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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2011 > June > 18 > Entry
Telegraph to Twitter…
150 years ago the telegraph was cutting edge technology. I just came upon a marvelous book that was archived by Google. This book, “The Traveler’s Vade Mecum” was published in 1853. It contains a numerical listing of a clever form of shorthand that could be used to send short concise Twitter-like messages by telegraph or by mail.
The author has created a number code so that correspondents could communicate quickly and clearly without taking up much space or time. As long as the sender and the receiver each have a copy of the book then the numerical codes are easy to look up. A postcard or a telegraph message would consist of a string of numbers with key words inserted. Here’s an example:
If you got a telegraph message or a postcard with the number 29 it would translate into this message: “I am in one of the famous ventilated cars which professes to exclude dust, but in my opinion it is a great humbug.”
Isn’t that great? Try it out for yourself. I am going to provide a link which will allow you to read the entire book as it originally appeared in 1853. To check it out click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
p.s. And you can follow me now on Twitter: @BookNookVick
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: clearing the cobwebs
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By Mark from St Paul
June 18, 2011 4:14 PM | Link to this
The telegraph was a huge invention, much bigger than the telephone which was more of a format change than a technological breakthrough. Being able to “instantly” communicate changed everything and made the world a much smaller place. But yeah, they charged by the word so this book would have been a godsend for frequent telegram senders.