Object data
wood, brass and ivory
total: height 48.5 cm
foot: width 23.3 cm × depth 15.6 cm
radius of main arm: length 27 cm
radius of wings: length 23 cm
height 79 cm × width 27.5 cm × depth 21.5 cm
anonymous
Model of an Optical Telegraph
Netherlands, France, c. 1794
Provenance
...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883
Object number: NG-MC-812
Copyright: Public domain
Entry
Model of an optical telegraph, mounted on a rectangular pedestal.
The model consists of two posts, with an arm pivoting on an axle in between them at the top; at either end of the arm, two wings are attached, one with a counterweight, one without. The main arm is moved via an endless rope running over two large sheaves at one side; the wings are moved by means of tackles attached to a drum between the two posts and belayed to cleats on the posts. The wings can be blocked by means of springs positioned perpendicular to the main arm.
This model is probably a toy model, which became very popular after the appearance of telegraphs designed by Claude Chappe (1763-1805) throughout the country. It has been established that they first appeared in the Netherlands in 1794. They were not only used as children’s toys, but also in coffee houses, where messages were telegraphed from table to table. The scale is in Amsterdam feet.
Scale (on model) 1:22.
Literature
J. Plaat, Beschrijving en afbeelding der telegraphe, The Hague 1794; J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 812; H. Gachot, ‘Le jeu des “petits télégraphes”’, Bulletin de l’association des amis du musée postal 23 (1968), no. 3, pp. 10-11; E. Ludwig, Beschrijvingen van de telegraafmodellen in het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam, s.l. 1992, manuscript in RMA, folder NG-MC-810/825 (telegrafen); A.J. Hoving, Message in a Model: Stories from the Navy Model Room of the Rijksmuseum, Florence, OR 2013, pp. 128-31
Citation
J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of an Optical Telegraph, Netherlands, c. 1794', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244626
(accessed 26 November 2024 18:19:21).