APPENDICES

HISTORY OF CUBA UPTO TACÓN

The discoveryIt is interesting to recall that

Cuba was discovered by Christo-pher Columbus on 27 October1492, only two weeks after he hadfirst sighted land belonging to theAmerican Continent, namely thelittle Island of Guanahani, whichhe named San Salvador. At sunsetof the following day, 28 October,Columbus dropped anchor nearthe estuary of a river, roughlyabout where the town of Mayari iscurrently located, on the northerncoast of Cuba, which he hopedwould be a suitable site where tomoor his caravels. However, asthe bay was not wide and deepenough, on the following day hesailed west and continued to navi-gate along the northern coast ofCuba for over one hundred miles,until he found an excellent berthclose to what is now the port ofNuevitas. At last he could moorhis caravels and begin to explorethe inland. Many years later, inhonor of the grande almirante(Great Admiral) or gran genovés -as Columbus was called by most

Hispanic writers, from then on -the Strait between the Sabinalpeninsula and the island ofGuajaba, near Nuevitas, wasgiven the name Boca de LasCarabelas (mouth of thecaravels).

In the new land Columbushoped to find gold, silver and pre-cious stones with which to payback Queen Isabel for her greatsacrifice, as she had sold her jew-els to finance his endeavor. Unfor-tunately, however, he found nosuch thing, despite the help pro-vided by the few natives wholived along the coast and who,although their level of civilizationwas comparable to that of theStone Age, proved to behospitable, docile and respectfulpeople.

The first explorers of the NewWorld could not possibly imaginethat the exceptional fertility of theland they were crossing, whichgreatly fascinated them, could beas valuable as the gold theysought. Thus, with some disap-pointment, Columbus liftedanchor on 12 November andsailed in the opposite direction,towards the east. He wanted to

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assess the length of thatinterminable coast, on theopposite side from which he hadarrived. On 5 December hereached what is currently knownas the Punta de Maisí, theeasternmost tip of the island,which the natives called Cuba orCubagua, and which he hadbaptized Juana, in honor of theInfante of Spain, Don Juan.

According to Columbus, con-sidering its extension, that landwas likely to be the stretch of acontinent (Asia, in his opinion)rather then an island. That is whyhe called today’s Punta de Maisí,‘Alfa y Omega,’ to indicate that itmarked the beginning and the endof the “New World.” Then,instead of sailing round the Puntade Maisí and exploring thesouthern coast of Cuba, Columbuscontinued to sail south-east; onChristmas day, 25 December1492, he reached the island ofwhich the western half is currentlycalled Haiti, whereas the easternhalf is known as Santo Domingo.Columbus called it Hispaniola(which is the name that is stillused to indicate the entire island),and this is where he founded thefirst European colony of the NewWorld which he named Villa de laNatividad to celebrate Christmasday. One might say that, fromthen onwards, Hispaniola was theSpanish beach-head to the NewWorld, and a few years later itbecame the headquarters of thegovernment and of the equally im-portant Archbishopric.

In 1508, the Spanish Governorof Hispaniola, Nicolás de Ovando

assigned Sebastián de Ocampo(who had traveled with Christo-pher Columbus on his secondjourney to the New World) thetask of exploring the coasts ofCuba, to discover whether it wasan island or, as Columbus hadthought, the tip of the newcontinent. The exploration lastedeight months and it definitivelyproved that Cuba was indeed anisland. It is worth recalling thatduring this exploration Sebastiánde Ocampo discovered a port thatwas perfect for his ships and wasthus called Puerto de Carenas.This is where the city of Havanawas built eleven years later.

A few years after the explo-ration of the island, Spain decidedto proceed with the military occu-pation of the latter; thus, inNovember 1511, Diego Velázquezlanded with 300 soldiers. In twomonths he overcame theresistance of the natives andbecame the first Governor of theisland. He was appointed Tenientedel Almirante de Las Indias, and,in turn, received royal orders fromthe Buen Gobierno de Las Indias,which was to be as good (buen), atleast in its intentions, as the BuonGoverno Toscano we know sowell …

Thus began the long history ofSpanish colonial domination inthe Americas. In Cuba it lasted407 years, from 1492 to 1899,much longer than in all the otherSpanish colonies, which gainedindependence from Spain between1810 and 1824.

Itinerary of thediscovery of Cuba andHaiti by ChristopherColumbus

Havana 341

History of HavanaHavana - or rather La Habana

- was not the first city to befounded by the Spaniards in Cuba,chronologically speaking. Cuba’sfirst city was founded byVelázquez in 1512 and was calledNuestra Señora de la Asunción deBaracoa. The city, which is cur-rently known simply as Baracoa,is located on the northern coast,near Punta de Maisí, thereforeclose to Haiti, whence all Spanishexpeditions set off. Baracoa wasalso the first municipality andBishopric of Cuba. Only a fewyears after Baracoa was built, thecities of Bayamo, Santiago deCuba (where the Governor ofCuba, Velázquez, resided from theyear of its foundation, in 1515),Puerto Príncipe, Sancti Spíritus,Trinidad and San Juan de LosRemedios were founded.

The founding of Havana, in-stead, was more complicated as itwas initially built some fifty kilo-meters south of its currentlocation and was subsequentlytransferred twice. Morespecifically, on 25 July 1514, theday dedicated to St. Christopher(San Cristóbal), a city named SanCristóbal de la Habana in honorof Christopher Columbus, wasfounded along the estuary of theRio Mayabeque, on the southerncoast of Cuba on almost the samelongitude as current Havana. Thelittle town of Batabanó is situatedthere today. The city was namedafter Christopher Columbus forthe latter had landed there in midJune 1494, during his secondjourney to the New World.Approximately four years after it

was founded, therefore in 1519,San Cristóbal de la Habana wasmoved by Velázquez from thesouthern to the northern coast,near the estuary of the RioAlmendares (Boca de laChorrera), about six kilometerswest of its current location, whereit was finally transferred only afew months later. The reason whyit was transferred a third time hadto do, as was mentionedpreviously, with the presence inthe bay of the excellent Puerto deCarenas, which had beendiscovered and used in 1508 bySebastián de Ocampo. Thus, al-though it is not the oldest city, Ha-vana can be considered to be theoldest port of Cuba, with the ex-ception of the older but smallerport of Nuevitas, mentionedabove. The advantages offered bythe port of Havana were and areso great that they prevailed overthe disadvantages that its firstinhabitants had to endure; indeed,they were forced to stock up ondrinking water at the Boca de laChorrera (that is at the previouslocation) and they had to carry iteither in barrels by boat or in jarson mule-back, covering a distanceof over six kilometers from theRio Almendares to the city.

Havana’s first MunicipalCouncil (Cabildo) was held in theyear of the city’s final settlement,1519. It is commemorated by asmall building called El Templete,which was built in 1828 and stillstands, well preserved, on the sitewhere the first Cabildo was held,namely in the today’s Plaza de Ar-mas; the latter is well known topresent-day tourists as the heart of

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the so-called Habana Vieja (OldHavana).

In view of its growingstrategic importance, Havanabecame the residence of theGovernor of the island of Cuba in1553, depriving Santiago de Cubaof this privilege. Finally, on 20December 1592, exactly onehundred years after the discoveryof the new Continent, King PhilipII of Spain granted Havana, whichhad four thousand inhabitants atthe time, the title of city anddefined it “llave del Viejo Mundopara el Nuevo Mundo” (key of theOld World to the New World). Heclearly referred to the crucial roleof its port, which was anobligatory landing-place for alltraffic to and from the Americancontinent. That is why a gold keywas included in the city’s coat ofarms, which was officially recog-nized on 30 November 1665 bythe Queen Regent Doña Marianaof Austria, the widow of KingPhilip IV. The three castles on thecoat of arms represent the threemost ancient fortifications thatwere built to defend the entranceto the port of Havana, namely: theCastillo de la Real Fuerza (theoldest Spanish fortification in theAmericas) built in 1553, theCastillo de San Salvador de laPunta, built in 1600, and theCastillo de Los tres Reyes delMorro (usually called El Morro),built in 1630.

The first aim of these fortifica-tions was to defend Havana fromthe many pirates and buccaneerswhich not only intercepted navaltraffic between Spain and the im-

portant ports of Veracruz andHonduras but even attacked andsacked Havana itself. Followingthe sack of the city in 1555 by theFrench pirate Jacques de Sores,the Castillo de la Real Fuerza,which had proved to be inefficientin protecting the city, wasdemolished and completelyrebuilt. This took two decades,and the work was completed in1577. Moreover, the study of acomplex system of defense of thecity was entrusted to the Italianmilitary architect GiovanniBattista Antonelli, who finalizedthe project in 1589. From that yearonwards, the construction of thetwo foregoing castles began,which were situated along the en-trance canal to the port (Canal delPuerto). Two other castles werecompleted in 1643, which werepositioned along the coast, a fewkilometers from the city: theCastillo de Santa Dorotea deLuna de la Chorrera and theCastillo de Cojímar.

Instead, the impressive Fort-aleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña(over seven hundred meters long,the cost of which was estimated toamount to fourteen million pesosof the time), also envisaged in theAntonelli project, was completedonly in 1774, following the defeatof Havana’s garrison by the En-glish troops. In fact, the latterlanded and attacked El Morrofrom the inland, precisely whereAntonelli had planned to build theCabaña fortress, which had notbeen constructed. In conclusion,through subsequent additions andreconstruction, Havana began to

The large and ramifiedbay of Havana

Coat of arms of the cityof Havana

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look more and more like a city-fortress based on the Europeanmodel which flourished after1500, according to the principlesof the German Albrecht Dürer andthe Italian Michele Sanmicheli,aimed to optimize defense andguarantee the self-sufficiency ofthe inhabited area in the case oflong sieges.

The threat of pirates was dealtwith drastically towards the end ofthe seventeenth century whenEngland, Spain and Hollandjoined forces to defeat them.However, they were successfulonly in part, as it was impossibleto get rid of this bane altogether,and it was especially difficult todrive them out of Cuba, wheremany had their shelters and thepopulation lived in constant fearof sacking and assault for overone century. At times, the alarmthat rang from the Torreón de SanLázaro - little more than onekilometer west of the inlet to theBay of Havana, which served as apermanent sighting post to guardagainst pirate ships - was of littleuse. This situation of immanentpanic ended only in 1834, thanksto the drastic measures adopted bythe governor of Cuba, Don MiguelTacón, which will be describedhereinafter. Actually, thedefinitive solution was onlyachieved one year prior to thearrival in Havana of AntonioMeucci and his wife.

The city-wall played a basicrole in the defense system of thecity. It protected the west side, theone that faced inland, for over twokilometers. Its construction beganin 1633 but afterwards was sus-

pended for various reasons. After1654 - when England conqueredthe nearby island of Jamaica - itsconstruction was resumed andlasted over two decades. It was fi-nally completed in 1674.

Nevertheless, during the fa-mous Seven Years’ War, whenSpain and France were alliedagainst England following thecontroversy on the succession toking Charles II and other mattersconcerning the reigning Bourbons,Havana was occupied by the En-glish on 30 July 1762. The latterpossessed very preciseinformation on the city plan(rumor had it that the informationwas provided by an Englishmanwho had visited Havana as atourist a few years before). Theylanded simultaneously at Cojímar,some four kilometers east of theentrance to the Bay of Havana,and at Boca de la Chorrera,approximately four kilometerswest of the city, which thus founditself under a crossfire. The En-glish fleet commanded by SirGeorge Pocock was very powerfuland consisted of fifty ships, armedwith two thousand cannons, and alanding force of fourteen thousandmen. The city resisted for over amonth and a half, and may haveresisted longer if new troops hadnot arrived from Canada to helpthose already laying siege. Thecity was forced to surrender and avast area of the inland wasoccupied. Santiago de Cuba thenbecame the capital of the part ofCuba that remained under Spanishcontrol. On 10 February 1763,after eleven months of occupation,with the Paris Peace Treaty

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England accepted to returnHavana to Spain, even though ithad won the war; however, inexchange, it annexed Florida.With the same treaty Francesurrendered Canada and Louisianato England, which thus gainedcontrol over all of NorthAmerica’s East coast. Hence,England became the world’s lead-ing colonial power, taking theplace of Spain.

