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ALS signed “Sam'l F. B. Morse, Superintendent,” one page, 4 x 6.25, November 14, 1843. Addressed from New York, a handwritten letter to Lewis O. Wood, concerning wages for work on the development of the telegraph, in full: "Your wages for the week ending Nov. 18th 1843 will be paid on application to Prof. Gale who has the funds for that purpose." In fine condition, with scattered foxing, light edge wear, and folds repaired with archival tape.
Written during one of the most pivotal periods in the development of the electric telegraph, this letter documents Samuel F. B. Morse's collaboration with Professor Leonard D. Gale (1800–1883), the New York University professor of chemistry and mineralogy whose scientific expertise proved indispensable to transforming Morse's concept into a practical communications system. Although Morse had conceived the telegraph and developed its signaling code, Gale applied his knowledge of electromagnetism to improve the apparatus, extending its transmission range and helping overcome the technical limitations that had hindered earlier experiments. Their partnership, together with the financial backing secured by Alfred Vail, culminated in Congress's appropriation of $30,000 on March 3, 1843, to construct an experimental telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore under Morse's superintendence.
Penned just eight months after that landmark appropriation, and only months before Morse transmitted the historic inaugural message, "What hath God wrought," on May 24, 1844, the letter captures the practical realities of building the nation's first telegraph network. Fittingly, Morse signs the letter "Superintendent," the very title assigned to him by Congress in authorizing the construction of the experimental telegraph line.
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