Postal Telegraph Company(Postal Telegraph & Cable Corporation) was a major operator oftelegraphnetworks in theUnited Statesprior to its consolidation withWestern Unionin 1943.[1]Postal partnered withCommercial Cable Companyfor overseas cable messaging.
 1921 advertisement for the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company | |
| Founded | 1880s |
|---|---|
| Founder | John William Mackay |
| Defunct | 1943 |
| Fate | consolidation withWestern Union |
Postal was founded in the 1880s byJohn William Mackay,an entrepreneur who had made a fortune in silver mining in theComstock Lode.Mackay's original purpose was to provide a domestic wire network to directly link with theAtlantic Cable.Mackay built the Postal network by the purchase of existing insolvent firms. The company was initially calledThe Pacific Postal Telegraph Cable Co.[2]Under presidentAlbert Brown Chandler,the Postal network was able to achieve sufficient economy of scale to compete with Western Union, occasionally controlling as much as 20% of the business.[1]
By 1893, the company's rate of growth had allowed it to become the only viable competitor to Western Union. It had grown so large that management had to move out of the company's New York City headquarters at 187 Broadway to accommodate more operations staff.[3]Chandler oversaw the design and construction of thePostal Telegraph Company Building,a new headquarters at 253 Broadway and Murray Street.[4]
In the film ofWilliam Saroyan'sThe Human Comedythe story is mainly told through the eyes of a teenager working as a delivery boy for the Postal Telegraph Company, and some of the action takes place in the telegraph office.[5]
References
edit- ^abNonnenmacher, Tomas.History of the U.S. Telegraph Industry
- ^Pacific Postal Telegraph Cable CompanySan Francisco News Letter and California Advertiser, February 19, 1887.
- ^Telegraph And Telephone Age: Telegraphy-Telephony-Radio,University of Illinois, Americana, New York, 1917, p. 3
- ^"New York Times - new building for Postal Telegraph-Cable Company".The New York Times.1893-10-29. p. 21.Retrieved2017-05-04– viaNewspapers.com
.
- ^AFI Catalog.The Human Comedy(1943).
External links
editGallery
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Postal Telegraph Headquarters Building, New York, 1893. -
Postal Telegraph Messengers, Indianapolis, IN, 1912. -
Postal Telegraph Cable Company stamp, 1909. -
A Postal Telegram, 1942.
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