July 1877 - The Telephone

The Telephone

Electricity has been fruitful with its wonders, and we can hardly be called prophets if we say it will be still more so in the future.

We are at present only on the threshold of discovery, we know very little about this unknown - we had almost written force, when we recollected that many of its phenomena point to the idea that it is not a force.

Be that as it may, public opinion has been astonished ever and anon during the past few years by being told that electricity enables us not only to send signals, but even to converse whilst many miles separate speaker and hearer…

….Many engineers seem to think we have gone far enough and should be satisfied, while others think we have scarcely begun to realise the capabilities of electricity. We confess that we belong to the latter class.

1877 The Telephone