VAIL, ALFRED.

Le Télégraphe Électro-Magnétique Américain, avec le rapport du Congrès et la Description de tous les Télégraphes connus ou sont mis en usage l'Électricité et le Galvanisme.

Paris, L. Mathias (Augustin), 1847. Contemp. full pattern-stamped cloth. Gilt spine with gilt lettering. A paperlabel pasted on upper part of spine. A stamp on title-page. (4),263 pp., 81 textillustrations in woodcut. Internally fine and clean.

First edition in French of his "American electro-magnetic telegraph..", published 1845. The work contains one of earliest publications of the "Standard Morse" code.
"Vail and another partner, Leonard Gale, made several improvements to Morse's apparatus, and on January 6, 1838, this new telegraph was demonstrated sucessfully, using an early version of the dot-and-dash Morse code. When in 1843 Congress approved the construction of an expwrimental telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington, Vail acted as Morse's chief assistant and received Morse's "What hath God wrought" message on May 24, 1844. (Hook & Norman No 208).
Wheeler Gift: 1137 a.- Ronalds Library p. 507.

Order-nr.: 51744