From the beginning, the communication of graphic information was a significant goal.  From "From Semaphore to Satellite" a volume published on the occasion of the centenary of the International Telelecommunication Union in 1965.

"…two great pioneers are Samuel Finley Breeze Morse (1791-1872) and Alfred Vail, his partner.  Morse was an American painter of historic scenes of some distinction (sic) and in 1835 he was appointed Professor of the Literature of Arts and Design at New University (sic) in New York City).  It was during a return voyage from Europe in 1832, where he had gone to study art, that he became interested in electromagnets; their properties were demonstrated to him by a fellow-passenger during his voyage.  To Morse, this was a new and ingenious device and his mind becam engrossed with the idea of using an electromagnet as the operative element in an electric telegraph.

"The essence of Morse's idea was to use the passage of an electric current through an electromagnet to deflect a pen or pencil in such a way that they could mark a strip of paper passing underneath them.  The permanent recording of telegraphic messages onto paper was certainly a distinct new contribution and in 1835 his appointment to the University allowed him sufficient time to construct during that year his first, though still crude, telegraph.  Much remained to be done before it could become of real paractical use and only when in 1837 the mechanical abilities of Alfred Vail were joined with persisten advocacy of Samuel Morse was the way opened to success."

See Morse Message.

From Russell Naughton's David Edward Hughes.

"Professor David E. Hughes (1831-1900), a London-born scientist working in America, invented the first perfected mechanism for printing telegraphs, using a keyboard in which each key caused the corresponding letter to be printed at a distant receiver. It worked a bit like a 'golfball' typewriter and was produced before the typewriter was even invented. The modern teleprinter, telex system and computer keboards are all direct descendants of this invention.realized a device able to print letters of a dispatch."
 

Hughes'sending equipment of 1855 (From Semaphoreto Satellite)

From "From Semaphore to Satellite" a volume published on the occasion of the centenary of the International Telelecommunication Union in 1965.

"The principle was simple.  A continuously rotating wheel had 28 letters of the alphabet and other signs on it, and a clutch mechanism, actuated by an electromagnet, brought the wheel momentarily to rest when the desired desired letter was over a moving strip of paper.  Ink was continuously fed to the type-wheel from a roller, and thus a message in plain language could be spelt out straight onto the receiving paper.  For sending a message, the operator had in front of him a piano keyboard which relayed to the receiving post the electric impulses, which there stopped the type-wheel at the right instant of time.  From this basic principle has grown over the decades the modern automatic telegraph printer, ……"

The work of Alexander Bain (1811 - 1877) was considerable importance in the development of graphical telecommunications.  To quote Russell Naughton's Alexander Bain
 

"The idea of sending still images via the telegraph traces its roots to 1839. At that time Edmond Becquerel, a French physicist interested in the study of light, found that when two pieces of metal were immersed in an electrolyte, an electrical charge developed when one of the pieces was illuminated. Although Becquerel had discovered the electrochemical effects of light he did not offer any practical suggestion for its use.

In 1842, Alexander Bain proposed a facsimile telegraph transmission system based on Becquerel's discovery. Bain proposed that metallic letters of the alphabet could be transmitted chemically. Electrified metal letters could be scanned by a pendulum device and reproduced at the other end of the telegraph wire by a synchronised pendulum contacting a piece of chemical paper.

Historians normally associate Bain's idea's with the modern day facsimile (fax) machine. Bain is also credited with the idea of scanning an image, so it can be broken up into small parts for transmission. His invention also drew attention to the need for synchronisation between the transmitter and the receiver in order for the transmission system to work."

…The Italian Giovanni Caselli built a huge version of Bain's fax machine in 1856, which he called a pantelegraph ("all-purpose telegraph").  Caselli's machine was used in November 1860 to send the first long-distance facsimile between two cities--a message that travelled the 70 miles from Paris to Amiens. The device employed synchronised pendulums stretching about eight feet high--not quite a desktop device yet."

