Matthew's Workbench » History http://www.matthewsworkbench.com Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:34:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How Telegrams Were Written in 1928 http://www.matthewsworkbench.com/telegrams-in-1928/ http://www.matthewsworkbench.com/telegrams-in-1928/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 13:41:06 +0000 Matthew Reed http://www.matthewsworkbench.com/telegrams-in-1928/ Have you every wondered about telegrams and the rules that were used to write one? Everything you need to know is contained in a 1928 booklet written by Nelson Ross called How To Write Telegrams Properly. It is a fascinating look at not just telegram rules, but also a historical snapshot of telegraph services in 1928. The many topics covered include:

  • How to Save Words
  • Tolls – How Computed
  • Extra Words and Their Avoidance
  • Collect Cards and Their Uses
  • Messages for Persons on Trains
  • How to Send Money by Telegraph
  • “Telegraphic Shopping” Service

The range of telegraph services available was quite impressive. I knew that it was possible send money by telegraph (think Western Union), but I didn’t know it was possible to send a telegram to a person on a train. The Telegraphic Shopping Service sounds like a 1920′s prototype for e-commerce. I wonder how far that idea developed.

This booklet is one of the many resources on The Telegraph Office, a site devoted to telegraphy, or as they put it:

A Tribute to Morse Telegraphy and Resource for Wire and Wireless Telegraph Key Collectors and Historians

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