Skip to main content
Menu Collections
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Portable Telegraph Set
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Portable Telegraph Set

Object numberMO 2002.2.1
Name Telegraph
Maker (American, ca. 1906-1983)
Maker (American telegraph apparatus company, founded 1878)
Maker (American company, 1845-1950s)
Maker (American tool manufacturer, 1921 - 1968)
Date1933
Mediumwood (oak), metal (brass), metal, rubber, paper
Dimensionspart a (telegraph set box) H 6 1/2 in x W 8 5/8 in x D 4 5/8 in (16.5 cm x 21.9 cm x 11.7 cm )
 part b (screwdriver) H 5/8 in x W 4 7/8 in (1.6 cm x 12.4 cm )
Descriptiona) A portable telegraph set within an oak box with brass fittings and a hinged lid. Attached inside the box is a telegraph key (made by Chas. Cory & Son, Inc., New York) and a sounder (made by J. H. Bunnell & Co., New York, John J. Ghegan Patent July 16, 1901).

b) A small "Super-Grip" Forsberg flathead screwdriver, marked "MADE IN USA," is included with the telegraph set.
Label TextThis portable telegraph set was put together in 1933 by Dr. E. Stuart Davis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's special communications man. Davis regularly accompanied FDR when he traveled during the early years of the presidency and used the telegraph set, along with a telegraph key (MO 2002.2.2) and a code book (MO 2002.2.4), to establish communications along the way.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum as a bequest of Richard S. Loveland in 2001.
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Richard S. Loveland
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPersonal Possessions of the Roosevelt Family (National Archives Identifier 782689)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
Collections
Non exposé
Related Links