 1858 |
Boston: Crosby, Nichols, and Company, 1858. 19 pp. | * |
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| SPRAGUE, William B., D.D. | Sermon Addressed to the Second Presbyterian Congregation, Albany, on Sunday morning, September 5, 1858, on the Completion of the Atlantic Telegraph |
Albany: Charles van Benthuysen, 1858. 32 pp. | * |
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| van RENSSELAER, Cortlandt | Signals from the Atlantic Cable |
Philadelphia: Joseph M. Wilson, 1858. 24 pp. |
* |
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| Biographies (alphabetical by subject) | ||||||
| Author | Title | Description | Ref. | |||
| BRIGHT, Charles | The Life Story of Sir Charles Tilston Bright, civil engineer, with which is incorporated the story of the Atlantic cable, and the first telegraph to India and the colonies | London: Archibald Constable & Co., 1898. 2 vols., 506 and 692 pp. First edition. The biography of the chief engineer of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, by his brother, Edward Brailsford Bright, and his son, Charles Bright. London: Archibald Constable & Co., 1908. 20, 478 pp. Second edition, revised and abridged. This edition eliminates the appendices and much detail on the telegraphs themselves; Bright's son is listed as the sole author. |
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| BROOKE Jr., George M. | John M. Brooke - Naval Scientist and Educator | Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1980. The biography of John M. Brooke, who was involved in the deep-sea sounding for the route of the 1857 Atlantic cable. | * | |||
| No author listed | The Story Of Cyrus Field - The Projector of The Atlantic Telegraph | London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1875 (reprinted 1877 and 1879). 120 pp. A brief biography of Field, descriptions of the cable-laying voyages from 1857 to 1866, and a three-page appendix of Field's speech at the Banquet given him in London on July 1st, 1868. | * 5-123 |
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| JUDSON, Isabella Field | Cyrus W. Field, His Life and Work | New York: Harper & Brothers, 1896. 8, 332 pp. A documented biography by the third of Mr. Field’s four daughters. | * 5-121 |
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| McDONALD, Philip B. | A Saga of the Seas | New York: Wilson-Erickson Inc., 1937. 10, 288 pp. The story of Cyrus Field and the cable from the historian’s point of view. | * 5-122 |
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| CARTER III, Samuel | Cyrus Field: Man of Two Worlds | New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1968. The most recent, comprehensive, biography of Cyrus W. Field. | * 5-120 |
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| GOOCH, Sir Daniel | Diaries of Sir Daniel Gooch, Baronet | London: Kegan Paul, 1892. 24, 254 pp.; 3 plates. With an introductory note by Sir Theodore Martin, K.C.B. Daniel Gooch, the first person to be knighted for his engineering works, supervised the Great Eastern's cable-laying voyages of 1865, 1866 and 1869. This edition is an edited version of Gooch's personal journal, diary, and memoirs (see below), and has about 150 pages on the Great Eastern and her cable-laying expeditions. | * | |||
| GOOCH, Sir Daniel | Sir Daniel Gooch - Memoirs & Diary | Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1972. 386 pp., 15 plates. This publication is the complete edition of the original manuscript of Gooch's memoirs and diaries, edited by Roger Burdett Wilson. Wilson notes that while his transcript of the diaries is complete, the 1892 book (above) has more detail on the cable-laying expeditions, taken from Gooch's daily journal, rather than the account from his memoirs used here. To clarify: Gooch kept a daily journal until approximately 1868; in 1867 he began writing his memoirs, covering the same events in somewhat less detail. On the completion of his memoirs, he began to keep a diary. |
* | |||
| PLATT, Alan | The Life and Times of Daniel Gooch | Gloucester: Alan Sutton, 1987. 217pp. Many illustrations; a well-annotated biography with chapters on the Great Eastern cable expeditions. | * | |||
| COOKSON, Gillian & HEMPSTEAD, Colin A. | A Victorian Scientist and Engineer: Fleeming Jenkin and the Birth of Electrical Engineering | |||||