Immediately following the de-parture of the English from Ha-vana, the works for the extensionof the wall were resumed, as a les-son was learned from the defeat.Moreover, a work force of fourthousand men rebuilt the Morro(almost completely destroyed byEnglish shelling) and work alsobegan on the already-plannedCabaña fortress and the Ataréscastle, the latter being situated atthe tip of the south-west branch ofthe bay. The wall was alsoequipped with a large water moatand internal communicationtrenches. When construction wascompleted (in 1797), the wall wastruly impressive: it was one meterand forty centimeters thick, tenmeters high and had nine gates,eleven bastions and two semi-bas-tions. It was patrolled by a garri-son of three thousand fourhundred soldiers and wasequipped with over one hundredand eighty pieces of artillery. Acannon shot (cañonazo) at nineo’clock in the evening (eighto’clock in winter) warned thepopulation that the gates werebeing closed; the latter were re-opened at dawn. Curiously

enough, the custom of the cañon-azo de las nueve has been main-tained to this day, despite the factthat the wall was demolished backin 1863, as the city gradually ex-tended inland. Havana’s defensesystem, thus rebuilt and perfectedat the end of the eighteenth cen-tury, served its purpose to protectthe city (or discourage potentialenemies) efficiently throughoutthe following century, until Cubanindependence was achieved.

But the departure of theEnglish from Havana did not onlylead to a strengthening offortifications. The Englishoccupation had put an end toSpain’s total economic and polit-ical dominion of its colonies. In-deed, Spain had not only held amonopoly over tobacco, but it hadalso controlled all trade - whichhad been limited to a smallnumber of ports - and hadhindered the relations of the islandwith other countries. Thisexclusive relationship had stifledlocal activities, which for a longtime had been limited to livestockbreeding and the little farmingrequired to meet the population’sneeds, with the exception of sugarcane and tobacco growing. Othernegative effects of theselimitations were flourishingcontraband, which, along withpiracy, had become one of themost profitable activities of theSpanish colonies. After havingoccupied Havana, the English de-monopolized tobacco and decreedfree trade for all products in thewestern part of the island that theyhad occupied. So when Spain re-

Scheme of Havana’sfortifications in theearly nineteenthcentury

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gained possession of Cuba, due tothe pressure exerted by themunicipal councils (cabildos) ofthe island, as well as because itwanted to prevent Cuba fromfollowing the example of otherEnglish or Spanish colonies thatwere rebelling against theoccupiers, it decided to confirmthese liberal measures, thoughdiluting their enforcement over aperiod of two decades. The RoyalDecree of 10 February 1818provided for the opening of allCuban ports to foreign trade.

Thus, only after the Englishoccupation the island woke upfrom a long period of neglect andabandonment on the part of themetropolis (as Spain was calledby its colonies). New crops andrelated industries started, such asthat of a new variety of sugar cane(the Tahití, with higher yields thenthe local variety), coffee, cotton,Indian plant (to obtain indigo),silk-worms and bees for honey.Therefore, the island finally beganto produce, hence to groweconomically, also to theadvantage of the Royal Revenues(Rentas Reales), to the extent thatthe first Spanish governor of Cubawho took over after the Englishoccupation, the Conde de Ricla,created a new body for theiradministration, called theIntendencia de Hacienda (theRevenue Office). In the years thatfollowed, the Intendente deHacienda - often simply called theIntendente - was to become themost powerful man on the islandafter the governor, and at times hewas even considered to be equallyimportant.

To convey a better idea of justhow backward Havana was at thatmoment in time, suffice it to saythat the Conde de Ricla had togive a name to many of the citystreets and numbers to the houses,despite the fact that the city’spopulation already amounted toabout forty thousand inhabitants.Immediately thereafter, heorganized an internal mail service- which did not exist before - andregularized the one with themetropolis.

The Conde de Ricla was fol-lowed by over half a dozen gover-nors, before the moment that is ofinterest to us, that is when theCoccodrillo sailed into the port ofHavana. Just think that DonMiguel Tacón - the Governor inoffice at the time - was the eighty-eighth governor of Cuba, if DiegoVelázquez is considered as thefirst. Said governors generallyheld office only for a few years(the actual average was three anda half years) especially due to thefact that, back in Madrid, themany ploys of those who covetedthis desirable office often got theupper hand of even the mostefficient and adamant behavior ofany governor in power in Cuba,unless the latter was backed up byextremely powerful people at theSpanish Court. The official title ofthe governor was TenienteGeneral, but he was usually calledCapitán General, as shown by thenameplate that hangs on thepalace in the Plaza de Armaswhich was his residence and wascalled Palacio de Los CapitanesGenerales.

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This palace - which stands justbehind the Castillo de la RealFuerza - was begun (but not com-pleted) by the Teniente GeneralMarqués de la Torre, who gov-erned between 1771 and 1776. Hebecame famous as he was the firstperson in the history of the islandto conceive and implement a vastprogram of civil and public works,the purpose of which was to beau-tify the town and to provideleisure to the population. He wasable to take advantage of afavorable moment in the historyof the island, which alreadydisplayed signs of remarkableeconomic growth accompanied bya strong expansion of foreigntrade. Among the early works ofthe Marqués de la Torre it isworth mentioning the first Paseo,created in 1772, just outside thewalls of Havana. It was alsocalled the Nuevo Prado, afterMadrid’s homonymous paseo.

This tree-lined avenue - re-served for pedestrians in thecentral part, which was slightlyraised with respect to the carriage-lanes on the two sides, changed itsname in the subsequent years, alsobecause it was extended furtherand restructured. As of 1797 itwas called the Paseo Extramural,then, in 1840, it was re-baptizedPaseo de Isabel II (or PaseoIsabella Secunda) in honor of theQueen of Spain. Today it is calledthe Paseo José Martí (or Paseo deMartí) even though in commercialmaps and often on the street signs,along with the names adopted bythe current regime, the mostimportant names of the past also

appear (in this case, the namePaseo del Prado was chosen outof the ones mentioned above).However, since our story takesplace in 1835, we will use thename it went by at the time,namely Paseo Extramural. ThisPaseo started by the ocean, wherethe previously-mentioned Castillode San Salvador de la Puntastood. It followed a straight linealong the external side of the wall,for slightly less than onekilometer and ended roughly incorrespondence with the Puertade Monserrate (the fourth gate ofthe wall, starting from the ocean).The effect of the rains was suchthat just outside of the wall theterrain became very rough,alternating deep troughs andmounds. Thus, in order toimplement the Paseo it wasnecessary to build embankmentsand supporting structures, so as totrace a reasonably straight and flatpath.

Another pleasant paseo insidethe walls, which was reserved topedestrians - also slightly raisedwith respect to the road level, aswas the custom then - wasfinished a few years later, in 1776,and was called Alameda de Paula.It began from the Plazuela de Luz- whence the homonymous Callede Luz and the wharf calledMuelle de Luz also began - andcontinued in a straight line forabout two hundred and fiftymeters, along a stretch of thebeach, towards south-west. Thispaseo ended in correspondencewith the Plazuela and Iglesia deSan Francisco de Paula. It is

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worth highlighting that the wordalameda derives from the fact thatmost of these avenues forpedestrians were lined with rowsof willows (álamos).

In 1775, one year before theAlameda de Paula was completed,the Marqués de la Torre inaugu-rated Havana’s first civic theater.It was situated right at thebeginning of the Alameda dePaula, in front of the Muelle deLuz, between the ocean and CalleOficios. This theater, whichsucceeded the ancient Casa deComedias (not bearing intoaccount the various travelingtheaters or theaters mounted ontemporary stages) was initiallycalled El Coliseo, or Teatro de laAlameda. Later, in 1808, when itwas rebuilt and moved (slightly)towards the median line of theAlameda de Paula, it was giventhe name Teatro Principal. Aswas mentioned previously, theItalian Opera Company made itsdebut in this theater, a few weeksafter its arrival in Havana. For thisreason, as of 1836, it was alsocalled Teatro de la ópera.

We have deemed itappropriate to point out all thenames of the most important sitesfor, otherwise, the reader whoshould wish to consult historicaldocuments dating back to thisperiod might be confused by thewide range of names that wereused, sometimes at once, for thesame site. As we have doneheretofore, for the time being weshall adopt the names that were inuse in 1835, hence the foregoingtheater will be referred to as theTeatro Principal.

It must be said, however, thatat the beginning of the nineteenthcentury, Havana’s population wasnot yet mature enough toappreciate the theater, at least notas much as it enjoyed strollingalong the paseos, for instance.Indeed, whereas the beautiful andpopular Alameda de Paula soonbecame a meeting point for theelegant youth of the capital, thepeople quickly lost their interestin the Coliseo and in 1800, thoughbuilt solidly in wood and brick, itstood abandoned and half-destroyed. From that time, the citywas left without a civic theater upuntil 1808, when the TeatroPrincipal was rebuilt very close tothe area where El Coliseo oncestood by order of the previously-mentioned governor Marqués deSomeruelos. From the outset, thePrincipal enjoyed a happier fatethan the Coliseo, especially owingto the fact that it could benefitfrom the presence of many goodactors who had decided toabandon Spain followingNapoleon’s invasion. Today,tourists cannot even admire its re-mains, for the Principal, com-pletely destroyed by the tremen-dous hurricane of 10 and 11 Octo-ber 1846, was never rebuilt, alsobecause it had been superseded bythe new and larger Gran Teatro deTacón. Conversely, the Alamedade Paula still exists, though it hasbeen engulfed by the port area,quite unsuitable for night-wander-ing tourists wishing to savor againthe old-fashioned pleasure ofpromenading. The sole vestige ofthe past splendor of the Alamedais the marble Columna O’Donnell,

Alameda de Paula -View from the TeatroPrincipal towards theIglesia de S. Franciscode Paula

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which stands at the center of theavenue and is still well preserved,though it bears no plate recallingits name, so that not even thepeople who live in the area seemto be acquainted with it.

As for the already-mentionedbuilding of the Palacio de losCapitanes Generales, it is worthmentioning two important circum-stances. The first is that thisbuilding was planned in 1776 bythe Marqués de la Torre, alongwith the enlargement of the Plazade Armas, which was made pos-sible by the demolition of achurch that stood in that area andwhich allowed to restructure theentire area between the Castillo dela Real Fuerza and the Muelle delComercio (used for mooringpassenger ships at the time). Thesecond is that, actually, this palacewas called Casa del Cabildo atfirst, as, prior to serving as theresidence and office of thegovernor, it was the seat of themunicipality and of the public jail,which latter was situated in itslarge basement and can still beseen today. The palace wascompleted in 1791 and was inau-gurated by one of Cuba’s most fa-mous governors, Don Luis de lasCasas, who took office in July1790 and ruled until December1799.

Under Don Luis de las Casas,the population of Havana provedto be mature enough to appreciatecultural entertainment, like moreadvanced countries. It is true thatthis inflexible and uprightgovernor was so enterprising andresolute in his cultural initiatives

as to drag the uneducated subjectsof the island in the wake of hisenthusiasm. To mention only afew of his many achievements, hepromoted culture and education atall levels by creating the SociedadPatriótica de Amigos del País(later known as the SociedadEconómica de Amigos del País).

Indeed, Don Luis de las Casasfounded the first elementaryschools, vocational trainingschools, some art academies, andhe also opened the first public li-brary in 1793 and the first highereducation Chairs. As for the latter,it is worth highlighting that al-though a Pontifical University hadexisted in Havana ever since1734, the only subjects taughtthere, by the Dominican Fathers,were basic philosophy, theology,and canon law. Don Luis de lasCasas also founded a permanentperiodical press in Havana and inparticular the island’s mostancient newspaper, called thePapel periódico de la Habana. Itis also worthwhile mentioning thefirst census of the population,ordered by Las Casas in 1791,according to which the island’stotal population totaled at thatdate 272,000. He was also re-sponsible for Havana’s first publiclighting system, which was im-plemented that same year.According to many historians,Don Luis de las Casas was by farthe best Spanish governor ofCuba.

Historians also claim that thethirty years between the govern-ment of Don Luis de las Casasand that of Don Francisco

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Dionisio Vives mark the period inwhich Havana registered itsgreatest development. Indeed,during that period, as aconsequence of different causes,three waves of skilled andeducated immigrants reachedCuba, which undoubtedly con-tributed to said development. Pre-cisely, in 1791, in the wake of arather widespread revolt of slavesin Haiti, many companies wereforced to close down and sometransferred their activities toCuba. Some have said that it isthanks to the immigrants fromHaiti that Cuba became the firstproducer of sugar in the world inonly a few decades, therebydeserving the title of azucareradel mundo (the sugar-basin of theworld). The other two waves ofimmigration came from theformer Spanish colonies ofHispaniola and Louisiana, bothsurrendered to France, in 1795and in 1803, respectively. As aconsequence, many enterprisingand bright Spanish and Frenchpeople emigrated from thosecolonies to Cuba, who contributedto raising the economic and sociallevel of the island and began togrow coffee in Cuba. Moreover,entire families immigrated toCuba from the Canary Islands,and this was also championed andpromoted by governor Las Casas.

