Communications Collection

Map, Battle of Fleurus
Map of the Battle of Fleurus - it was won by the French Army, with the first military use of a reconnaissance balloon

Battle of Fleurus with balloon
The Battle of Fleurus, won by the French Army, with the first military use of a reconnaissance balloon

WW2 Poster -- Careless Talk Costs Lives
but for Heavens sake don t say I told you! Careless Talk Costs Lives. Colour photolithograph poster by Cyril Kenneth Bird (Fougasse)

Records of first UK aerial mail service
Thepostmasters official handwrittenrecordsrelatingto thefirst UKaerialmail service from London to Windsor andWindsor to LondoninSeptember1911. 1911

Ballooning celebration for Queen Victorias birthday
Front page of The Penny Satirist - A cheap substitute for a weekly Newspaper

Cover design, Sabena airmail service, between Belgium and the Congo in five days. Showing part of the globe with a red line marking the route. March 1935

Garnerins descent by parachute
Newspaper report with colour illustrations of Garnerins descent by parachute, London. 21 September 1802

Air Mail to Africa Poster
Poster, Air Mail to Africa, showing two Africans looking up at airliner G-ABPI. 20th century

GPO By Air Mail Poster

Balloons and parachutes
Full front page from The Penny Dispatch, giving five images of balloons and parachutes

Man in public call box, Place de la Republique, Paris, France. Date: 1993

Tank manoeuvres controlled by radio-telephony by G. H. Davis
Annotated illustration showing a company-commander broadcasting his orders to his section-commanders by wireless

Poster design for Encre L Marquet (ink)
Poster design for Encre L Marquet, the best of all the inks, showing a woman with flowing red hair, a quill pen and blank paper in her hands, and ink pot on the table, and a harp at her feet. 1892

Cover design, Post Card Painting Book
Cover design for a Post Card Painting Book, showing a little girl with a puppy in her arms, posting a postcard into a red pillar box. circa early 20th century

Alexander Graham Bell with a telephone
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) with a telephone, and a country scene behind him with telegraph poles and wires

Poster design, The Stafford Fountain Pen
Poster design for The Stafford Fountain Pen, New York, showing a man in profile, writing on a sheet of paper. circa 1900

Poster stamp design, Statue of Liberty on the telephone

Advert for a 1930s radio set c. 1930s

Young woman on the telephone
A young woman in a pink dress, speaking on the telephone. early 20th century

Cat answering the telephone

RAF observer with wireless transmitter, WW1
An RAF observer with a wireless transmitter which allows him to keep in touch with British guns, on the Western Front in France during World War One. circa 1916

Man listening to a radio
Man sitting in an armchair, listening to a large radio. 20th century

Balloon in flight, with four flags
A balloon in flight, with the flags of France, the USA, Brazil and the UK, celebrating telephone communications. circa early 20th century

David Wright woman in black evening dress and white fur
Elegant woman with blonde hair, wearing a slinky black evening dress and a white fur stole. She is speaking on her red telephone, no doubt making arrangements to go out

Internal Roadway at Daily Mirror Printing Works
Part of the Internal Roadway at Daily Mirror Printing Works, facilitating the delivery of newsprint by day and the despatch of completed newspapers at night. Photograph by Heinz Zinram Date: 1961

David Wright woman with red telephone
Elegant woman with black hair, wearing a low-cut green dress or negligee and holding the receiver of a red telephone. David Wright (1912 - 1967), was a popular British artist specialising in glamour

David Wright woman in black negligee on red telephone
Elegant woman with red hair, wearing a black negligee. She is lying on a furry white rug, speaking on her red telephone

Printing Presses at Daily Mirror Works
A close-up view of one of the printing presses at the Daily Mirror works, where the newspapers were printed (far below ground level). Photograph by Heinz Zinram Date: 1961

David Wright woman in black underwear
Elegant woman with red hair, wearing skimpy black underwear, sitting on a table with a red telephone. David Wright (1912 - 1967), was a popular British artist specialising in glamour

Advert for the EKCO vintage radio set
Advert for a vintage radio set for EKCO electric radio receivers. early 1930s

Advertisement for Bell Telephone System, with a large telephone at the centre, and various people surrounding it. circa 1950s

Carrier Pigeon poster
Poster warning people of the dangers of shooting carrier pigeons who may be carrying life or death messages

Woman buying newspaper on a London street
Elegant young woman buying a newspaper from a vendor on a London street. 1970s

White puppy posting a letter

British telephone exchange for observation balloon, WW1

Men in basket of observation balloon, WW1

British communication trench, Western Front, WW1
A built-up communication trench made of sandbags, on the Western Front in France during World War One. circa 1916

He Loves Me Not by Muriel Dawson. A girl and boy sit back to back -- she is blowing the seeds from a dandelion head. 1933

Pigeon loft on Western Front, France, WW1
A pigeon loft near the front lines on the Western Front in France during World War One. The pigeons were used for sending messages. circa 1916

Two soldiers in flooded trench, Western Front, WW1
Two British soldiers in a flooded communication trench on the Western Front in France during World War One. 1917