Abbé Caselli, an Italian physicist, has an interesting history. He was born in Siena in 1815; he studied literature and science. From 1841 to 1849 he lived in Modena as tutor of the sons of Marquis of San Vitale, but as he took part in the riots for annexation of Duchy of Modena to Piedmont, he was expelled from the Duchy. He spent all his money saved during his modenese period in experiments who eventually led to his pantelegraph.  Such experiments started in 1855, and ended in Paris, where Caselli met one of his most enthusiastic admirers: Napoleon the 3rd. With the help of the Emperor he had at his disposal, for his tests and trials, the whole french network. His first invention was registered in 1861 and in 1865 the pantelegraph started operation between Paris and Lyon.

See a 1867 American telegraph HERE. (From Western Union Telegraph Company, New York).

See a 1912 telegraphic facsimile HERE.  Hydroplane enthusiasts met in Monaco in March 1912.  This picture of one of the aircrafts was taken in front of the Casino and transmitted telegraphically to Paris (From Archives du Palais,Monaco).

Other Pictorial Events

Alexander Bain proposes facsimile telegraph transmission that scans metal letters and reproduces image by contact with chemical paper. Synchronized scanning is part of proposed transmission system.

Alexander Bain, patents his 'pantelegraph', an electrical method for transmitting images over a distance. This facsimile system can be said to be a primitive forerunner of television. In Bain's system of two synchronous pendulums with styluses attached, the movement of one stylus is communicated to the other, using nonconducting ink on conductive paper on the one end, and sensitive paper on the other. Although the system looks good on paper, it proves to be somewhat unreliable, since the pendulums are not truly synchronized as they should be. Others improve on Bain's invention in the years to come.

Frederick Bakewell improves on Bain's idea by using tin-foil covered revolving drums ( for transmitting and receiving recorded pictures )

George Carey builds a rudimentary facimile system using dozens of tiny light-sensitive selenium cells.

American, George Carey transmits pictures over wire bundles

Carlo Peresino suggests the concept of television 'scanning'. This is the practice of breaking down an image into picture elements which are then reassembled on the screen of the television receiver.  In the 1880s the idea is seconded by W. E. Sawyer and Maurice Leblanc.

Maurice Leblanc suggests 'photoelectric scanning' or transmitting a picture in segments also offers the first proposal for color television.

An early scanning device was developed by George Carey. The image was scanned by a selenium cell which travelled across the image in a spiral path. The signal currents were transmitted through a single line wire. The system lacked any synchronisation between scanning transmission and reception.

Denis Redmond publishes the first book about television, 'La Telescopie Electrique' ( The Electric Telescope ).

The 'Scanning Phototelegraph' is invented by physicist Shelford Bidwell. The process uses electricity and selenium to transmit the image of a chart, map or photograph over a distance, producing a wirephoto. The telautograph, an electrical device used to transmit handwriting and line drawing, is invented by Elisha Gray.

German scientist Paul Gottlieb Nipkow patents his electric telescope a device for scene analyzation that consisted of a rapidly rotating disk placed between a scene and a light sensitive selenium element.  What has became known as the Nipkow disk is a spirally perforated disc that rotates in front of the image to be analyzed and, thus, progressively reveals the image to the sensor.. Although a mechanical design, it was the first system, to propose and embody the principle of image scanning. It is believed a working model was never built by Nipkow himself. It would take the development of the amplification tube before the Nipkow Disc would become practical.

A photoelectric cell designed for practical use is invented by German physicists Julius Elster and Hans Friedrich Geitel. Originally introduced in 1893, photoelectric cells permit the conversion of luminous flux into an electric current. Thereafter, variations in light are transmitted by an electric current and then turned back into identical light variations upon arrival. The end result is the successful transmission of static or luminous imagery.

First colour television system is proposed based on the principle of scanning three primary colours.

 Boris Rosing of Russia develops the world's first working television system combining the cathode ray with a Nipkow disc.