The history that followed, upto the beginning of the period we

are interested in, was marked bySpain’s constant concern not togrant too much freedom to itscolonies, for fear of fueling theirspirit of independence. In particu-lar, in 1820, governor Cajigal wasprohibited from ratifying theSpanish Constitution in Cuba. Hissuccessor, Don FranciscoDionisio Vives, was entrusted withspecial powers, in 1823, to theaim of maintaining order in Cuba,as did, in 1830, the governor thatcame after him, Ricafort, inderogation of the laws in force inSpain. Notwithstanding, suchmeasures did not prevent mostSpanish colonies—with the soleexceptions of Cuba and PuertoRico—from gaining independencefrom Spain in the period between1810 and 1824.

BibliographyCastellanos, G. G., Panorama Histórico.Ensayo de Cronología Cubana (1492-1933), UCAR García y Cia, La Habana,1934Costantino, G., Pérez Ferrer, E., Guia deCuba, Ediciónes Gianni Costantino,Italy, 1989Costantino, G., Pérez Ferrer, E., Guia dela Ciudad de La Habana, EdiciónesGianni Costantino, Italy, 1989Garate, R. (Editor), Libro de Cuba,Federación de la Prensa Latina deAmérica, La Habana, 1930 (pp. 1-20)Pezuela, J. de la, Diccionario geográfico,estadístico, histórico de la isla de Cuba,Imprenta del Establecimiento de Melladoá cargo de Don J. Bernat, Costanilla deSanta Teresa no. 3, Madrid, 1863.

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DON MIGUEL TACÓN YROSIQUE

Visconde de Bayamo, Marqués dela Unión de Cuba, CaballeroInsigne, Orden Toisón de Oro

Don Miguel Tacón y Rosiquewas born in 1775 and died in1855. Prior to taking office as theeighty-eighth governor of Cuba,on 1 June 1834, at the age of fifty-nine, he had served in the Spanisharmy and had taken part in themili tary operations in LatinAmerica, which preceded theindependence of most of theSpanish colonies. On account ofhis past experiences, he tended tomistrust Creoles and was againstany type of political concessionthat might have compromisedabsolute Spanish sovereignty overCuba. Indeed, only pure Spaniardsbelonged to his camarilla. In thisregard Jacobo de la Pezuelarelates: “… Tacón did not add, toLas Casas’ great talent forgovernment, flexibility andrectitude and to Cienfuegos’ardent love for law and order, themediation ability of Vives … ”However, Pezuela implicitlycompared him to the best Spanishgovernors of the island. In fact,owing to his biased attitude,Tacón was despised by the Creolearistocracy (which he did notinvite to the great balls given atthe Governor’s Palace) as well asby the ‘sugarocracy’ and theChurch, which had many pow-erful friends as well as its ownstrong economic interests in thesugar industry. Tacón attacked the

latter so vehemently that heearned the reputation of beinganticlerical. However, bysupporting clandestine slave trade- from which he is said to haveearned huge profits - he ended upfavoring the sugar industry,supplying cheap labor and therebycontributing to its economicgrowth.

Tacón maintained the censor-ship imposed by his two predeces-sors Vives and Ricafort, adding athird, military censor to the twocivilian ones, with a final right ofveto. He also suppressed the Re-vista Bimestre Cubana because heconsidered it to be too anti-con-formist. He was very hard on theCreole and colored people, forfear of separatist movements suchas the ones that had occurred inthe rest of Latin America. In fact,Tacón resorted to all means of dis-suasion, including jail and depor-tation.

According to Pedro José Guit-eras (see bibl.), General Tacón“was tall, lean, with a serene andsolemn face and steadfast counte-nance, which, however, was dis-simulated in his general physiog-nomy. He was careful to keep adignified attitude and to appearwell-groomed, and had the virtueof being methodical and industri-ous in his government tasks. Theexaggerated notion that he had ofhis authority enhanced his arro-gance and extreme reserve… Hismoodiness led him to be oftenoverwhelmed with anger and hewas extremely strict in exactingobedience.” Ramón de la Sagra(see bibl.) added on Tacón’s

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commitment to building: “… Hekept watch like Argus… he readthe reports on the work progresswhich he asked for daily and con-trolled the supply of materials tothe different sites, visiting them inthe evening …”

Tacón went down in historybecause of his exceptionalbuilding activity: indeed, anotherperiod of large-scale urbanconstructions matching that ofTacón was only registered ninetyyears later, in 1925, when a newmaster plan of the city wasentrusted to the Frenchman J. C.N. Forestier.

Another Tacón’s equallyimportant merit was that ofkeeping public order andenforcing the law. He repressedopposing political partiesruthlessly and marginalized afflu-ent Creoles from the centers ofpower (making them his enemies),resorting to deportation to get ridof his opponents. He also put anend to gambling and to the licen-tiousness that had gained groundunder the various governors whohad come before him. Conversely,Tacón was not blood-thirsty: in-deed, the number of people put inprison and sentenced to death un-der his government was muchlower with respect to the previousVives and Ricafort governments,or the O’Donnell, Roncali andConcha governments that fol-lowed.

Briefly, Tacón achieved thefollowing objectives: he improvedpublic services and hygiene,fought the environmentalpollution, he was an inflexiblecensor of customs, improved

public order and, above all, hecreated an urban structure suitablefor recreation and leisure, in tunewith the changes that had takenplace in the lifestyle of the town,which, thanks to him, became amodern city. In particular, herepaired the streets and introducedstreet lighting, built a theater inthe capital that turned out to bethe best in America, and left theisland with a population that hadgrown to more than one millionpeople and an income estimated atover ten million pesos fuertes.Finally, Tacón went out of hisway to ennoble and reassert thepower of his motherland in Cuba.According to Pérez de la Riva (seebibl.), Don Miguel Tacón was thegreatest town builder of the pastcentury: “… His name echoes inall the districts: Calle de Tacón,Teatro de Tacón, Paseo de Tacón,Mercado de Tacón, Puerta deTacón …”

During his government, Tacónavoided using the Royal Revenuesadministered by the (Creole)Conde de Villanueva to financethe public works that he approved,resorting as much as possible todonations, taxation, the privatecapital of contractors and the saleof bozales (slaves born outside ofthe island) and emancipatedslaves. Public works employedemancipated slaves, prisoners andeven Carlist exiles1, with variousexpedients, including longextensions of their detentionterms.

1Supporters of Don Carlos, the pretenderto the Spanish throne, or his heirs.

352 Antonio Meucci

Public Order andMilitary Structures

About one month after havingtaken office, Tacón adopted a se-ries of measures to enforce lawand order on the island. First ofall, he regulated the use ofweapons and forbade people tocirculate armed. He introducedstrict regulations for thedisembarking of passengerstraveling on ships arriving in theport. He also ordered that dogowners use leads and muzzles andthat stray dogs be killed. On 15July 1834, he set up an efficientnight patrol corps for the sixteenintramural neighborhoods, knownas the Cuerpo de Serenos, forwhich he himself drafted detailedregulations. Prior to this, nightguards, which had existed in the-ory ever since the early 1800s,were few and inefficient, also be-cause they were paid with the vol-untary contributions of thecitizens.

Tacón worked hard on themoral and social rehabilitation ofthe island, and the effects of hisendeavor were long-lasting. Inparticular, he prosecuted thieves,murderers, tramps and gamblers,he closed illegal gambling housesand reproduced theannouncements of the BuenGobierno which were displayedon street corners. Up until then,the situation had been such thatthe lives and property of thepeople were not safe even duringthe day or in well-lighted areas.After sunset, no peaceful citizenwould venture to walk the streets.The city teemed with gamblers

and thieves, whereas thecountryside was infested withgangs of outlaws. As soon asTacón became governor, hechanged this state of affairs andpersecuted all criminals regardlessof rank or category. Indeed, it issaid that he had one of hisofficers, accused of embezzle-ment, locked up in jail. After exil-ing gamblers, he ousted the gangsof outlaws from the city and coun-tryside. In particular, he purgedthe city of the various bands ofpirates, smugglers and robberswhose favorite haven had been theRegla neighborhood (south of theHavana bay) and which had previ-ously infested the roads that led tothe city, engaging in their criminalactivities right under the city wall,in defiance of customs officersand the fortress military.Following Tacón’s energeticmeasures, Regla became a calmneighborhood, if poorer anddeserted. Even its Plaza de Toros- previously patronized by thegangs of outlaws - was abandonedby the public, whose interest inviolent spectacles had declined,and the amphitheater fell into ruin,as did many of the houses in thisneighborhood that were linked tocrime. Many years later, in 1845,tales of the incredible and dailycriminal feats of the past wererecounted in Regla like legends.Indeed, ever since Tacón becamegovernor, guards on horsebackpatrolled the streets of Reglaevery night, reassuring pedestriansand discouraging criminals.

Tacón’s drastic measures wonthe approval of foreigners, who

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had steered clear of the island upuntil then, knowing that in thatland thieves and bandits had theupper hand. Thus, as a result ofTacón’s provisions, a remarkablenumber of tourists flocked to theisland, especially from NorthAmerica. Eduard Otto, a Germanwriter, reported that during hisstay in Havana, around 1836, theentire city was perfectly safe.

Tacón also turned his attentionto the military and commandstructures, and had the Palace ofGeneral Captains or Casa de Gob-ierno remodeled between 1835and 1836. The jails were removedand prisoners were temporarilydetained in the Cabaña fortress.The task of restructuring thebuilding was assigned to chiefengineer Don Manuel Pastor. Therooms of the former jail wererestored and used as offices by theCaptain General and theMunicipality (Ayuntamiento);eight elegant shops and two publicnotary offices were also obtained.The roof was renewed and a largeneoclassical marble portico wasadded to the façade thatoverlooked the Plaza de Armas,which has remained unchanged todate.

Tacón built a Campo Militarbetter known as Campo de Marte,which was to serve for the trainingand exercises of his troops, keep-ing them at the top level of effi-ciency. In later years, however, itwas also used for parades andother events. Among them, it isworth mentioning some famousaerostatic lifts, such as that of theCuban José Domingo Blinó. TheCampo (field), which was located

near the crossroads of San LuisGonzaga and the Paseo Extramu-ral, was two hundred meters longand one hundred and fifty meterswide and was surrounded by a talliron fence, three meters high, withlarge gates on the four sides: thePuerta de Tacón to the east (rightin front of the city-wall), thePuerta de Hernández de Cortés tothe north, the Puerta de Pizarro tothe South and the Puerta de Colónto the West. Each gate had twopillars supporting an arc with thecoat of arms of the city and aninscription with the year ofconstruction and name of the gate.Otto Eduard wrote that there werelarge alamedas around the squarewith very beautiful buildings fromwhich the population couldadmire the exercises, and that, onthe northern side, the Campo deMarte was adjacent to the oldBotanical Garden (JardínBotánico). Furthermore, Ottoreported that he was very muchimpressed by the excellent bearingof the military. The Campo deMarte was built with public funds,and total expenditure amounted to181,053 pesos. Today it no longerexists. Part of the area is currentlyoccupied by the Plaza de laFraternidad.

Around March 1835, Tacónbegan to build a new prison calledNueva Cárcel or Cárcel de Tacón.By September 1836, all of theprisoners who had beentransferred temporarily from thebasement of the Casa deGobierno to the Cabaña fortresswere moved there. The project forthe jail was a modern one indeedfor that time. As a matter of fact,

354 Antonio Meucci

Tacón sent his friend Ramón de laSagra off to Europe for a coupleof years to study the most efficientjails as well as to the UnitedStates to take stock of theirmodern penitentiary theories. DonManuel Pastor directed the worksand another friend of Tacón’sJoaquín Gómez, was in charge ofraising public funds. The building,which was situated at thebeginning of the PaseoExtramural, facing the ocean, wassixty-seven meters long and onehundred and seventy meters wide,and could hold up to two thousandprisoners, distinguished by sex,social class, color and type ofcrime, and over one thousand twohundred military men. For thispurpose, the ground floor of thebuilding was used as a jail, whilethe upper floor was used asbarracks for the troops and asofficers’ residence. The groundfloor featured two workshopswhere the prisoners were put towork, according to the UnitedStates’ system, as well as largecourtyards for the hour of recre-ation. Moreover, the prisonerswere kept in large rooms, insteadof locking each one in a separatecell, with the exception of thoseimprisoned for serious crimes.The second floor was completedin 1839, after Tacón had alreadyleft office. The final cost of theNueva Cárcel amounted to480,640 pesos and 4 reales. In thesubsequent years, the terrain,which was part rocky and partsandy, began to yield, therefore anumber of measures had to betaken. The building was torn

down in 1930, although the chapel- which still exists - was left as aMemorial of it.

Another military building wasthe Barracks of Carbineers(Cuartel de Carabineros) of theCastillo de la Real Fuerza. It wasbegun in 1837 and completed in1839 under the government ofDon Joaquín Ezpeleta. Thebuilding was set up in order toavoid having the garrison resideoutside the walls, whence, in caseof need, it could not rush to thefortress during the night, when thegates of the wall were shut.

