FIRST TRANSATLANTIC WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

MARCONI, GUGLIELMO.

Syntonic Wireless Telegraphy.

(London, George Bell and Sons), 1901. 8vo. Without wrappers. Extracted from "Journal of the Society of Art. No. 2,530, Vol. XLIX, May 17, 1901). A clean copy. [Marconi:] Pp. 505-520 + 17 figures illustrating the paper.

First publication of this early and important paper preceding, by just a few months, Marconi's first weak signals received across an ocean. The paper present a description of the experimental process to developing tuning or syntonising the wireless system. He shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun "in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy" and was ennobled in 1924 as Marchese Marconi.

"Marconi, who was anxious to forestall any competitors, sailed for Newfoundland where, using a kiteborne antenna and Solari's carbon-on-stell detector with a telephone receiver, on 12 December he received the first transatlantic wireless communication, the three code dots signifying the letter "S." Already well known, Marconi, at twenty-seven, became world famous overnight." (DSB).

If Marconi felt he needed more publicity, he certainly got it in 1912: The two radio operators aboard the Titanic - Jack Phillips and Harold Bride - were not employed by the White Star Line, who ran the Titanic, but by the Marconi International Marine Communication Company. Britain's postmaster-general summed up, referring to the Titanic disaster, "Those who have been saved, have been saved through one man, Mr. Marconi...and his marvelous invention.".

Order-nr.: 44829