Accession No
6236
Brief Description
13-inch letter opener for the Eastern Telegraph Company Ltd, showing international telegraph cable routes, by Waterlow and Sons Ltd., English, 1888
Origin
England; London; Great Winchester Street, E. C.
Maker
Waterlow and Sons Ltd.
Class
cartography; miscellaneous
Earliest Date
1888
Latest Date
1888
Inscription Date
Material
wood (unknown type); paint
Dimensions
330mm long; 34mm wide; 5mm deep
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Christies, 85 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 3LD on 24/09/2008. Lot 99.
Inscription
[Front handle]
THE EASTERN TELEGRAPH COMPANY, LIMITED,
THE EASTERN EXTENSION TELEGRAPH COMPANY, LIMITED,
50 & 11 OLD BROAD STREET, LONDON, E. C.
[Back handle]
Manufactured by
WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED.
Great Winchester Street, London, E. C.
Description Notes
13-inch long letter-opener for the Eastern Telegraph Co. Ltd, showing international telegraph cable routes, English, 1888.
Solid wooden body with black painted handle and cartographic painting on both sides of the ‘blade’. One side of the black handle contains the inscription of the Eastern Telegraph Co., while the other side contains a calendar in which the dates are laid out in rows by day. From this it can be ascertained that the opener was made in 1888.
The wooden ‘blade’ of the opener features partial global cartography including Australia, Africa, Asia and parts of South America, North America and Europe. Routes of telegraph cables are marked with red lines. It was not until the 1890s that the French and German companies entered the cable market, so at the time this opener was made, English companies had the monopoly on cables. Most of the routes shown seem to have been supported in some way by the Eastern Telegraph Company and the Eastern Extension Company, formally ‘The Eastern Extension, Australasia And China Telegraph Company’, a company formed by the amalgamation of three of John Pender’s telegraphy interests in 1873. In particular, the map features many of the lines laid in the early to mid 1880s. For example the 1885 lines laid by the African Direct Telegraph Company, a project set up by the Eastern Telegraph Company, between Great Britain and the colonies on the west coast of Africa can be seen.
Condition: fair [paint has worn away at end on rear side and around edge of handle on front]
References
Events
Description
This letter-opener dates from 1888, and was produced for the Eastern Telegraph Company of London. Such objects may have been given as gifts to clients or used as advertising promotions for the company.
The wooden ‘blade’ of the opener features partial global cartography including Australia, Africa, Asia and parts of South America, North America and Europe. Routes of telegraph cables are marked with red lines. It was not until the 1890s that the French and German companies entered the cable market, so at the time this opener was made, English companies had the monopoly on cables. Most of the routes shown seem to have been supported in some way by the Eastern Telegraph Company and the Eastern Extension Company, formally ‘The Eastern Extension, Australasia And China Telegraph Company’, a company formed by the amalgamation of three of John Pender’s telegraphy interests in 1873. In particular, the map features many of the lines laid in the early to mid 1880s. For example the 1885 lines laid by the African Direct Telegraph Company, a project set up by the Eastern Telegraph Company, between Great Britain and the colonies on the west coast of Africa can be seen.
03/12/2008
Created by: Katie Taylor on 03/12/2008
FM:46709
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