Automatic telegraph receiver 

This picture was taken at the Old Patent Model Museum which was an exhibition in the Old Patent Office building and shows an automatic telegraph receiver.  The building now houses the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington DC.  

With the invention of electrical telegraphs by Samual F. B. Morse for which he received U.S. Patent No. 4,453 in 1846, the first electrical telecommunications system was born, and the electrical telegraph may be considered a first example of electrical engineering. 

The receiver shown in the picture was possibly made by James J. Clark in Philadelphia who in 1853 received a patent for a telegraph register and subsequently at least three more patents in this area. 

The invention of electrical telegraphs by Samual F. B. Morse is a good example of how a groundbreaking invention can result in the development of new industries and revolutionize our lives, in this case, the way how people were suddenly able to communicate over very long distance at an extremely high speed at the time.