Object data
wood, brass and rope
height 48.6 cm × width 15.3 cm × depth 10.1 cm
Engelbertus Lucas
Model of an Optical Telegraph for Ships
Netherlands, 1835
Inscriptions
- label, on the mast: 824 former inventory label
Provenance
...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883
Object number: NG-MC-824
Copyright: Public domain
Entry
Schematic model of an optical telegraph for ships, mounted on a square pedestal.
The pole, though made of a rectangular section, represents the round mast and spar to which the moving parts are attached. These consist of two wings below and an oval board at the top, which flaps up or down on a hinge; all the parts are moved by ropes, going over single sheaves in the mast.
This telegraph, a design by Captain Engelbert Lucas (1785-1870) which was to be used on ships,1 was said to be able to signal all letters and numbers. It is unknown whether it was ever used.
Scale unknown.
Literature
J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 824
Citation
J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'Engelbertus Lucas, Model of an Optical Telegraph for Ships, Netherlands, 1835', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20053987
(accessed 13 December 2025 18:13:15).