In Sweden, Elkstrom invents 'flying spot' camera light beam

Boris Rosing (Russia) exhibited a television system which used mechanical scanner in the transmitter and cathode ray tube of Braun in the receiver.

Scottish scientist A.A. Campbell-Swinton proposed a method of electronic scanning where the cathode ray tube is used at the camera as well as the receiver end of the system. Swinton explains how the image is focused on a mosaic screen of photoelectric elements located in the camera, storing it there as an electric charge. The image is then reproduced on a picture tube by a scanning cathode ray beam that creates the TV signal. The scan is traced out line by line in the receiver to form the picture. Campbell-Swinton's theory forms the essential features of today's television system, although the primitive technology of the time does not allow it to be borne out in a practical demonstration. Not until 1923 will a stored-charge camera tube be patented.

Patent for iconoscope

American Charles Francis Jenkins and John Logie Baird develop ( 1923 - 1926 ) a working television system based on the Nipkow disk. The systems both produced a small, crude, orange and black but recognizable image.

 Philo T. Farnsworth ( 13 years old ) developed an electronic camera tube, similar tube to Zworykin's 'Iconoscope' named the 'Image Dissector'.

 Vladimir Zworykin patents the 'Iconoscope', an electronic camera tube based on A.A. Campbell-Swinton's proposal of 1911. By the end of 1923 he has also produced a picture display tube, the 'Kinescope'.

 Electronic engineer Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, a Russian immigrant working at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh, files for a patent on the iconoscope. This device, which is based on the use of an electronic analysis procedure, represents the first television transmission tube. The following year, Zworykin applies for a patent on the television receiver or kinescope. Together with the iconoscope, it forms the first truly all-electric television system, advancing beyond the electromechanical systems that operate with such devices as the Nipkow disc. An image is focussed onto a screen inside the iconoscope by an external lens, while a high-velocity electron beam scans it from the other side in a succession of horizontal lines. The picture signal is developed as the beam strikes the photoelectric cells of the screen, causing them to emit differing impulses based on the amount of light falling upon them. The information then is translated into a picture signal, and a similar process transmits the reconstructed image to the receiving screen. Westinghouse does not immediately grasp the importance of Zworykin's inventions, but he will impress RCA officials in 1929 with an improved system. His pioneering work in telecommunications earns Zworykin the well-deserved title "father of television". The kinescope will be used many years later, synchronized with a motion picture camera, to preserve television broadcasts. In 1933, an advanced version of Zworykin's system is used for a transmission from the Empire State Building in New York City. The resolution is 230 lines. Toward the end of his life Zworykin tells members of SMPTE that he is unhappy with the uses to which his discovery has been put.

 A portrait of King George V of England is successfully transmitted by French scientist Fournier d'Albe through wireless telephony. The image is first divided into 30 lines, and each line is further broken down into 20 squares. A grey scale letter code reflecting the individual degree of shading is then assigned to each square, and the codes are read off into a microphone. After 22 minutes, the face of King George is transmitted as a series of dots.

Alexanderson transmitted the first facsimile message across the Atlantic on June 5, 1924.
 

John Logie Baird is the first to transmit a moving silhouette ( mask ) image, using a mechanical system based on Paul Nipkow's model.

R. Ranger at RCA achieves the first transmission of a photograph from the US to Britain. His method involves placing a print on a cylinder that rotates while being scanned by a light beam.

Philo Farnsworth produced the first all-electronic television image.

 Scottish television pioneer John Logie Baird uses a doll's head to demonstrate the mechanical scanning ability of a prototype television to 50 scientists in his Soho laboratory in London. They see flickering facial features as the light passes through spiral holes in a rotating disc in front of a photoelectric cell. The cell converts the light into an electrical signal which is then processed for degrees of intensity, and converted into a beam. Projected through holes in a second rotating disc, the beam is subsequently translated into a reconstruction of the image on a screen.

 Canadian experiments with mechanical television start in Montreal.