Between 1836 and 1837,Tacón also built a villa to be usedby the Captain General - whichwas used also by his successors -as a private residence or de recreo(for recreation), so as to separatethe place of work from the privateresidence. To this end, Tacón de-cided to use an area along thePaseo de Tacón (or PaseoMilitar ), under construction at thetime, called Los Molinos del Rey.There was also an old house there,which was restructured and thenused to lodge the servants of thevilla. The garden (which wascalled Jardín de Tacón) presentedmany precious plants and bushesthat were taken from the nearbybotanical garden (JardínBotánico), which had to be movedalso to make room for the railway.The villa was built by DonManuel Pastor. It had only onefloor, with a terrace and galleriesand shutters on the windows. Ma-terials left over from the otherconstructions were used and laborwas provided by the prisoners of

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the Nueva Cárcel. The villa is cur-rently known as the Quinta de losMolinos (Villa of the Mills), and afew remains of the railing ofCampo de Marte are displayedthere today. Its total costamounted to 25,062 pesos.

Public Works and PublicServices

Tacón devoted much attentionto organizing public services. On12 December 1835, he foundedthe Cuerpo de Bomberos (the FireBrigade), comprised of one hun-dred and eighty men (six thirty-men units), of which one thirdwere white, one third mulatto andone third black. Half of the menwere allocated to the extramuralneighborhoods while the otherhalf was assigned to theintramural quarters. Each unit hadmen who were brick-layers,carpenters or blacksmiths, guidedby a commanding Lieutenant whowas assisted by a SecondLieutenant and a Sergeant. Thebarracks were situated next to theSan Felipe convent, on the cornerof Obrapía and Aguilar. This unitreported to the engineer ManuelPastor, who, in turn, reported toTacón, who held the office ofInspector. Also in this case Tacónno longer resorted to the voluntarycontributions of citizens to pay thesalaries of said firemen and levieda small but fixed tax, in order toensure that the service wouldn’tbe inefficient as it had been in thepast. Another innovation consistedin installing fire hydrants on thewalls of corner buildings, wherethe hydraulic network pipes of thevery recent Fernando VII

aqueduct passed. Said hydrantswere also used to sprinkle thestreets during the dry season.

In the same year, Tacón tookaway the contract for garbage col-lection from the previous holder,who had proved to be inefficient,and called a public tender, the firstcondition being that the roads hadto be swept on the same day thatgarbage was collected.

Between 1834 and 1835,Tacón tore down and rebuiltseveral markets and the city’sslaughter house. In the newmarkets he introduced modernhygienic criteria such as runningwater to keep counters andutensils clean, big marble slabs onwhich to display the produce,good air ventilation and lighting,large roads for traffic and porticosto shelter people from sun andrain. Previously, the markets hadbeen held in open squares andwere often unbearably reeking. Healso introduced the Councilorresponsible for the Police and forweight rectification, despite thefact that most of the buyers wereslaves or colored people. One ofthe new markets, called Mercadode Cristina (or de Fernando VII)was within the walls, in the PlazaVieja (or de Fernando VII). It wasbuilt by a private contractor(Manuel Pastor) and cost 115,521pesos. It no longer exists,although the Plaza Vieja stillstands. The other intramuralmarket was the Mercado delSanto Cristo, on Plaza del Cristo(or Plaza Nueva), next to theIglesia del Santo Cristo situatedon Calle Teniente Rey, betweenVillegas and Bernaza. It also was

Map of the island ofCuba of 1874

356 Antonio Meucci

built by a private contractor(Manuel Pastor) and cost 67,876pesos. Today, no traces are left ofthis market. The Pescadería (orBoquete de la Pescadería) builtby another private contractor (DonFrancisco Marty) has been de-scribed in detail in the foregoing,as was the market built outside thewalls, called Mercado de Tacón(or Mercado del Vapor) whichwas also built by a privatecontractor (Don Manuel Pastor).

As regards the slaughterhouse, the Matadero-Carnicería,Tacón tried to make theprocedures more hygienic and hesummoned technical experts fromthe United States for this purpose.The old slaughter house, situatedwithin the walls, was dirty as wellas irrational. The new slaughterhouse was erected outside thewalls, to the right of the Chávezbridge, near the Calzada delMonte (in the Horcón neigh-borhood), also called Calzada delHorcón. He also ordered that themeat be transported in closedwagons and as of l October 1835,heavy fines as well as jail sen-tences were given to the manybutchers who failed to comply.The slaughter house cost 47,780pesos.

As for public works, Tacónpaved with macadam (after thename of the Scottish engineerJohn McAdam, who developedthis method in Bristol, GB in1815) as many as twelveintramural roads and severalextramural roads, for a total oftwelve kilometers. Morespecifically, it was estimated that,

between 1834 and 1837, over120,756 square meters of roadswere macadamized. The methodconsisted in laying a roadbed ofgravel and crushed stone, rollingthe surface with the addition ofbinders, sometimes merelyconsisting of water sprayed priorto rolling, which helped to cementand flatten the surface. Tacón de-veloped a method which was triedout for the first time on Calle deO’Reilly in 1834. After the exper-iments he decided to do withoutthe final layer of gravel and sandbecause torrential rain simplywashed it away and dragged thematerial down to the bay, raisingthe level of the sea bottom.Instead, he had a poundingmachine with six hammers(served by six men) built, whichcrushed the hard flint-stone intosmall fragments; the latter werethen rolled with a heavycompressor, thereby achieving asort of dry compacting of theroadbed. The advantage gained bypaving the roads according to thismethod was that the noise pro-duced by carriages and wagonswas greatly reduced, as thesurface was smoother; moreover,it was possible to give the roadbeda convex shape to help rainwaterflow down to the side of the road.The method, however, had to bereviewed because when veryheavily-loaded wagons passed,pulled by oxen, they woulddestroy the road, therefore harderand more compact materials hadto be used.

While he paved the roads,Tacón also provided for the con-

Havana 357

struction of a sewage network. Heordered that homeowners equiptheir houses with cesspools for thedisposal of waste water, to avoidwater used for household purposesand personal hygiene beingstealthily discharged into thestreets, contrary to regulations. In-deed, the sewers were to serve al-most exclusively to conveyrainwater only into the sea.Instead, all sorts of wastes andfilthy water ended up beingdischarged. The sewage systemreceived water from the Zanja todilute the waste. The umpteenthcontroversy between Villanuevaand Tacón arose on this subject,because the works for the railwaysmade it necessary to cover astretch of the Zanja, damaging theconnection with the sewers(according to Tacón), while,according to Villanueva, saidinconveniences were caused bythe excessive difference in levelof the Calzada de San Luis Gon-zaga. The works for the sewersystem were begun by Tacón in1835 and by 1837 more than2,730 meters had been built.

Tacón also had bronze platesbearing the street names placed onstreet corners, and introducednumbering for the houses, witheven numbers on one side of theroad and odd numbers on theother, as is done in modern cities.

In the years between 1836 and1837 other civil constructionswere launched, including theextension of the PaseoExtramural, the construction ofthe Paseo de Tacón and therefurbishing of Calzada de SanLuis Gonzaga and of the Puente

Galiano. The latter, whichinitially stretched across the Zanjaon an acute angle, was rebuilt at aright angle, so as to leave a largerunderpass for the railways. Later,when the Zanja was covered overand paved, the bridge was nolonger of use and was thus dis-mantled.

In that same period (18361837), Tacón restructured themain wharf, situated opposite theharbor office, which was calledMuelle del Comercio (laterdenominated Muelle deCaballería). He imported granitestone from Barcelona and pavedthe entire area, where he laterplaced the Fuente de Neptuno orFuente del Comercio, which wasbrought from Genoa specificallyfor this purpose. The fountain wasmoved several times. First it wasplaced at the crossroads of Paseodel Prado with Calle de Neptuno,which was named after thefountain. Then it was taken to theParque de la Punta and finally itwas moved four kilometers west,near the coast (Malecón), and wasplaced in the Parque Gonzalo deQuesada (in the new Vedadoquarter), which is formed by fourroads - Calzada, 5ª, C and D -where it has remained to this day.

The Paseo de Tacón was builtas an extension of the Calzada deSan Luis Gonzaga. It was 1.17kilometers long; the centralsection reserved for carriages was16.7 meters wide, whereas the twoside lanes for pedestrians wherehalf as wide, the total width being37.6 meters, including the fourrows of trees that adorned it. Theold criterion that was previously

358 Antonio Meucci

adopted for the alamedas,according to which the roadsection for the pedestrians waselevated and placed in betweenthe side lanes to be usedexclusively by vehicles, wasreversed. The Paseo de Tacónreplaced it with the modern crite-rion which envisages vehicletraffic at the center of the road andsidewalks for pedestrians on eitherside of the latter, the road andsidewalks being on the same level.Every three hundred meters, thePaseo opened onto lovely squareswith seats, steps, columns, foun-tains, cascades, lakes and otherdecorations; there were five suchsquares on the whole. It was alsoknown as Paseo Militar, for thetroops permanently transitedthrough it on their way uphill tothe Castillo del Príncipe. Ramónde la Sagra selected the plants andvegetation, as he was a botanicalexpert and had a goodunderstanding of the island’sweather conditions. Despite itsmagnificence, it was only in thefirst years of its existence that thePaseo de Tacón was chosen by thearistocracy of Havana as a placewhere to idle the hours away,enjoying its coolness, bubblingfountains and fresh air laden withthe scent of flowers. A few yearslater, however, it was mainlyfrequented by military men ontheir way to the Castillo delPríncipe and by the students of theColegio (boarding school) whichwas built shortly thereafter nearthe banks of the Zanja. The reasonwhy the population abandonedthis paseo was because it was very

far away from the center of thecity.

Moreover, as of 1840, therewas also the inconvenience thattransit had to be interrupted at cer-tain hours of the day on accountof the railway to Güines, whichcrossed the Paseo.

Another project, which wasimportant for many reasons, wasthe Calzada (or Malecón) de SanLuis Gonzaga. It is worthhighlighting that Malecón literallymeans embankment for protectionfrom water, namely dam, orelevated walk, like the currentMalecón, which runs along thenorth-west coast of Havana. Thisroad, San Luis Gonzaga, hadexisted for a long time (at leastsince the beginning of theeighteenth century) and it was themain road that led from the city tothe countryside. It was once calledCamino de San Antonio because,after a winding path, starting fromintramural Calle Real (or Calle dela Muralla), and after crossing thearea of Campo de Marte, it led tothe farm of San Antonio el Chiq-uito. In 1751, a Jesuit hermitage(Ermita de San Luis Gonzaga)was built at the corner of saidCamino with Calle de laBeneficencia, and, since then, theCamino was named after thehermitage, i.e. Calzada de SanLuis Gonzaga, also because theJesuit fathers - who were involvedin the San Antonio el Chiquitoplantation - had paved the road.At its crossing with Águila therewas a circus with seats, calledMentidero, where old people andpoliticians met to chat.

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In 1836, Tacón had the SanLuis Gonzaga rebuilt, endowing itwith a long fly-over bridge (thefirst of its kind in the world),which was three hundred meterslong and ten meters wide, in orderto eliminate much of thedifference in level and thewinding course of the previousroad, so as to connect it with thePaseo de Tacón in as straight aline as possible. From then on, theroad became animated andcrowded, and it could finally beused also during the rainy season,to climb easily up the hill to theCastillo del Príncipe. Theboundary between the Paseo deTacón and San Luis Gonzaga wasprecisely at the intersection withBelascoaín, called Campo de Car-mona at the time, while San LuisGonzaga began at Campo deMarte. Its total length was 835meters and it was fifteen meterswide. Some streets passed underthe fly-over bridge. Two narrowside lanes were also built on bothsides of the bridge to deviateheavy vehicles and facilitatecirculation. However, the ownersof the houses set next to the fly-over bridge, which were left in theshade and subject to flooding,turned to the Juicio de la Residen-cia (the Court for inquiring publicofficials) to protest, and com-plained that the city had been splitin two by the embankment. In-stead, the Ayuntamiento took astance in favor of Tacón, compli-menting him on his project. Thesentence of the court was also infavor of Tacón. Only when Tacónreturned to Spain did his enemiesattack the horror of San Luis

Gonzaga and saw to it that theembankment be destroyed in1844, after which the road was re-baptized Avenida de la Reina(currently Avenida Simón Bolí-var).

