The first transatlantic submarine cable. UPDATE: THIS MADE £312
A section of the first transatlantic submarine telegraph cable that linked Ireland to Newfoundland in 1858, establishing the first fast communication between Europe and the Americas, comes up at Bonhams in London at the end of this month. The cable linked Foilhommerum Bay at Valentia Island in Co. Kerry to Heart’s Content in eastern Newfoundland. It was despatched successfully on August 16, 1858 and took 17 hours to transmit. It read: “Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and good will toward men”.
This momentous achievement was the culmination of 19 years of planning and hard work. After the successful development of the electrical telegraph in the late 1830s, the idea of installing a transatlantic communications cable took hold. First came smaller-scale projects: by 1850, a linkage had been set up between Britain and France, and also a line running up the northeastern coast of North America between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. But the ultimate goal was faster communication between Europe and the Americas, as the average time for a ship to deliver a letter between the two was 10 days. Two attemps failed due to cable breakages, the third was successful.
Estimated at £500-700, the mounted section will go under the hammer in The Gentleman’s Library Sale at Bonhams, Knightsbridge, on January 27-28.
UPDATE: IT WAS SOLD FOR £312