This guide is designed to serve as an inexpensive, portable, and comprehensive source of basic information and reference material for new and experienced collectors. As an additional aid to serious collectors and historians, additional detailed descriptions and color photographs of over 3000 telegraph items may be found in my internet museum at: http://w1tp.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Introduction:
• Acknowledgments
• Notes on prices
• Table of Contents
• How to Use This Book
• Historical Background
• Telegraph Key Lever Shapes:
• Pre-Morse Land-Line Telegraph: (1830's-1884)
• Morse Land-Line Telegraph: (1844-1881)
• Post-"Triumph Key" Land-Line Telegraph: (1881-1950's)
• Practice Sets and Practice Machines: (1881-1950's)
• Semi-Automatic Keys or "Bugs": (1904-present)
• Electronic Keyers and Paddles: (1950's-present)
• Spark and Wireless Keys: (1910-present)
• Radio Keys: (1920's-present)
• American Military Keys: (1910-present)
• British Military Keys: (1910-present)
• Canadian Military Keys: (1910-present)
• German Military Keys: (1910-present)
• Japanese & Chinese Military Keys: (1910-present
• Russian & Czech Military Keys: (1910-present)
• Homemade Keys and Novelty Items:
• Roger Reinke's Latest Early Telegraph Manufacturer's List:
• Neal McEwen's Updated List of Bug Manufacturers:
• Doug Seneker's Updated Bug List:
• Base Widths of Vibroplex Bugs - From Tom French:
• Larry Nutting's J-Series Key Identification List:
• Neal McEwen's Military Manufacturer's Codes List:
• How to Adjust Telegraph Keys:
• Notes on Restoring Telegraph Items:
• Bibliography and References:
• Internet Links to Telegraph Sites:
• A Few Vibroplex Manufacturing Dates from John Elwood's Published Research:
• Price Guide and Guide to Internet Museum Photographs:
• INDEX: A 1600-item Cross-Referenced Index:

REVISED DOWNLOADABLE PRICE LISTS: Click here for latest downloadable revised price list:

TELEGRAPH COLLECTORS REFERENCE CD (2nd Edition): A Complete library for the Telegraph Collector with over 7000 Photographs, Descriptions, Books, Maps, Videos and Lists: (Order from sources above.)

PERERA'S TELEGRAPH COLLECTORS GUIDE (3rd. Edition): A complete telegraph collectors reference library with 300 photos and a price guide. (Order from sources above)

Inside ENIGMA and other Famous Cipher Machines: The Technology of the Enigma and other cipher machines with 208 pages and over 500 illustrations. (Order from sources above.)

The Story of the ENIGMA: History, Technology, and Deciphering (4th. Edition): A Complete Enigma Library on a CD-ROM. (Order from sources above.)

• Email Address: (To help me avoid automated 'junk mail' programs,
  I ask you to type my email address as follows with no spaces between words:)


• PLEASE TYPE: keys
• THEN TYPE THE @ SYMBOL
• THEN TYPE: w1tp.com
• Please NOTE: It is w1tp Not: wLtp or wItp.
• Please NOTE: You MUST include the word KEYS in the Email Subject Line.
• ( Please Enquire Before Sending Attachments Larger Than 100KB ! )