Tacón had another gateopened in the wall, next to thePuerta de Monserrate, as thelatter was too small for the two-way traffic to and from theintramural city. Hence, the Puertade Monserrate was doubled,serving the two one-way streets,Calle del Obispo and Calle deO’Reilly, which linked the Plazade Armas and the Casa del Gob-ierno directly with the areaoutside the walls. In particular, thenew gate served Calle de O’Reillyto exit the city, while the old gateserved to enter the city, towardsCalle del Obispo. Since a her-mitage (Ermita de Monserrate)stood between the two gates,Tacón had to have it torn downand subsequently rebuilt in theColón neighborhood, naturallycoming up against yet otherproblems with the Juicio deResidencia. The new doubled gateof Monserrate made it mucheasier for the garrison to transit toCampo de Marte, the Castillo delPríncipe or the Nueva Cárcel.Tacón himself used it to go withhis characteristic black carriage tothe Gran Teatro de Tacón, whichis described in the next appendix.Building the new gate alsoentailed the need to build a newstone bridge, with eleven arches,which was necessary in order tocross the moat surrounding thecity wall. The main arch wassupported by four pillars. Stone

The Fuente de Neptuno,today at Vedado

360 Antonio Meucci

parapets and sidewalks wereplaced on either side of the bridge,while on one side of the gate (tothe left exiting the city) lodgingsfor the guard corps were erected.This gate is an important exampleof Tacón’s constructive vision.

Overall, Tacón’s constructionprojects cost more than three mil-lion pesos, according to thefigures officially registered and toan estimate of the missing items(Chateloin, see bibl.).

On 21 April 1838, after almostfour years of government, Tacónleft Havana and his office and re-turned to Spain “on account of hispoor health,” it was said. He diedthere seventeen years later.

BibliographyChateloin, F., La Habana de Tacón,Editorial Letras Cubanas, La Habana,Cuba, 1989

Costantino, G., Pérez Ferrer, E., Guia dela Ciudad de La Habana, EdiciónesGianni Costantino, Italy, 1989Costantino, G., Pérez Ferrer, E., Guia deCuba, Ediciónes Gianni Costantino,Italy, 1989Guiteras, P.J., Historia de la isla deCuba, Cultural, Habana, 1927 [quoted byChateloin]Pérez de la Riva, J., Correspondenciareservada del Capitán General DonMiguel Tacón con el Gobierno deMadrid 1834-1838. El General Tacón ysu epoca 1834-1838, Consejo Nacionalde Cultura, Biblioteca Nacional JoséMartí, Departamento Collección Cubana,La Habana, 1963Pezuela, de la, J., Diccionariogeográfico, estadístico, histórico de laisla de Cuba, Imprenta delEstablecimiento de Mellado á cargo deDon J. Bernat, Costanilla de Santa Teresano. 3, Madrid, 1863.Sagra, Ramón de la, Breve noticia de losprimeros meses de mando del Exmo.señor D. Miguel Tacón, gobernadorpolítico y militar de La Habana y CapitánGeneral de la isla de Cuba, escrita por untestigo ocular, Printing House of D. Juande la Granja, New York, 1835 (quoted byChateloin)

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GRAN TEATRO DE TACÓN

History and descriptionAnyone wishing to walk

around the entire block where theTeatro García Lorca currentlystands and where the Gran Teatrode Tacón stood in the last century,should begin at the façade, whichoverlooks the big Parque Central.Here, in this enormous square,ended the Paseo Extramural, nowPaseo de Martí, stretching almostfrom the sea, near the Castillo deSan Salvador de la Punta. Callede Monserrate (currently Avenidade Bélgica) also began here,though it headed in the oppositedirection. On the right, facing thetheater, one can enter the narrowstreet of San Rafael, then turn lefton the street of the Consulado,which runs along the back of thetheater and, lastly, left again,along the wide street of San José,to complete the tour at the ParqueCentral. Returning to the point ofdeparture along San José, onecannot miss, to the right, the largegarden where the AntiguoCapitolio Nacional (built in 1928)is located, now housing theAcademia and Museo de Ciencias.This tour takes one round the edgeof the plot of 6176 square varasthat Don Francisco Martyobtained from the old botanic gar-dens in order to build the GranTeatro. The agreement was con-cluded in two stages, the first on21 July 1836, when payment wasmade for 5678 square varas at 14reales each, and the second on 18November 1839 when the remain-ing part of the total 6176 square

varas was settled at 18 realeseach2, for a total of 10,932 pesos

and 4 14 reales. A fairly low price

was granted because the land hadbeen described as “… soft andsunken ground, flooded by rain-fall, which makes construction ex-pensive.”

According to Pezuela, the plotof land measured 77 varas alongthe Paseo and 80 varas across,along the streets of San Rafael andSan José. However, a precisemeasurement of the area wasmade in 1853, during legalproceedings instituted by Marty. Itwas calculated (see further on)that the two sides averaged (theplot not being perfectlyrectangular) 74.5 and 81.3 varasrespectively, corresponding toapproximately 63.2 and 69.0meters. The area was dividedalmost equally between the actualtheater, which occupied an area of37.7 x 81.3 varas towards thestreet of San Rafael, and a largecourtyard containing the(Meucci’s and Marty’s) residencebuilding as well as the protrudingbuilding for the theater’s proprooms and laboratory, whichcovered the remaining area of36.7 x 81.3 varas next to the street

2The additional area consisted of twostrips of land adjoining the first plot, onealong the street of San José and the otheralong the street del Consulado, togethertotaling 500 square varas. Moreover,Marty did not use a small area of about120 square varas in order to let the build-ing be perfectly rectangular and of theappropriate dimensions. The measure-ments quoted below refer to the final cal-culation as recorded by the official sur-veyor in 1853 (see further on).

362 Antonio Meucci

of San José. The theater porticoextended over the plot by 8.4varas (about 7 meters) towards thePaseo so as to allow the carriagesheading for the theater to transitfreely along the Paseo itself.

The city wall and the twogates of Monserrate which stoodopposite the Gran Teatro, on theother side of the Paseo, weredemolished in 1863, thereforetoday’s tourists will be unable tosee them.

A description of the largecourtyard and annexes is given byPezuela, later quoted by FernandoOrtiz (1941, see bibl.) as follows(translation): “… Adjacent to theright side of the nave of thetheater there is a low buildingwith the façade facing the avenue[i.e. facing the Paseo Extramural,Editor’s note] and the side facingCalle de San José, which iscomprised of two floors from theroad-bed, where most of thetheater’s apartments andlaboratories are located; thus thefar-sighted Marty, who owned thebuilding, had all that wasrequired in terms of sets, ma-chinery and structural work pre-pared there, without going out ofthe enclosure, for that was the sta-ble residence of his employeesand most experienced workers …”These most experienced workersincluded Antonio Meucci, as hehimself testified during theBell/Globe case in 1885. More-over, N.E. Baguer (1983, seebibl.) confirms that the family ofDon Francisco Marty also lived inthe annex. Indeed, he writes that(translation): “the whole block …

was owned by Don Pancho andthat is where his family, thetheater workshops and thelodgings of the workers were …”

According to Pezuela, therewere, inside the portico, threewrought-iron entrances to the the-ater. He relates as follows(translation): “… they werelocated inside a portico, of simpleand elegant design but sufficientlylarge to accommodate quitrinesand volantas on rainy evenings.There were three inlaid archesalong the front of the porticofacing the Paseo and one on eachof the two sides. The front archeswere supported by solid marbleDoric columns, while along thesides and at the corners thecolumns were in relief. Above theportico ran a terrace, and onperformance evenings the militaryband of the artillery regimentused to play national and foreignpieces there, beneath six tall polesfrom which fluttered huge Spanishflags … When the Governor’scoach was sighted from the GranTeatro through the Monserrategateway, coming from the Callede O’Reilly, the military bandwould immediately strike up theroyal march under the light ofthousands of Bengal lights, whileinside the last touches were put tothe royal box …” The threewrought-iron entrances did notlead directly to the theater hall butto a large patio paved in marble,flanked by two covered corridorsleading to the actual doorstowards the stalls and boxes. Thepatio was divided lengthwise intotwo sections, each with its own

Havana 363

coffee bar, in place of the buvette,which was common in Europeantheaters. The bar on the right ofthe patio was reserved for whitewomen and served mostly ice-creams, while the other, open toboth sexes, served wine andliqueurs; they offered a combinedseating capacity of 570. Part ofthe patio was covered at the levelof the second floor by a terracethat communicated with theterrace over the portico and in thecenter of which was a largeskylight.

The theater itself containedfive tiers of boxes, about 3.30meters above each other, withseparate staircases for each tier.The first three tiers each containedfifty boxes, the fourth tier housedthe circle (tertulia) and on thefifth level was the gallery(cazuela). It is astonishing howclosely the inside of the TeatroTacón resembled the Pergola inFlorence, which might be due tothe fact that Antonio Meuccicontributed to designing as well asbuilding the theater.

Lighting was provided withcandles, which were placed infront of the railings that ran alongthe five tiers of boxes, presentingfairly wide meshes to allow thepassage of air. There were novestibules in front of the boxes, asin European theaters. One entereddirectly from the corridorsthrough half-doors, open at the topto help the air circulate, anecessity in the climate ofHavana. For the same reason, theboxes were not separated like‘confession boxes’ as in Europe,so that all the spectators could see

each other. “At the Teatro Tacón -one reads in Eguren (see bibl.) -nothing was hidden from the sightof the multitude.” This pleased thewomen most of all as it allowedthem to show off their clothes,hairstyles, jewels and delicatesatin shoes, certain of beingadmired from top to toe.

All seats and chairs were inthe Viennese style (that is incane), very appropriate for thecirculation of air, and they wereboth large and comfortable.Indeed, velvet would have beenmost ill-suited for that climate.

The first three tiers of boxeswere reserved for the Creole andSpanish aristocracy and were ac-cessed through the central door, atthe end of the patio. The circlewas occupied by the white middleclass while the gallery was forblacks, mulattos and Chineselaborers (chinos de la tierra),whereas Chinese tourists weregrouped with the whites. It isinteresting to note that no-one wasautomatically excluded fromattending theater performances.Subscription prices for the seasonwere $36 (for 60 performances)for the first and second tiers ofboxes; $8 (for 15 performances)for the stalls (lunetas); $5 (for 15performances) for the first row ofthe circle, and so on (see pictureon p. 363, taken from Diario deLa Habana of 14 April 1838).

The royal box was raisedslightly above the stalls, and itstood out first of all because itwas much larger than the otherboxes and also because it wasdraped with a band of red silk,decorated in the center with a

Prices at the TeatroTacón in 1838 (theinauguration)

364 Antonio Meucci

bunch of Spanish flags, themilitary coat of arms and the royalcrown. Inside, the royal boxcontained a small drawing roomand a boudoir, papered throughoutin American oil-cloth (no velvet!)and furnished with cane seats andarmchairs in black and gold. Theroyal box was accessed through aprivate entrance on the street ofSan Rafael. Next to the royal boxwere the boxes reserved for thePresident of the Court (Regente deAudiencia), the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and theIntendente de Hacienda, who atthat time was the Conde deVillanueva.

According to Pezuela, theproscenium was 69 Castilian feetdeep, that is roughly 19.2 meters,and 58 feet wide, namely 16.2meters. The auditorium(considered to be the largest in theworld) was approximately 20 me-ters high and could hold up to3000 people, although it is esti-mated that at the inauguration ballthere were seven thousand peopleinside the theater. However, as isrelated by Eguren, Don FranciscoMarty created this enormous audi-torium, somewhat at the expenseof the performers’ dressing rooms,which were quite cramped and un-comfortable, the only flaw in thebuilding.

The interior of the theater wasluxurious and abundantly lit by atotal of 1034 candles. Inparticular, the araña, an enormouschandelier hanging from theceiling (and so large as to blockthe view of those sitting in theupper tiers) boasted several

hundred candles, each surroundedby a beautiful sphere of cut glass.It was regarded as a masterpieceof jewelry and was so famous asto be listed among the threemarvels of Havana:

Tres cosas tiene la Habanaque causan admiración:son el Morro, la Cabañay la araña del Tacón.

The interior’s decorations fea-tured two basic colors, white andgold, and they were entrusted toFrench and Italian artists.

Pezuela claims that the GranTeatro Tacón boasted much thesame facilities and capacity as theTeatro Real in Madrid and theLiceo in Barcelona and was noless elegant, the difference beingthat in the Tacón theater morethought had been given to theproblem of ventilation and thechairs were more suitable to theclimate of Havana. Interestingly,the Condesa de Merlín stated thatonly the major European capitalspossessed theaters that could rivalthe beauty, the magnificentlighting or the elegant audience ofGran Teatro Tacón, adding that inLondon or Paris the Tacón theater,given the size of its auditorium,would have been mistaken for animmense aviary. Lastly, theGerman author, Otto Eduard,wrote that “… The Teatro [Tacón]has been built to the same designas the theater of Hamburg - buton a larger scale …”

Except for the façade, the out-side walls of the Tacón theaterhad absolutely no artistic

Havana 365

embellishment, as indeed was trueof many important Europeantheaters, since the main concernswere functionality and interiordecor. In order to provide goodventilation, the theater was builtwith eighty outside windows. Asmany as twenty-two were theemergency exits (nine on eachside of the auditorium and four atthe front towards the Paseo)leading directly onto the street andenabling rapid evacuation in theevent of fire or any other emer-gency. The roof of the theater,when it was firstly built, was anormal four-pitch roof, but it wasextremely high and provided withseveral openings for ventilation.

