Circa 1864 CIVIL WAR SPY Pocket Telegraph by Tillotson ~RARE~

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Circa 1864 CIVIL WAR SPY Pocket Telegraph by Tillotson ~RARE~:
$1850.00

Own a piece of American History....

TILLOTSON LINEMAN\'S POCKET TELEGRAPH SET: These hard-to-find sets were used by early linesmen and Civil War telegraph operators and spies to carry to the top of telegraph poles & tap into the telegraph lines for testing, espionage, and sending/receiving messages. Consists of a lovely oval hard rubber case, made hard thru the process of \'Vulcanization\' with engraved top 4-1/2\" long by 2\" wide. Inside is a tiny key with 1-1/2\" lever and a sounder with sensitive horizontally mounted coils. The key taps, there is no corrosion and nothing is loose. There is a small chip on the platform where the key is seated, it can be seen in the pictures. In extremely tiny writing, on the underside of the lid is stamped I.R.C. Co Goodyear*** 1851. India Rubber Comb Co. (I.R.C.Co.) and Novelty Rubber Co (N.R. Co) were the two main manufacturers of Goodyear hard rubber products. Hard rubber clothing buttons were common for the time.

HERE\'S SOME FAMILY HISTORY WITH THIS TELEGRAPH: This well preserved telegraph belonged to my Great-Grand father, Henry E. Jones. He immigrated to the U.S. lived in Washington, D.C. then settled in Monarch, Montana for the remainder of his life. He married, Catherine Gahan, the daughter of Patrick Gahan, Civil War Veteran (Union). Henry\'s name is engraved on the lid and on the sounder arm as you can see in the pictures. The family is confident the telegraph was a gift to Henry from Patrick who used it during his days with the Union. Patrick enlisted as a private on 26th August, 1861, Company B 46th Infantry Regiment, Pennsylvania, mustered on 16 July, 1865 at Alexandria, Va. The only other Tillotson Telegraph, identical to this one, that I am aware of that exists, is at the \'International Spy Museum\', in Washington, D.C. Check their website out. Also check out the history of Tillotson Telegraphs online. They were one of the premier makers of the instrument.

\'Christies sale House\' recentlysoldthe same telegraphand this is what they said: This is a tiny complete telegraph sending and receiving set that is built into a protective case that can easily be concealed in a pocket. Sets like this were used by Union spies during the US Civil war to tap into and listen to Confederate telegraph messages and on occasion to send false and misleading messages to the enemy.
The Union spy would infiltrate into Confederate territory and find a place where the Confederate Army’s uninsulated telegraph wires were suspended from poles. He would throw a bare wire up over the uninsulated telegraph wires, stick a bayonet into the ground to complete the electrical circuit and then listen in to Confederate messages. He could also use the tiny telegraph key in the set to transmit false or misleading information to the enemy. Very few of these sets survive. VALUE USD $3000-$5000.

Comes with the wooden box as shown in the pictures for display and protection. The box is modern with a brass plaque.

****An excellent link to history and value:Search \'Tillotson Spy Telegraph\' and you will find a Christies sale house link with additional info on the identical unit.****

If you are the winning buyer and you are interested in genealogy, I can include some documentation on both Patrick and Henry.

Shipping will be FREE, U.S. Postal Service \'Priority\' Mail, insured for $2Kand packed very well. I not thrilled to ship this internationally especially to developing countries but I will entertain it if we discuss it.

OMG, Would someone please ask me a question!!!! Anyone!!!!

THIS ITEM WILL NOT BE RE-LISTED AT THE END OF THIS sale.

Thank you for lookin!!