British signal station on railway track, Western Front, WW1
A British signal station of three men, set up on a railway track, using a daylight lamp, on the Western Front during World War One. circa 1916

British troops digging trench, Ovillers, Western Front, WW1
Men of a Worcestershire regiment digging a communication trench near Ovillers, on the Western Front in France (Somme) during World War One. circa 1916

Illustration of a Town Crier, ringing his bell and proclaiming

Cover design, Telephone Numbers book
Cover design for a Telephone Numbers book, depicting a woman writing at a desk with a telephone next to her

Holidaymakers on the beach at Hastings, Sussex
Three holidaymakers, two women and a man, sitting on the pebbly beach at Hastings, Sussex. He is reading the Daily Sketch newspaper. A terrace of hotels can be seen in the background. June 1927

Amateur wireless hobbyists

Horse reading over boys shoulder
A boy stands reading his Boys Own magazine, while a white horse appears to be reading over his shoulder

Cottage buildings in remote landscape
Cottage buildings in a remote landscape, possibly in the north of Scotland. A sign on the building on the left reads: Telegraph Office

Man and boy, Timsgarry Post Office, Isle of Lewis
A man and a boy stand at the door of the rustic Timsgarry Post Office, Uig, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Man and woman with radio equipment
A man and a woman sit with radio equipment, including earphones, clearly enjoying what they are hearing

The Economist, St Jamess, London
View of The Economist building in St James s, Central London, with a much older building to the left. Date: 1965

Poster advertising the telephone

Your silence is hard to bear
A bear listening to the bottom of the candlestick holder of the telephone, while the receiver is on the floor 1928

DELIVERING WOMANs OWN
This smart young man, dressed in a suit and trilby, is apparently delivering copies of the womens magazine Womans Own. Date: early 1930s

Automatic Autographer
An automatic autographer, a handy device for the famous, enabling multiple autographs to be signed on many photographs at the same time. Date: early 1930s

Language Students
London telephone girls being taught French and German in a classroom. Date: early 1930s

Use the Air Mail Poster
GPO Poster, Use the Air Mail, The Fastest Mail. Depicting the underside of a monoplane against a blue and black sky. 1933

A Friend in Need
Humorous illustration showing a little girl helping a small terrier dog to reach up to post a letter. Date: c.1915

London Opinion 1935
A jolly looking woman wearing a party dress and paper hat opens the top of an old wireless set, ready to play some tunes perhaps. Date: 1935

Nashs Special War No
Nashs " Special War Number" which will tell its readers " What WAR means to every man & woman". The girl on the front cover doesn t seem too worried about it all. 1914

David Wright woman in pale blue evening dress
Elegant woman with brown hair, wearing a pale blue, semi-transparent evening dress. She is sitting on a striped sofa looking rather glum, waiting for the red telephone to ring

Samuel Morse, American inventor
Samuel Morse (1791-1872), American inventor, contributor to the invention of the single-wire telegraph system, and co-inventor of the Morse Code. circa 1860s

Raising telegraph poles

French advertisement for G Marconi radio. c. 1930s

Advert for French radio set, the Loisirs 480
Advert for a French 1930s radio set, the Loisirs 480, made by Philips. c. 1930s

Italian Airmail Warehouse
View of an Italian Airmail Warehouse (Aero Espresso Italiana) with a British seaplane. Photograph by Ralph Ponsonby Watts Date: circa 1932

George V Pillar Box
An English postman in his uniform, demonstrates the knack of buying a book of stamps from a vending machine attached to a King George V pillar box. Date: early 1930s

Country Post Office
The Postmistress of North Ballachulish, Scotland, stands at the door of her office, holding her dog. Date: 1926

Sorting Post 1930S
One of the hundreds of groups of auxiliaries at the General Post Office (GPO), dispatching parcels to distant colonies during the usual Christmas postal rush. Date: early 1930s

Largest Wireless Valve
The worlds largest wireless valve, being made in a factory in Germany. Date: early 1930s

Military Postman
A military postman for the British army collecting post from a mail box on an army camp site. Date: 1930s

Wireless Mast
A man working on a radio mast in Berlin, Germany. Date: 1930s

Man at Desk on Phone
A man in a suit sits at his desk and talks on the telephone as he points to some photographs in the Ad Lib Catalogue. Date: 1960s

Hand Holds a Telephone
A hand with manicured finger nails hold up a white telephone handset. Date: 1960s

Posting a Letter
A woman posts a letter into the letter box of the Marie Curie Hospital, Paris, France. Date: early 1930s

BOY READS BEANO
A boy can t wait till he gets home, but starts reading the latest Beano comic in the street; and then there ll be the Dandy to come... Date: 1956

Postman on Pennyfarthing
A postman on a penny farthing delivers a parcel to a woman dressed in a long coat with fur trim Date: 1930

Switchboard Girls / 1930S
Girls working on a telephone switchboard, watched over by a stern-looking supervisor Date: 1930s

Multiple Autograph Tool
A starlet saves herself a lot of time and effort by using a device for signing several autographs at once 1930s

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