Printing Telegraphy... A New Era Begins

In Short

This book serves as a technical memoir and industrial history of the printing telegraph, detailing the transition from the audible Morse code to the automated, binary-based permutation code. The narrative follows the author’s lifelong career as an inventor and entrepreneur, chronicling the rise of the Kleinschmidt and Morkrum companies. It documents the intense competition, patent litigations, and eventual consolidation of these firms into the Teletype Corporation. By connecting mechanical ingenuity to modern data processing, the work provides a bridge between early electrical tinkering and the global telecommunications infrastructure.

The Story

The narrative begins at the turn of the twentieth century, a time when telegraph companies relied on the manual skills of "brass pounding" Morse operators. The central problem facing inventors was the lack of reliable, high-speed automated systems for receiving and printing telegraphic messages. Early attempts, such as the three-unit code developed by Dr. George A. Cardwell, failed because they were impractical for large-scale, intercommunicating systems. The story explores the efforts of various engineers—including J.C. Barclay, John E. Wright, and Charles L. Krum—to refine the five-unit permutation code, which eventually became the industry standard.

As the author details his own work in an experimental shop in New York, the scope expands to include a range of mechanical pursuits, from railroad signaling devices to vaccination shields. These early projects reflect the era’s "tinker-and-test" culture. The narrative takes a dramatic turn when the Morkrum Company and the Kleinschmidt Electric Company, both struggling with costly development and overlapping patent claims, find themselves locked in a cycle of litigation. Recognizing that their legal battles could destroy both firms, the leaders decide to merge. This consolidation, occurring on the metaphorical "courthouse steps," leads to the formation of the Morkrum-Kleinschmidt Corporation, later rebranded as the Teletype Corporation.

Following the merger, the company experiences a period of rapid growth, meeting the demands of the Associated Press and the booming stock market of the 1920s. A pivotal moment arrives when the company catches the attention of Western Electric, the manufacturing arm of AT&T. In a swift, high-stakes negotiation, the corporation is sold for over thirty million dollars. However, the author’s story does not end with the sale. He moves into a new chapter, establishing Kleinschmidt Laboratories to continue independent research and development.

The final arc of the book focuses on the challenges of the military and commercial sectors during and after World War II. The author describes the successful development of a lightweight, portable teletypewriter, which becomes the military standard for field communications. The narrative concludes with the merger of Kleinschmidt Laboratories into the SCM Corporation, illustrating how the once-niche inventions of early telegraphy grew into the sophisticated data-set systems used for computer and off-line communications. Throughout, the text emphasizes the persistent quest for speed, efficiency, and synchronization, framing the technological progress as a continuous human endeavor to master the transmission of information.

How It Unfolds

The quest for automation The narrative establishes the early limitations of the Morse code and the search for more efficient, mechanical printing methods. It details why early experiments with high-low voltage systems proved impractical for widespread use.

The experimental workshop The author recounts his early years as an inventor, balancing telegraphy projects with diverse side businesses like fishing reel manufacturing. This period highlights the trial-and-error nature of engineering in the early 1900s.

The Morkrum connection The book introduces the Chicago-based Morkrum Company, charting its rise from an attic laboratory to a major force in telegraphic news transmission. It explains the critical role of the start-stop synchronization principle in ensuring reliable message delivery.

The corporate consolidation Faced with patent exhaustion and financial strain, the rival firms of Morkrum and Kleinschmidt merge. This section describes the high-level negotiations and the birth of a unified entity that would eventually dominate the market.

The sale to Western Electric The narrative covers the massive 1930 acquisition of the Teletype Corporation by AT&T. This event marks the transition of the technology from independent development into the massive industrial infrastructure of the Bell system.

A new era of laboratories The author describes his return to independent development, focusing on the military’s demand for portable, waterproof printing equipment. The final section tracks the integration of his laboratories into the SCM Corporation, mirroring the consolidation trends of the mid-twentieth century.

The People

The book centers on figures driven by the challenge of translating electrical impulses into readable text. Edward E. Kleinschmidt, the author, acts as the primary voice, framing his journey from a young shop owner to a seasoned industry consultant. His narrative is defined by a relentless drive to improve mechanical synchronization. Howard Krum, a trained musician who turned to engineering, provides a sharp contrast; his ability to find mechanical solutions through musical intuition marks him as a key innovator within the Morkrum organization. Sterling Morton appears as the shrewd, decisive financier whose legal maneuverings forced the merger that saved both companies. Finally, figures like Frank E. Gannett and Clarence G. Stoll represent the broader business landscape, illustrating how the needs of journalism and the massive scale of the telephone industry dictated the direction of telegraphic development. These men start as independent tinkerers or small-scale entrepreneurs and end as integral components of a massive, synchronized global communication system.

In Its Own Voice

"It is a major effort today to keep pace with the rapid advances in the field of printed communications."

The author acknowledges the frantic, ever-changing nature of the industry at the time of his writing.

"Many customers came to the experimental shop with every type of idea imaginable; vacuum cleaners (The 'Vacuna'), elevator signals, some early designs for Elmer Sperry’s gyrocompass were only a few."

The author reflects on the eclectic and unpredictable nature of the work performed in his early New York workshop.

"The portable teletypewriter is but one-fourth the size of the old, has 300 fewer parts, is considerably stronger and consequently requires far less maintenance."

The author highlights the successful, efficiency-driven redesign of military communications equipment during the post-World War II era.

What It's Really About

At its heart, this book is an exploration of the relentless pressure of technological obsolescence. It examines how complex inventions—born from the solitary imagination of the inventor—are inevitably subsumed by larger industrial structures to achieve scale. The underlying argument is that innovation is not a single "eureka" moment, but a continuous process of refinement, where the failure of one system (like the early synchronous printers) provides the necessary lesson for the success of the next. It asks how we move from the physical, mechanical labor of the "brass pounder" to the silent, invisible binary of the computer, and it frames this transition as a triumph of persistence, standardization, and the constant, iterative improvement of human-machine interfaces.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of technology, specifically the evolution of hardware and industrial engineering, will find this a fascinating, grounded account. The prose is utilitarian and warm, reading less like a textbook and more like a grandfather explaining a lifelong trade. It captures a specific American era of industrial ingenuity, where an inventor could pivot from creating vaccination shields to designing military-grade communications equipment.

However, a reader should be prepared for the dense, technical descriptions of code sequences and mechanical relay systems. The author does not shy away from the granular details of machine models or patent dates, which might prove dry for those seeking a lighter historical narrative. The book reflects the mid-century perspective of a man who lived through the entire arc of the telegraphic revolution, and its strength lies in this unique, personal intimacy with the machines themselves. For anyone curious about how the modern digital world inherited its reliance on binary pulses and standardized communication protocols, this book offers a clear, honest, and remarkably humble look at the origins of those systems. You will come away with a profound respect for the mechanical complexity that made our current era of instant, printed communication possible.