French-Atlantic Cable Collection

Drew Archival Library
DAL.MS.044

Collection Overview:

Title: French-Atlantic Cable Collection
Dates: 1869-1982 (Bulk: 1869)
Creator: DRHS
Accession/Call Numbers: DAL.MS.044
Repository: Drew Archival Library
Quantity: 1 box
Language: English

Administrative Information:
Access Restrictions: The French-Atlantic Cable Collection is open to researchers. There are no restricted materials in the collection
Acquisition Information: Various
Administrative Note: Artificial collection created by the Drew Archival Library
Preferred form of citation: DAL.MS.044, The French-Atlantic Cable Collection in the Drew Archival Library.
Finding Aid Prepared By: Dylan Kornberg, February 2011/Carolyn Ravenscroft 2015

Scope and Content:

The collection consists of charts, documents, books and articles detailing the landing and usage of the French-Atlantic Cable in Duxbury, MA. Also included is the ledger of the Cable office’s savings club and material relating to the telegraphing system in the British Empire.

Biographical Information:

On July 23, 1869, a telegraph cable linking Brest, France to Duxbury, MA was officially established. Following its inaugural message sent to Emperor Napoleon III of France, a celebration was held to commemorate the landing of the cable on July 27, 1869. The cable remained in active use until just after WWII.

Organization:

Series I: Charts and Documents
Series II: Books and Pamphlets
Series III: Newspapers and Clippings
Series IV: Ephemera

Series I: Charts and Documents (c. 1924)

Folder 1:

1. Map of Eastern Associated Telegraph Co’s cable system (1924)
2. Copy of telegram sent by King George V (1924)
3. Chart of New England coast, showing path of French-Atlantic Cable, n.d.

Folder 2: Oversized in Conservation Room Map Drawer

1. Map of Duxbury with cable route. Drawn by George Green, 1970

Series II: Books and Pamphlets (1869-1982)

Folder 1:

1. Landing of the French Atlantic Cable (Boston: Alfred Mudge & Sons), 1869. Owned by George Green with his comments.
2. Landing of the French Atlantic Cable (Boston: Alfred Mudge & Sons), 1869. Owned by Josiah Peterson, with comments by May Smith Ripley.

Folder 2:

1. Cable Staff Savings Club Ledger, 1874

Series III: Newspaper Articles (1869-1982)

Folder 1 – Oversized in Conservation Map Drawer

1. The Telegrapher, July 17, 1869
2. The Telegrapher, July 31, 1869
3. The Telegrapher, Aug 14, 1869
4. The Telegrapher, Aug 21, 1869
5. “Men of Courage and Skill Lay Ocean Cable,” c. 1920
6. “The Story of the Duxbury Transatlantic Cable” Old Colony Memorial, 1929
7. “After Talking for Sixty-two Years and Old Cable Rests,” Nov. 1931
8. “Senator almost Halted Duxbury’s Big Moment,” The Patriot Ledger, c. 1953
9. “Summer Exhibit Features Trans-Atlantic Cable,” May 20, 1982 (2 copies)

Folder 2:

1. “When Atlantic Cables were Laid,” Free Press Evening Bulletin, c. 1953
2. “Telegraph Cable Operators had a Dreary Life,” Duxbury Clipper, 1960