Performances usually beganbetween seven and eight o’clockin the evening while playsoccasionally started as early asfour in the afternoon. In the fourmonths of July, August,September and October, namelyduring the rainy season, thetheater generally stayed closed.During the so-called dry season(November through March-April)Cuban theatergoers were joinedby large numbers of NorthAmerican tourists who came toHavana to flee their winter.

The cost of building thetheater was around 400,000 pesos,in addition to labor (free) andother assistance which thegovernor gave to Don FranciscoMarty.

The Gran Teatro Tacón wasofficially opened on 15 April1838, although on preceding 18February (carnival night inHavana) the theater, which was

nearly finished, opened its doorsfor a series of huge masked balls.

The Tacón theater wasrestored and renovated a numberof times. The first recordedoccasion was after the terriblehurricane of 10 and 11 October1846. Work to repair the damagebegan immediately (on 27October) and the opportunity wastaken to introduce the new systemof gas lighting imported from theUnited States and to renewequipment, furniture andcostumes. It appears from a num-ber of contemporary lithographsthat the roof structure was also al-tered from four to two pitches(possibly to prevent it being soeasily blown away by hurricanes).On 18 November 1846 the Tacóntheater opened again with Verdi’sErnani. A few months later, whenthe season ended, on 18 April1847, the theater was subjected tofurther, more extensiverenovation. Antonio Meucci wasplaced in charge of the work. Fivemonths later, on 25 September1847, the theater opened onceagain. The decor was changed andthere was new technicalequipment. The ceiling waspainted in plain white with goldrelief work; at the center of theproscenium arch was placed aclock supported by two putti,which had been imported fromParis; a new system of curtainswas put up and a new ventilationsystem designed by AntonioMeucci was installed; a new ma-chine was imported from theUnited States, which could raiseor lower the stage in a matter ofminutes; lastly, a novelty in

366 Antonio Meucci

Havana, ladies’ cloakrooms wereadded, a facility not previouslypresent in the city’s theaters.

Two years later, between Mayand June 1849, a large hall wasbuilt next to the theater, taking uppart of the courtyard in front ofthe annex building, between thestreet of San José and the PaseoExtramural. On that occasion, theporticoes along the front towardthe Paseo were extended to theirpresent length.

As for the performances, im-mediately after the inauguration,with the purpose to graduallyabandon the Gran Diorama,which also was administered byDon Francisco Marty, the Tacóntheater for the most part put onprose plays, notably by Spanishand sometimes Cuban authors.Later, particularly after the TeatroPrincipal was destroyed inOctober 1846, Italian opera wastransferred to the Tacón theater.

After 1848, however, the for-tune of the Tacón theater slowlydeclined. Don Francisco Martywas vexed by the public’s lack ofappreciation for his huge and ex-pensive gift - the theater - to thepeople of Havana and by publicaccusations concerning his turbidpast and so he closed the Tacóntheater, thus completely deprivingthe people of Havana of alltheatrical performances for twoyears, from 31 January 1848 (thelast performance being thepremière of Colombo a Cuba)until 12 January 1850, when theopera returned to the Tacóntheater with Lucia diLammermoor. During those two

years, oddly enough, the theatercontinued to operate behindclosed doors for a small circle ofpeople, including Don Francisco,who, it is said, acted as audience,critic or supporter of this or thatartist. Moreover, from 1847 DonFrancisco led the Italian operacompany of Havana in a series ofNorth American tours under thename The Havana OperaCompany, visiting almost eachyear (and not only duringHavana’s dead season) New York,Philadelphia, Boston (where heintroduced Italian opera) and othercities.

The closure of the Tacóntheater coincided, more or less,with the government of FedericoRoncali, who was appointedgovernor immediately afterLeopoldo O’Donnell. In fact,Roncali took office on 20 March1848 and governed untilNovember 1850, through a turbu-lent period of riots, revolutions,invasions and consequent repres-sion. In all likelihood, Don Fran-cisco did not get from him thesame support that he had receivedfrom previous governors. Underthe governor José Gutiérrez de laConcha, who succeeded Roncaliin November 1850 and wasdescribed as ‘a lover of art and anopera connoisseur,’ things mighthave improved but, in themeantime, Don Francisco had leftHavana. On 23 March 1850, to beexact, all ninety members of theItalian Opera, as well as thefamily of the impresario, left forCharleston, SC on board theVapor Isabel and then moved to

Havana 367

New York for a series ofperformances at the CastleGarden. We have found nothingto confirm the story reported by anumber of authors according towhich Antonio Meucci and theother members of the ItalianOpera were forced to leaveHavana because a fire destroyedthe Teatro Tacón. No fire ismentioned in the detailedchronological history of theTeatro Tacón drawn up byFrancisco Rey Alfonso (see bibl.)or in the three years of the Diariode la Marina around 1850 whichthe author has consulted for thatpurpose.

On 28 November 1850, theopera returned to Havana for thelocal première of Maria di Rohan,starring Lorenzo Salvi, FedericoBadiali, Balbina Steffenone andothers, on 13 December with TheHuguenots and on 21 and 26 De-cember with Lucia di Lammer-moor. On the second night of Lu-cia, however, Lorenzo Salvi,singing the part of Edgardo, wasreplaced by another Italian tenor,Geremia Bettini, reportedly on ac-count of a disagreement with DonFrancisco Marty. On 8 January1851, the famous soloist JennyLind - the Swedish nightingale -arrived in Havana, heralded by amassive publicity campaign orga-nized by her agent, the famousP.T. Barnum.

Don Francisco Martygradually moved away from thetheater. As was already mentionedin the main text, his companybroke up in New York after a lastperformance at the Astor PlaceTheater. Although he continued to

own the Teatro Tacón he letothers run it. Among thesemanagers was the Austrian impre-sario, living in New York, MaxMaretzek, who staged operas atthe Tacón theater in 1856 and1857. During that last year (1857),on 6 May to be precise, just beforehis twenty-year concession ended,Don Francisco sold the GranTeatro Tacón for the sum of690,000 pesos to a group of Ha-vana notables who wished to setup a literary circle there, latercalled Gran Liceo. Several yearslater, the complex was purchasedby a foreign company, the TacónRealty Company, and finally, in1905, by another company, calledCentro Gallego (Gallego, inSpanish, means Galician), whichbuilt a magnificent palace for itshead offices.

In its approximately twentyyears of activity (precisely from1838 to 1857) the theater put on108 operas, 1108 tragedies andplays and 48 operettas. It had 211sets and wings and 13,787 theatri-cal costumes.

Information and PlanimetricSurveys of the Tacón Theater

REAL AUDIENCIA PRETORIAL

DE LA HABANA

Escrituras varias, medidas yplanos del Teatro de Tacón

[dated: 21 July 1836;18 November 1839; and

October-November 1853]

Teatro de Tacón, 1853

Primera Escrituradel 21 de Julio de 1836

The Gran Teatro Tacón,today, renamed ‘TeatroGarcía Lorca’ or ‘TeatroNacional’

368 Antonio Meucci

En la siempre fidelísimaciudad de la Habana en veinte yuno de Julio de mil ochocientostreinta y seis años [21 July 1836,Editor’s note], ante mí elEscribano [Notary, Editor’s note]y testigos, D.n Fran.º Marti yTorrens, Alférez [sub-lieutnant,Editor’s note] de fragata de laReal Armada vecino de estaciudad a quien doy fe conozcodijo: que á consecuencia delexpediente [file, Editor’s note] Nº411, cuaderno quince de minis-traciones promovido por el expo-nente solicitando una porción deterreno de una parte del JardínBotánico para la formación de unTeatro en decreto proveído á lossiete de Marzo último recaído [7March 1836, Editor’s note] á in-stancia del expresado Marty enque hacía dicha solicitud semandó pasar á informes de laAdministración general de ventasRs terrenos y por que ministro otraoficina en ocho del expresadomes, expuso entre otras cosas, erade parecer que podía accederse adicha solicitud atendiendo á larecomendación que hace elExcelentísimo Señor Gobernadory Capitán General, cediendocierto número de varas así defrente como de fondo que nodañan al establecimiento de sudestino, y procurando ligar dichasección de modo que en losucesivo no se convierta la obraen beneficio privada, aunque en elpresente Gobierno no es detenerse semejante distracción, yque si Su Excelencia la disponeasí podrá pasar el agrimensorinterino de la Real Hacienda Don

Juan Lobo á medir á acotar yjustipreciar el terreno que seconsidere necesario para el efectoque se solicita, por lo que en elproveído el día nueve se mandacontestar el Excelentísimo SeñorCapitán General de conformidadcon lo sustanciado del informeprecedente pero con la condiciónde que el interesado ha depresentar en esta Superintendenciael plano del edificio de que setrata, para saber el espacio deterreno que ha de ocupar, pues nopodrá construir sino lo que pre-cisamente pertenezca al Coliseoen convertir en tiempo algunopara distintos usos porque en talcaso lo resumirá la Real Haciendapara los suyos preferentes á queestaba destinado. = Y en el que seproveyó á los veinte y uno sedispone, que estando ya presen-tado los planos del Coliseo sobreque se instruye este especifica-mente vuelva á informe de laministración General de RentasTerrenos. En vista de los cualdispuso el Señor AdministradorGeneral con fecha del veinte y trespasar los planos adjuntos alAgrimensor interino de la RealHacienda para que encumplimiento de los anterioresdecretos mida señale y avalúe elterreno de que se trata que deberácomputarse en setenta varas defrente y ochenta de fondo y practi-cada dicha mensura por el expre-sado agrimensor resulta de ella,que habiendo pasado al Barrio deSan Lázaro á la esquina Nordestedel Jardín Botánico, formadas porlas calles occidentales del Prado yla del Monserrate, midiendo por

Havana 369

su acera meridional ochenta varaspor cada costado, el del orientehace frente á dicha calle delPrado, y el de occidente deslindacon terreno del Jardín que mediaentre del Diorama: por el fondolinda con el mismo Jardín ydesplaza entre las cuatrodimensiones lineales relacionadascinco mil seiscientas varas cuads

que en razón de ventajoso localaunque bajo de suelo flojo yprofundo, inundado con las lluviashace la construcción costosa,estimo por cada una de otras varasá catorce reales ó en nueve milochocientos pesos, el todo deellas3, advirtiéndose por nota: Vcuando se tuvo la anterior medidase principió por la de ancho de laCalle del Monserrate, no obstantela fabrica de su costado ser detablas tiene las doce varas deancho que señala el planoaprobado de los suburbios, porabuso no se hizo el mismoexamen en el costado que hacefrente al prado y en este resulta Vel cercado de tablas del Jardín estainternado en la calle Occidentaldel Prado, para llevar al verdaderolocal, al punto en que debelevantarse cualquiera fabrica tomodesde la fachada mas próxima delpretil de mampostería del tramodel medio del Prado, las veintevaras que marca dicho Plano y 3The 5,600 square varas come from 70 x80. It is confirmed that the peso was di-vided into 8 reales, since the 5,600square varas, priced at 14 reales each,were sold for 9,800 pesos (5,600 x 14 =9,800 x 8). The exact surface turned outto be (see below) 5,677.75 square varas,hence the final price paid was 9,936pesos and half a real.

desde su extremo midió lasochenta varas pr la calle del Mon-serrate finalizaran á una vara ycuatro pulgadas, antes de la aceraEste de la proyectada Calle delConsulado. Por el costado delPaseo requirió las setenta varasque hallo exactas con la diferenciade haber pasado el punto que lasmarcaba fuera del cercado delJardín para dentro de el, en elextremo de las veinte varas delmismo pretil de cuyos traspasosno alteró el área de lasdimensiones señaladas, y sí sedisminuyendo la paja sobrante en-tre el costado Oeste y la aceraEste de dicha Calle delConsulado, ahora solo le quedasetenta y siete varas y sietedécimas de otra cuads. = Tambiénse nota que á las setenta y cuatrovaras y una tercia de la Calle deMonserrate, se halla un puntofuera de otro cercado con marcadel Camino de Hierro. Y desde elpunto extremo de las setenta varashasta la proyección que según eldicho Plano traería la acera Estede la Calle de S.n José, hay untrecho de veinte y ocho varas,resultándose lo expuesto que lasvaras designadas para el edificioson cinco mil seiscientas setenta ysiete varas y tres cuartas de otracuadrada que á razón de catorcereales cada una impostan todas,nueve mil novecs treinta y seispesos medio rls, según consta delcertificado y notariado por elexpresado Agrimensor en veintecuatro de Marzo último. En suconsecuencia manifestó el S.rAdm.or Gen. en su informe deocho de Junio próximo pasado:

