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Segment of the first transatlantic telegraph cable from 1858, measuring 4˝ long, made into a souvenir and sold by Tiffany & Co. The cable is wrapped with a brass band reading: "Atlantic Telegraph Cable, Guaranteed by Tiffany & Co., Broadway, New York, 1858." In very good to fine condition.
Led by Cyrus W. Field and the Atlantic Telegraph Company, the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid from Valentia Island on the west coast of Ireland to Trinity Bay on the east coast of Newfoundland. The first communications occurred on August 16, 1858, when Queen Victoria sent a congratulatory message to President Buchanan, reducing the time of transatlantic communication from the ten days required to deliver a message by ship to a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, the cable functioned for only three weeks before the signal failed entirely, but it proved the viability of the concept. Field sold a quantity of the surplus cable to Tiffany & Co., which transformed sections into souvenirs of the historic telegraph line.
