Nº 026 · Read
Messages before electricity
LOW←TECH MAGAZINE · 2026-09-30T21:51:33.166Z
Before electrical wires carried messages, movable arms on towers did the job. Claude Chappe’s optical telegraph turned their positions into coded signals, watched through telescopes and passed from station to station. This illustrated English account explains a communication network built from sightlines, human operators, and a shared code.
Read it at LOW←TECH MAGAZINE ↗
- Why this number?
- Twenty-six letters can carry a message; this network carried messages through moving shapes. An alphabet association, not a count of Chappe signals.
- Credit
- Kris De Decker / LOW←TECH MAGAZINE
- Reuse and attribution
- Original NicheMisc introduction and source link. The linked work stays on its original website; its text, images, video and audio are not reproduced here.
- Published
- 2026-09-30T21:51:33.166Z