 Commercial picture facsimile radio service across the Atlantic Ocean

 After five years of research, 21 year-old Utah engineer Philo T. Farnsworth demonstrates the first working electronic television system, equipped with the Farnsworth orthicon or 'image dissector tube'. This device electronically implements the mechanical Nipkow Disc principle, breaking an image down into light particles which are then transmitted and reconstructed at the receiving end.

 John Logie Baird creates the first videodisc system fifty years before its commercial inception. The discs, based on existing phonograph technology, rotate at 78 rpm and have the ability to capture and reproduce hazy images when played on a gramophone and connected to a Baird receiver. The bandwidth is 5 kh and the images, though barely recognizable, are reproduced at 12.5 fps at a resolution of 15 points per horizontal line, 30 lines altogether. During the thirties, several copies will be sold by Selfidge's department store in London. However, the mechanical TV system goes into obscurity when the BBC decides to discontinue the product in 1936.

 Pictures of Herbert Hoover, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, are transmitted 200 miles from Washington D.C. to New York, in the world's first televised speech and first long-distance television transmission.

 The Bell System employs Baird's television system to send the first long distance television transmission in the US. The demonstration takes place in the New York laboratories of Bell Telephone. The president of AT&T, Walter S. Gifford, gathers together a large group of people to view the televised image of Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce and a presidential hopeful, in his Washington, DC office. Hoover's voice is simultaneously transmitted over telephone wires. A serious problem delaying major development in television at this time is that of frequency resolution. A clear image will require a frequency band of four million cycles, compared to the 400 cycles required for a clear audio transmission in radio.

 Boris Rtcheouloff applies for a patent for a video tape recorder (VTR).

Alexanderson gave first public demonstration of television on January 13, 1924.

 American inventor E. F. W. Alexanderson demonstrates the first home television receiver in Schenectady, New York. It consisted of a 3 inch screen and delivered a poor and unsteady picture.

 On May 28, 1928 the first television station WGY began broadcasting in Schenectady. Sets were built and distributed by General Electric in Schenectady.

 The world's first television drama, 'The Queen's Messenger' is broadcast, using mechanical scanning.

 Station W2XBS, RCA's first television station, is established in New York City, creating television's first star, Felix the Cat.
 

 John Logie Baird transmits television via shortwave radio from his London laboratories across the Atlantic to New York . A doll's head and Baird's own face are faintly displayed on a two by three inch screen.

 John L. Baird demonstrates a colour television system using a modified Nipkow disk.

 Ulysses Sanabria introduces interlaced television scanning, a technique that reduces flicker in the transmitted image. When the top line of an image is scanned, the line that forms directly below it remains empty. As the scanning process continues, the still picture is scanned in alternate lines, and the next picture that is transmitted scans into the previous picture's empty lines. The meshing of these interlaced fields forms a complete image frame, and the speed with which the screen phosphors decay works with the eye's inclination to meld disparate images together. The result is a sense of continuous motion from discontinuous information.

Vladimir Zworykin demonstrated a television receiver including his "kinescope" -- a special cathode ray tube.

 In London, John Logie Baird opens the world's first television studio, but is still able to produce only crude and jerky images. However, because Baird's television pictures carry so little visual information, it is possible to broadcast them from ordinary medium-wave radio transmitters.

 Bell Telephone Laboratories initiates the first color television transmission in a spectacular broadcast between Washington and New York, comprising a 50-line system that beams red, green and blue along three separate channels. Later transmissions this year will pave the way for modern color TV with three color signals transmitted over a single channel.

 Zworykin demonstrates the all electronic television camera and receiver.( Resolution 60 lines )

 Bell Lab transmits stills in color by mechanical scanning
 

See, for example,  A Short History of Telegraphy

Radio and Television History Sites: from the University of North Texas.

The Farnsworth Chronicles: a biography of Philo Farnsworth and a review of his role of history in the history of television.

Big Dream Small Screen: materials from a PBS broadcast in the Technology in Americaseries of The American Experience.