Connections and Isolation

Closer Together

Underwater cables allowed people to communicate almost instantaneously over thousands of miles. Newspapers could report on events from around the world within hours. By the 1920s, with the help of early fax machines, papers could even print photos of those events at the same time. Cable operators, however, saw only a stream of dots and dashes that they received from one place and sent on to another.

Fax receiver, 1929 This machine, probably from a Western Union office, was used in New York to receive picture transmissions from London.
Fax receiver, 1929
National Museum of American History


European news photos transmitted by cable, 1925, 1930 European news photos transmitted by cable, 1925, 1930
European news photos transmitted by cable, 1925 (left), 1930 (right)
National Museum of American History


Cablegram and envelope
Cablegram and envelope, 1898
National Museum of American History

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