370 Antonio Meucci

que estando practicada la medidadel terreno destinado para elTeatro de que trata el Exped.te

puede su Excª servirse disponerconforme[?] la correspondienteEscritura de venta a censo á favorde D. Franº Marty y Torrens quecon lo informado por la Contabd

Gen.l de Ejército, Vº Trib. deCuentas, y ministe… [interruptedhere]

Segunda Escrituradel 18 de Noviembre de 1839

En la siempre fidelísimaciudad de la Habana en diez yocho de Noviembre de milochocientos treinta y nueve años[18 November 1839, Editor’snote] ante mí el Escribano ytestigos D.n Fran.co Marty yTorrens vecino de esta ciudad áquien doy fe conozco y dijo: Quepor disposición del Sr. Adm.org.ral de Rentas … de veinte yocho de Septiembre ultimoconsiguiente á decreto del Ex.moSr. Intte de Ejto Supte Gen.l Dele-gado al Hacda del día veinte ycinco se manda que al Ex.mo deRl Hacienda forme escritura deventa á censo á favor delexponente del terreno de que tratael exped.te y estando practda lamensura por el Agor intº de RlHacda Dn Juan Lobo, resulta deello: que habiendo pasado áextramuros barrio de San Lazaro ála esquina que el teatro de Tacónforma á las Calles Occid.l delPrado y á la de Monserrate, desdeella por la primera que hace frenteal paseo publico midió setenta ycuatro varas y media [74.5 varas,Editor’s note] doblando hacia el

Oeste midió ochenta y cuatrovaras y veinte pulgadas [84.556varas, Editor’s note], destinandocon el terreno del ante dichoJardín Botánico y llega á tomar elespacio yermo [untilled, Editor’snote] dejado para la prolongaciónde la Calle del Consulado; por laacera Este ó costado Oeste delrelacionado Teatro midió setenta ycuatro varas y media [74.5 varas,Editor’s note] hasta la acera Surde la del Monserrate y por estahasta la esqª punto de origen deeste apeo [limit, Editor’s note],midió ochenta y una varas y unacuarta [81.25 varas, Editor's note];ocupa entre las cuatrorelacionadas dimensiones linealesseis mil ciento setenta y seis varascuads de las cuales, cinco milseiscientos setenta y siete fueronavaluadas á razón de catorcereales cada una ó en nueve milnovecientos treinta y seis pesos ymedio rl según la escritura que sele otorgó en veinte y uno de Juliode mil ochocientos treinta y seis; yel exceso que tomó decuatrocientos noventa y ochovaras y una cuarta más desuperficie externa á razón de diezy seis reales cada una ónovecientos noventa y seis pesoscuatro reales que agregada á lacantidad que reconoce sumanunidas diez mil novecientostreinta y dos pesos cuatro y medioreales [10,932 pesos and 4.5reales, Editor's note] de los cualesdebe de reconocer el censo segúnaparece del certificado dado por el

Havana 371

Ag.or en diez y nueve de Set.próximo pasado4;

[Here a map is shown of thearea around the theater (see a par-tial view on p. 253) which surelydates back to the period 1836-1838, since the Depósito de Vil-lanueva is mentioned which nolonger existed in 1853, and thehouses of Marty and Meucci arenot indicated, which existed in1853 - with the following indica-tions, from top left to bottomright:]

Depósito de Villanueva, Callede San José, Diorama y cuartel

que fue ultimte de Serenos, Callede San Rafael, Calle delConsulado, Salón, Escenario,Teatro de Tacón, Patio, Pórtico,Antiguo cuartel de Serenos, Plaza,Paseo de Isabel 2ª, Estatua deIsabel 2ª, Casa del telégrafo;Puertas del Monserrate. [Inaddition, several trees, numbersand reference letters are indicated,as well as the following note andinscription:]

4There was therefore an addition of498.25 square varas to the 5,677.75 ofthe first Escritura, adding up to a total of6,176.00 square varas, which is exactlythe figure referred by Pezuela. Such asurface, however, would be representedby a trapeze with two opposing sides74.5 varas long, and the other two,respectively 84.566 and 81.25 varas long,therefore with an average of 82.90 varas.(see page 373).

Since this addition was paid at 16reales instead of 14 reales per squarevara, the total price of the land turns outto be 10,932 pesos and 4.5 reales,equivalent to about $150,000 in 1990.

Nota. Los arboles comprendidosen la parte a b c d no existen en laactualidad.

Inscription:Es copia del que existe en el

cuaderno de audiencia del

recurso interpuesto por D. FrancoMarti y Torrens sobre ciertaocurrencia habida en el Teatrocon el Alcade Mor[?] 3°. D.Vicente de la Torre de TrasierraHabana y Octubre 20 de 1853

Mariano Carlés[above the inscription is a scalewith six graduations of 20 Castil-ian varas ]

Real Audiencia PretorialSala 2ª de Justicia

ESCRIBANIA DE CAMARAde

D. José SoroaDe orden del Sñr. Oidor comi-

sionado a consecuencia de lasdiligencias formadas gubernativa-mente sobre si deben ó no los Al-cades mayores Presidentes delTeatro Tacón colocar suscarruages dentro del patio anejoal mismo, cito á U. á fin de que álas diez de la mañana del 18 delactual comparezca en el Edificio

de esta Rl. Audiencia á evacuarcierto acto de justicia

Dios que á U. m. a. Habana17 de Octubre de 1853

José SoroaSñr. Agrimensor

D. Mariano Carlés

Denoten = Del punto A.ángulo de la Calle de San Rafael ypaseo de Isabel 2ª. nos dirigimosal S. 16°. E. y medimos el frentedel frente del Teatro de Tacón que

372 Antonio Meucci

se compone de 37 varas y 24 pul-gadas hasta B. división de dichoTeatro y el patio anexo de estepunto á la entrada del expresadopatio medimos en la misma direc-ción 3 varas y seis pulgadas y tresvaras que tiene de ancho la expre-sada entrada de esta á la puerta delantiguo Cuartel de Serenos medi-mos 26 varas 2 pulg.s siendo lalatitud de la puerta de 2 varas 7pulg.s y la misma distancia de estaá la esquina de la Calle de SanJosé en C. cuyas distanciasparciales desde B. á C.constituyen el frente delmencionado patio que se componede 36 v.s 22 pulg.s y doblandohacia al O. por la Calle de SanJosé medimos 81 varas 19 pulg.s

hasta D. esquina de esta calle conla del Consulado y volviendo poresta hacia el N. medimos 35 varas32 pulg.s hasta E. que es ladivisión del expresado Teatro ypatio anexo y continúan de lamisma dirección medimos 37varas 28 pulgadas hasta F. ó sea elfrente del fondo del Teatro y con-tinuando por la calle de SanRafael hacia al E. medimos 81varas 3 pulg.s hasta el punto A.que fue de partida. De modo quela linea A.C. consta de 74 varas10 p.s 5.

El lado C.D. de 81 var.s 19pulg.s. La D.F. de 73 varas y 24pulgadas y el fondo F.A. de 81varas tres pulgadas quedando por

5This confirms that a pulgada (by defini-tion, 1/12 of a foot) equaled 1/36 of avara. In fact: AB = 37 varas, 24 pul-gadas; BC = 36 varas, 22 pulgadas; AC= 74 varas, 10 pulgadas, hence 1 vara =36 pulgadas.

lo tanto el citado patio dentro delos limites concedidos por la RealHacienda y vendidos á censo alSñr D.n Francisco Marty yTorrens á que se refiere la primeraescritura de [17…] del Expedientede la materia.

ReferenciasEl espacio comprendido entre

las letras A.s.x.z. indica la con-cesión de la Real Hacienda de 70varas de frente y 80 de fondo áque se contrae otra primeraescritura.

El espacio comprendido entrela letras z.x.s.F.D.C.z. manifiestael terreno á que alude la segundaescritura6.

Se notan que hemosencontrado en el tamaño de loslados menos cantidad que lasdesignadas en las escrituras lo queatribuimos á la delineación deledificio con las Calles cuando seconstruyó pero no son de granconsideración - Habana y Octubre24 de 1853 = D.n Fran.co CamiloCuyás =

Mariano Carlés =Dros[?] cuatro asistencias

para cada facultativaEs copia Habana y Noviembre

5 de 1853Mariano Carlés, Agrim.r público

PLANO[scale graduated in Cuban varas]

De un paño de tierra de una partede lo que fue Jardín Botánico que

6The plot indicated in the Segunda Es-critura is essentially the sliver towardsSan José, occupied by the Cuartel deSerenos, plus another sliver towards theCalle del Consulado.

Havana 373

solicitó el Sñr. D.n Fran.co Marty yTorrens para la formación de unTeatro en cuyo espacio se encuen-tra hoy construido el Gran Teatrode Tacón y patio anexo.

Other Quotations[Baguer, 14 Aug. 1983, see bibl.]

“… la manzana completa…era entonces propiedad de DonPancho y allí estaban su hogar,los talleres del teatro yhabitaciones para lostrabajadores …”

[Chateloin, p. 196, see bibl.]“… El teatro se construyó en

extramuros, en la parte nordestedel que había sido JardínBotánico, en los terrenoscontiguos a la Estación deVillanueva …”

[Chateloin, p. 197; Ortiz, 1941,both quoting Pezuela, see bibl.]

“… El teatro propiamentedicho compónese de uncuadrilongo de unas 40 varas deanchura y cerca de doblelongitud, cubierto de una simpletechumbre con varios venti-ladores. La entrada principal esun pórtico de elegante sencillez,con tres arcos al frente, y uno delos costados, con columnas demármol intermedio y tres derelieve sobre obra de piedra enambos ángulos. Cúbrele unaazotea que sirbe de techo al

espacio de la entrada principal.Contiguo a la derecha de la navedel teatro, corre un edificio bajocon el frente a la Alameda y elcostado a la calle de San José yde dos pisos para el fondo, dondeestán establecidos casi todas lasdependencias y los talleres de laempresa; porque el perspicazMarty, mientras fue suyo eledificio, se hacía preparar porcuenta propia, sin salir delrecinto, todo lo concerniente adecoración, maquinaria ycarpintería, teniendo residenciafija en él sus dependientes y másprecisos operarios. … Despuésdel pórtico había un patioenlosado con dos corridorescubiertos que conducían a las tresentradas del teatro …”

NotePezuela’s indication of the

side’s length is not altogetheraccurate, first of all because heindicates 80 x 77 = 6160 squarevaras instead of 6176. And thenbecause the measurements madeby the official land surveyor in1853 gave values for the varioussides (see the picture and tablebelow) different than the onesindicated by Pezuela. We report inthe table below a comparison ofactual measures with those givenby Pezuela:

Plan of the Gran Teatroshowing points A, B, C,D, E, F of the landsurveyor’s report

