Did you know that Fax machines came before Telephones!

Did you anyone tell you that they had Fax Machines before there were telephones?

This fascinating story that starts with Alexander Bain, who invented the Electric Clock, unfortunately he had no money, another example of an inventor who didn’t make money from his inventions!

Desperate for money the editor of the Mechanics Magazine arranged for him to meet Charles Wheatstone and show him his inventions.  Alexander then learnt what a dog eat dog world it is.

As you can guess, Wheatstone pop poo-ed his ideas, then 3 months later arrived at the Royal Society with his latest invention, an electric clock!

Fortunately, Bain had already applied for a patent, which, naturally, Wheatstone tried to block without luck.  He then made a big mistake, he tried to set up The Electric Telegraph Company through an Act of Parliament, but before it could go ahead the House of Lords demanded Alexander Bain come before them.  This led to Wheatcroft having to resign and the company having to pay Bain £10,000, over £300,000 in today’s money, and employ him!

The Fax Machine

Now he had the funds to come up with many inventions, but I believe that his most interesting one is the Fax Machine. He patented his design on 27 May 1843, which claimed that “a copy of any other surface composed of conducting and non-conducting materials can be taken by these means”.

This led Frederick Bakewell, an English physicist, to improve on Alexander Bain’s concept and in 1848 he patented for his superior “image telegraph”, which he demonstrated at the 1851 World’s Fair in London.

They weren’t very good, so ..

However, both inventions unfortunately produced poor images, therefore were not practical, but they did come up with the concept, which led an Italian, Giovanni Caselli in 1861 to finally produce a practical telefax machine, he called “the Pantelegraph”. 

Now, this is the amazing bit, it actually went into service between Paris and Lyon as many as 11 years before there was a serviceable telephone!

Doesn’t that make History Fun?

10 questions to discuss:

1. 1. 1. Timeline: Can you clarify the exact year Alexander Bain invented his “Electric Clock” and when he presented it to Charles Wheatstone?
      2. Details: What specific features did Bain propose for his original fax machine in his 1843 patent?
      3. Comparison: How did Frederick Bakewell’s “image telegraph” improve upon Bain’s design, and what specific limitations did both versions have?
      4. Concept to Reality: What advancements did Giovanni Caselli’s “Pantelegraph” introduce that made it a practical fax machine compared to its predecessors?
      5. Functionality: How did the “Pantelegraph” transmit images between Paris and Lyon? Was it a dedicated line or used existing infrastructure?
      6. Impact: Do you know of any specific examples of how the “Pantelegraph” was used in its practical implementation between Paris and Lyon?
      7. Beyond Communication: Were there any applications for the “Pantelegraph” beyond transmitting documents or images?
      8. Later Developments: How did the technology behind the “Pantelegraph” influence the development of later fax machines?
      9. Historical Significance: In your opinion, how significant is the invention of the fax machine compared to other technological advancements of the time?
      10. Modern Relevance: Do you think the concept of the fax machine has any relevance in today’s communication landscape? If so, how?

The aim of these questions are aim to delve deeper into the specific details and to explore the context and impact of the inventions, and encourage critical thinking about their historical significance and modern relevance.

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