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Laying the Atlantic cables monumental task...
Laying the Atlantic cables monumental task...
Item # 153612
August 28, 1865
NEW YORK SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, Aug. 29, 1865 The nice front page map shows the route of the Atlantic telegraph cable across Newfoundland, "...should it ever be laid..." which would not happen successfully until 1866.
Most of the front page is taken up with reporting headed: "THE CABLE" "Further Particulars of the Loss" "Mr. Russell''s Journal" "A Trip to Newfoundland" concerning the efforts to lay the cable and the multitude of problems.
This was a monumental task at the time, yet transformational once it was a success. On August 2, 1865, a problem with the cable necessitated repairs, and the cable broke and was lost on the sea floor. Several attempts to retrieve the cable with a grappling hook failed. Nine days later, frustration led to efforts being abandoned for the year.
On June 30, 1866, the ship Great Eastern left England with new cable aboard, and 43 days later, defying superstition, on a Friday the 13th the fifth attempt since 1857 to lay the cable began. This time the attempt to connect the continents encountered very few problems. On July 27, 1866 the Great Eastern reached the shore of Canada, and the cable was brought ashore. The next day the cable was proven successful and congratulatory messages began to travel across it.
This time the connection between Europe and North America remained steady, and the two continents have been in contact, via undersea cables, to the present day.
Eight pages, good condition.
This time the connection between Europe and North America remained steady, and the two continents have been in contact, via undersea cables, to the present day.
Category: Post-Civil War
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