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Wireless Transmission of Photographs Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged 1919 — Inside the Classic

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Authors: Martin, Marcus J. Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2010 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Phototelegraphy Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 35,424

Reading time 155 min

Text sections 7

Wireless Transmission of Photographs Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged 1919 — Inside the Classic can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 35,424 words, 2 hr 35 min estimated reading time, and 7 detected text sections.

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #34052

This 1919 revised edition details early 20th-century methods for transmitting photographs via wireless, focusing on apparatus design, optical principles, and practical experimentation. Marcus J. Martin's technical prose combines precise mechanical descriptions with cautious optimism about overcoming land-line limitations, offering a snapshot of pre-television imaging technology.

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WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF PHOTOGRAPHS

SECOND EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED 1919

The Wireless Press, Ltd. 12-13 Henrietta Street, Strand London, W.C. 2

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

Although during the last few years very little, in common with other wireless work, has been possible in connection with the practical side of the wireless transmission of photographs, yet, now that the prospect of experimental work is once again occupying the minds of all wireless workers, advantage has been taken of a reprint of this little volume to amplify a few points that were insufficiently dealt with in the first edition, and also to add some fresh matter.

To Chapter V. has been added a short description of the Nernst lamp, and also some useful information regarding photographic films, and a few notes relating to enlarging included in the Appendix B.

A fresh appendix dealing with the principles of optical lenses has also been added. This is a subject that plays an important part in any system of wireless photography, and to those experimenters whose knowledge of optics is limited this section should prove useful.

To serious workers engaged on the problem of the wireless transmission of photographs, attention {vi} is called to a series of articles which are being published from time to time in the _Wireless World_, on the design and construction of wireless photographic apparatus.

In these progressive times it is only reasonable to expect that some attempt would be made to utilise the ether-waves for other purposes than that of telegraphic communication, and already many clever minds are at work trying to solve the problems of the wireless control of torpedoes and airships, wireless telephony, and, last but not least, the wireless transmission of photographs.

It may seem rather premature to talk about the wireless transmission of photographs at a time when the ordinary systems are not fully developed; but the prospects of wireless photography are of a very encouraging nature, especially for long over-water distances, as there are great difficulties to be overcome in long-distance transmission over ordinary land lines and cables which will be entirely eliminated by wireless methods.

From a perusal of Chapter I. the reader will be able to understand something of the difficulties that are to be encountered in working over long distances, and he will also be able to appreciate something of the advantages that would be derived {viii} from a reliable wireless system. Apart from the value of such a system for transmitting news pictures, it would also be of great advantage to transmit to ships at sea photographs of criminals for identification purposes. In such a small volume as this it would be impossible to deal with the working of wireless apparatus and the many systems that have been devised for the transmission of photographs over metallic circuits. The Author has taken it for granted that other works have been studied in connection with these subjects, and will therefore only describe such apparatus as is likely to be of use in wireless transmission. At present the transmission of photographs by wireless methods is in a purely experimental stage, and this book will have served its purpose if it helps to put future experimenters on the right track and prevent them from making expensive and fruitless experiments, by showing them the right direction in which investigations are being carried out. As there is no claim to originality in respect of a good many pieces of apparatus, etc., described, I have not thought it necessary to state the various sources from which the information has been obtained.

PAGE PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION v

Foreword--Early experiments--Advantages of Radio-Photography--Difficulties in Cable working--Bernochi's System--Knudsen's System.

TRANSMITTING APPARATUS 13

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Marcus J. Martin opens his second edition with a note of cautious optimism: although wartime has stalled practical work, the prospect of experimental research is “once again occupying the minds of all wireless workers.” His preface frames the book as a reprint amplified with fresh matter—a short description of the Nernst lamp, notes on photographic films, and an appendix on optical lenses. The author’s voice is that of a practical experimenter addressing serious workers, not a theorist. He assumes his reader has hands-on access to tools like mercury dippers, ebonite plugs, and Brown’s telephone relays, and he writes in a dense, specification-laden style that prioritizes mechanical exactness over narrative flow.

Diction of the Workshop

Martin’s vocabulary is drawn directly from the electrical workshop and photographic darkroom. He writes of “sludge” produced by churning mercury, “coned bearings” for pivoted rods, and “pointed ebonite plugs” inserted to prevent disturbance. These are not metaphors; they are the precise names of components the reader is expected to construct or procure. The prose is almost entirely denotative, with rare evaluative phrases such as “will be found to give good results at a high speed.” When he describes the diaphragm as “fairly thin but very resilient,” he is giving a practical specification, not a literary judgment. This diction creates a text that functions as an extension of the workbench—every noun corresponds to a tangible part, every verb to an action the experimenter must perform.

Dialogue with the Reader as Collaborator

Martin addresses his reader not as a passive learner but as a fellow constructor. He uses the second person sparingly, preferring the imperative: “To prevent oxidation of the mercury… the surface is covered with paraffin oil.” The effect is that of a senior technician dictating notes to an apprentice. He also anticipates the reader’s likely gaps in knowledge, particularly in optics: the new appendix on lenses is intended “to those experimenters whose knowledge of optics is limited.” This assumption of a technically literate but possibly incomplete reader shapes the book’s structure. Martin does not explain basic electrical theory; he assumes familiarity with oscillation transformers, block condensers, and carborundum crystal detectors. The dialogue is one of shared expertise, not instruction from first principles.

Description as Blueprint

The descriptive passages in the excerpts read like patent specifications or construction blueprints. Consider the relay dipper: “The leg F is of such a length that permanent contact is made with the mercury in the container H, while the leg F' clears the surface of the mercury by about 1/4 inch.” Every dimension is given in fractions of an inch, every material specified—copper tube, cast iron, ebonite. The description of the receiver’s diaphragm pin includes an enlarged view reference (“Fig. 41”) and notes that the steel point is “about 1/2 inch long, and provided with a projecting hook H.” This is not description for the sake of visualization; it is description for replication. The author’s choice to embed drawings as numbered figures (Fig. 39, 40, 41) and to refer to them in the text reinforces the idea that the book is a companion to physical construction, not a standalone explanation.

Cautious Enthusiasm in the Prefaces

Both prefaces reveal an author balancing ambition with realism. In the first preface, Martin calls the prospects “of a very encouraging nature, especially for long over-water distances,” but immediately acknowledges “great difficulties to be overcome.” The second preface notes that “very little… has been possible” during the war years. This measured tone contrasts with the technical sections, which are confident and prescriptive. The prefaces also show Martin positioning his work within a broader field: he references articles in The Wireless World and mentions other researchers “trying to solve the problems of the wireless control of torpedoes and airships.” These framing statements give the reader a sense of the competitive, fast-evolving context in which the book was written, without overpromising results.

Readers approaching this 1919 edition should come prepared with a working knowledge of early wireless components and a tolerance for mechanical minutiae. Martin’s text rewards those who read with a soldering iron in hand, but it also offers a historical window into the material culture of experimental radio. The book is best used as a reference alongside actual apparatus, not as a narrative history. Its value lies in the specificity of its instructions and the unadorned clarity of its technical prose.

This 1919 edition made me think of my grandfather’s old spark-gap transmitter—how he’d wait for a faint signal through static, patient as the sea. It reminded me of another quiet afternoon, when The Memoirs of Charles H. Cramp — A Closer Reading gave me that same feeling: a steady voice describing slow, uncertain progress toward something barely visible on the horizon. Both felt like listening to someone think aloud.