SAMUEL F. B. MORSE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 11/22/1863 CO-SIGNED BY: SARAH ELIZABETH MORSE - HFSID 31729

SAMUEL F.B. MORSE and SARAH E. MORSE
The two sign a 3-page, handwritten 1863 letter to their son Willy, away at school
Autograph letter signed: "Yr Affectionate Father/Saml F.B. Morse" and "Your loving mother/S.E. Morse", 1 page, 4½x7½. 5 West 32nd Street, 1863 November 22. To their son Willy. Samuel F. B. Morse married his second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Griswold, in 1848. In a three-page letter, Mrs. Morse writes about family affairs, about his pet "Spottie is full of mischief. He tears many things that comes in his way." She tells him she is "going to have somethings on Christmas" wanting to know if he has "enough handkerchiefs…." Beneath his wife's signature, Morse writes, in part: "I add a few lines to your dear mother's letter. She says the truth when she says she thinks of you every day. Both you & dear Arthur are constantly in our thoughts…You must do all you can to please Mrs. Charles, Mrs. Fay and the other teachers and be diligent in your Studies…." Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) was an American painter and inventor. While attending Yale College Morse painted for a living and later studied art in Europe. His first wife died suddenly and Morse, heartbroken, became determined to formulate a faster way to send messages long distances. While returning by ship from Europe in 1832, Morse encountered Charles Thomas Jackson of Boston, a man who was well schooled in electromagnetism. Witnessing various experiments with Jackson's electromagnet, Morse developed the concept of a single-wire telegraph. On May 24, 1844, using a code of dots and dashes that he developed, sent the message, "What hath God wrought!" from the Supreme Court room in the Capitol building to Baltimore, the first successful application of the telegraph. In time the Morse code, which he developed, would become the primary language of telegraphy in the world. It is still the standard for rhythmic transmission of data. The original Morse telegraph, submitted with his patent application, is part of the collections of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. Light ink show-through. Normal mailing folds. Top right corner has small rip. Ink blot on last page. Pencil note (unknown hand) on bottom left corner of first page. Otherwise, fine condition.