This is not a book about the science of telegraphy! John Joseph Fahie was a telegrapher and engineer who knew the technology of the mid-19th century quite well, but what he did in his writing was dig into the lives and activities of the people behind the technology. Quoting at length from books and newspapers no longer as readily available to modern historical researchers, and incorporating personal correspondence from and between these early pioneers, he paints a vast mural revealing not only the route to the discoveries themselves, but also the rivalries between different factions who thought their particular techniques should dominate the whole field.

REPRINT. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: LONDON : E. & F.N. SPON, 1884.