374 Antonio Meucci

Bibliography(Editorial) Habana - Comunicados -Teatro [Marty compares the TeatroTacón under construction to otherexisting theaters], Diario de La Habana,10 September 1836(Editorial) Teatro Nuevo - Salón Bajo[announcement of a performance ofmagic and ventriloquism by Herr Blitz,23 November in the hall adjoining theGran Teatro Tacón, provisionally calledthe Teatro Nuevo], Diario de La Habana,21 November 1837(Editorial) Teatro [summary of aperformance of magic and ventriloquismby Herr Blitz held the previous evening],Diario de la Habana, 24 November 1837(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón - SalonBajo [announcement of the secondperformance of magic and ventriloquismby Herr Blitz that evening. The theater iscalled for the first time Gran Teatro deTacón], Diario de La Habana, 28November 1837(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón - 1ªfunción del primer mes de abono[announcement of D. Juan de Austriaand a series of boleros on Sunday, 15April - Complete list of prices, includingsubscriptions], Diario de La Habana, 14April 1838(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón - 1ªfunción del primer mes de abono[Inauguration of the Gran Teatro with D.Juan de Austria], Diario de La Habana,15 April 1838(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Opera Italiana - 2ª función del primermes de abono [First opera at the GranTeatro with El Cruzado en Egipto. Thegreater capacity compared with theTeatro Principal is noted. Complete listof performers and new list of prices],Diario de La Habana, 26 October 1839(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Primera función lírica del primer abono

estraordinario … [Return of the Italiancompany to Havana, probably from atour, with Donizetti’s Belisario. Detailedlist of prices and cast], Diario de LaHabana, 6 May 1842(Editorial) Comunicado - Gran Teatro deTacón - Beneficio del Sr. Meuci, Diariode La Habana, 16 December 1844(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Opera italiana [Verdi’s Ernani, on 18November with gas lighting, Il Trovatoreon 19 November; ticket sale at Marty’sstudy at La Pescadería], Diario de laHabana, 18 November 1846(Editorial) Crónica Local - OperaItaliana [ninth of Lucia di Lammermoorwith Lorenzo Salvi (first mention)],Diario de La Marina, 12 January 1850, p.2(Editorial) Teatro de Tacón [Lucia deLammermoor and Lucrecia with LorenzoSalvi ], Diario de La Marina, 15 January1850(Editorial) Teatro de Tacón - Operaitaliana [it states that the season isnearing an end], Diario de La Marina, 23January 1850(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Opera Italiana - La Favorita [withLorenzo Salvi; mention of AntonioMeucci as manager of the machinery andEsther as manager of costumes], Diariode La Marina, 31 January 1850(Editorial) Crónica local [La Favoritawith Lorenzo Salvi], Diario de LaMarina, 31 January 1850(Editorial) Crónica local - Vapor Isabel[Departure from Havana for Charleston,SC of 91 members of the Italian operaplus the impresario’s family], Diario deLa Marina, 24 March 1850(Editorial) El Sr. Meucci [Announcementof the departure of Meucci and his wife,having ended their contract with Marty],Diario de La Marina, 7 April 1850

Sides —> AB BC AC CD DE EF DF FA

1839 (varas) 74.5 84.56 74.5 81.251853 (varas) 37.67 36.61 74.28 81.53 36.89 37.78 74.67 81.081853 (meters) 31.45 30.57 62.02 68.08 30.80 31.55 62.35 67.70mean (varas) (*) 37.725 36.75 74.5 81.3mean (meters) 31.5 30.7 62.2 67.9Pezuela (varas) 77 80 77 80

(*) Length of the sides of a rectangle with an area equivalent to that of the actual quadrilateral.

Havana 375

(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Opera italiana [Presentation of Maria diRohan by Donizetti with L. Salvi,Badiali, etc., obviously back from theirtour to the USA], Diario de La Marina,28 November 1850(Editorial) Crónica Local [Evening inhonor of Mrs. Steffenone with Maria deRohan, with Salvi etc.], Diario de LaMarina, 5 December 1850(Editorial) Crónica Local [LosHugonotes announced for 12 December;a new tenor is said to arrive from Italy],Diario de la Marina, 12 December 1850(Editorial) Teatro de Tacón - LosHugonotes [Comment on theperformance of Los Hugonotes on 12December; praise for the great duetSalvi-Steffenone], Diario de La Marina,14 December 1850(Editorial) Crónica Local[Announcement of forthcomingperformances of Templario and Nabuccowith Salvi and Badiali; Jenny Lindarriving to Havana in January after hersuccesses in Philadelphia, PA andCharleston, SC], Diario de la Marina, 18December 1850(Editorial) Teatro de Tacón - Beneficiodel Señor Cesar Badiali [on the night of17 December; praise also for Salvi andSteffenone], Diario de la Marina, 19December 1850(Editorial) Diversiones Públicas - GranTeatro de Tacón - Compañia de óperaitaliana de la Habana [on the night of 21December with Salvi, Badiali andSteffenone], Diario de la Marina, 21December 1850(Editorial) Teatro de Tacón - Repeticiónde la función dada a beneficio del Sr.Cesar Badiali - Elixir de Amor - Lucia[Announcement that the tenor Bettiniwill replace Salvi as Edgardo in Lucia diLammermoor], Diario de la Marina, 24December 1850(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Estreno del Señor Bettini [Successful

debut of Bettini on the evening of 26December], Diario de la Marina, 27December 1850(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Opera italiana [Reopening on 25September after further renovation with aSpanish company - Marty’s office at LaPescadería], Diario de La Habana, 25September 1847(Editorial) Gran Teatro de Tacón -Opera Italiana [Macbeth - with tenorDomenico Lorini, scenery painted byFontana and associates from the Scala ofMilan] - Teatro del Circo [performancesof acrobatics], Diario de La Habana, 19December 1849Baguer, N. E., El teléfono se inventó enCuba, Juventud Rebelde, 14 Aug. 1983Baguer, N. E., El teléfono no nació "sinquerer,” Trabajadores, 20 Jan. 1990Chateloin, F., La Habana de Tacón,Editorial Letras Cubanas, La Habana,1989Maretzek, M., Sharps and Flats,American Musician Publishing Co., NewYork, N.Y. (USA) 1890Ortiz, F., Cuadernos de HistoriaHabanera, La Habana, 1937Ortiz, F., ¿Se inventó el teléfono en LaHabana?, Revista Bimestre Cubana, vol.XLVII, Jan.-Feb. 1941, pp. 321-335Pezuela, J. de la, Diccionario geográfico,estadístico, histórico de la Isla de Cuba,Imprenta del Establecimiento de Melladode Don J. Bernat, Costanilla de S. Teresan. 3, Madrid, 1863. Vol 1°Raggi, C. M. II, El Teatro Tacón de DonPancho Marty - Primera parte, Noticiasde Artes, 1 July 1976, p. 14Real Audiencia Pretorial de La Habana,Escrituras varias, medidas y planos delTeatro de Tacón [dated 21 July 1836, 18November 1839, and October-November1853]Rey Alfonso, F., Gran Teatro de LaHabana. Cronología mínima 1834/1987,Banco Nacional de Cuba, October 1988

376 Antonio Meucci

THE HISTORY OF CUBA FROMTACÓN TO INDEPENDENCE

The Tacón government, whichended on 21 April 1838, was suc-ceeded by the governments ofDon Joaquín de Ezpeleta, whichlasted only one year and a half,and of Don Pedro Téllez Girón,which lasted little more than ayear, both being of minorimportance. On the other hand,the government led by DonGerónimo Valdés, who took officeon 6 March 1841, and stayed inpower for just over two and a halfyears, had a major impact on thelife of the island. Indeed, Valdéswas described even by thehistorians of Castro’s revolutionas a “man of clear intellect,remarkable intelligence, honestintentions, worthy and punctiliousas a military man. Rigorouslyadhering to the rules, like Tacón,whom he excelled in all otherqualities” (Libro de Cuba, seebibl.). He is also remembered forhis generosity, as he donated onethousand pesos of his personalassets for the construction of thenew Jardín Botánico.Furthermore, he made aconsiderable effort to curb theillegal slave trade, in compliancewith a new agreement signed withEngland in 1842. However,Valdés had trouble with theEnglish consul in Havana, DavidTurnbull, who advocated theabolition of slavery, for the latterwas on good terms with theCreole fighters for independenceand claimed that they should fallwithin the litigation pertaining to

racial problems rather than to theone concerning independence. Inthe end, Valdés was forced toexpel Turnbull from Cuba.

In Madrid, however, it was feltthat a firmer iron hand was neededto govern Cuba and, on 21October 1843, Valdés wasreplaced by Leopoldo O’Donnell yJorris, Conde de Lucena, Duquede Tetuán, one of the youngestgenerals of the Spanish army. Hewent down in history as the mostcruel, predatory and bloodthirstygovernor of Cuba. One of the firstthings he did was to repress aracist conspiracy attributed to anumber of white notables, knownas the conspiración de la escalera,in which it was said that somethree thousand people took part.Seventy-eight of them wereexecuted, nine hundred were sentto jail (four hundred died as aconsequence of the torturesendured during imprisonment)and, lastly, five hundred were ex-iled. Among the conspirators therewere many whites whom O’Don-nell disliked, hence it wasrumored that the conspiracy wasactually inspired by O’Donnellhimself with the purpose toeliminate his personal enemies.

During the O’Donnell govern-ment, a number of importantpublic works were implemented.In October 1844, the LiceoArtístico y Literario was foundedwhich, in a year’s time, wasendowed with equipment andphysics and chemistrylaboratories, an art school, a chairof agriculture and perspective anda musical archive, thus resembling

Havana 377

Florence’s Accademia di BelleArti. In 1845, the Faro O’Donnell(O’Donnell Lighthouse) wascompleted, which was located atthe entrance to the port, on top ofthe Castillo del Morro, and wassurmounted by an elegant dome.The lighthouse was approximately30 meters tall. Its fixed beam hadan intensity equivalent to some550 cárcel7 and could be clearlyseen from a distance of up tothirty-five kilometers. The lightgiven off by the directionalrevolving beams was four timesgreater (two thousand cárcel) Thenew lighthouse, which was muchmore powerful, made navigationaround the port considerably saferthan before.

Likewise interesting was theconstruction of the new PalacioAldama at the end of the Campode Marte, which became famousas it was the first to have a privatebath. In 1847, upon O’Donnell’srequest, a commemorative columnwas erected in the Alameda dePaula in homage to the SpanishNavy. The column, known asColumna O’Donnell, still exists.Always in 1847, it is worth men-tioning the arrival in Cuba of sixhundred Chinese, who had beenrecruited to work the land butwere subsequently forced to stayand were treated as semi-slaves.

Interestingly enough, it wasactually the bloodthirstyrepression of the conspiración dela escalera, in 1844, that fostered

7The standard unit of light intensity, orcárcel, was that given by a lamp thatconsumed 93.26 grams of colza (or oil-seed rape) oil per hour.

a more effective opposition to thecolonial government. Indeed, itresulted in large-scale migration(both forced and voluntary) ofCubans to the United States, and,at the same time, it increasedCuba’s political isolation.Furthermore, the exiles soonestablished underground contactswith their fellow-countrymen inCuba, keeping the ideal ofindependence from Spain alive.However, it is important to recallthat two very different movementsemerged whose aim was toachieve independence from Spain.The first was the annexationmovement, which wanted Cuba tobecome one of the United Statesof America, and the other was theautonomist movement, whichstrove for total independence fromboth Spain and the United States.On 10 January 1848, the firstedition of the annexationmovement’s newspaper, LaVerdad, was printed in New York;it was distributed for free andsecretly made its way into Cuba.The paper’s editor was GasparBetancourt Cisneros, also knownas El Lugareño. Although hesupported the ideal of annexation,which most Cubans did notappreciate, he contributed toboosting patriotism and the desirefor freedom.

O’Donnell governed the islandfor about four and a half years,that is until 20 March 1848, whenhe was replaced by FedericoRoncali, Conde de Alcoy. Thelatter was succeeded by Don JoséGutiérrez de la Concha on 13November 1850, when AntonioMeucci had already left Havana.

Regla and first railroad

378 Antonio Meucci

Roncali went down in history asan absolute despot. Reportedly,disputes of every kind (evendivorces) were settled at his table,and he would pronounceacquittals or sentences in a matterof minutes, without consultinganyone. From a political point ofview, Roncali and Concha wereno less terrible than their pre-decessor, also due to the fact thatboth were angered by repeated USthreats to Spain’s sovereignty overCuba.

Indeed, already in 1847 theUnited States army, led byGeneral Winfield Scott, hadinvaded Mexico and with theTreaty of 2 February 1848, hadannexed the territories of Texas,Upper California, New Mexicoand part of the states ofChihuahua, Coahuila andTamaulipas. Fear grew in Cuba;nor did the Monroe Doctrine,nominally in force for twenty-fiveyears, ensure security to the sur-viving Spanish government ofCuba. In fact, under Roncali’sgovernment, as many as three ex-peditions from the United Statesin support of the annexationistswere organized in 1848, 1849 and1850, respectively, which wereled by the famous commanderNarciso López, a nativeVenezuelan. On 20 April 1848, inparticular, an undergroundpamphlet was circulated inHavana which described how aCuban was seen by Spain: “Aslave without the right to speak orwrite; he may not criticize thegovernment; he may not complainwhen ill-treated; he may not leave

the country without a permit; hemay be arrested and buried in acell without explanation; hisfamily may be threatened; thegovernment may freeze orconfiscate his property.”

On 20 October of 1848, the fa-mous Cuban writer, CiriloVillaverde, was arrested in hishome in the middle of the night,by order of Roncali. After sixmonths of imprisonment in adamp and dark cell, where he wastreated like an animal, he wassentenced to life imprisonment fortreason against the Crown ofSpain. However, he managed toescape on 4 April 1849, with thehelp of a guard and of anotherconvict sentenced for petty crime,and took refuge in Florida.

In the United States, the JuntaCubana was established inSeptember 1849 with the purposeof instigating a revolution to liber-ate the island. The president of theJunta was Narciso López, whilethe secretary was CiriloVi llaverde. Meanwhile, Havanawas celebrating the birthday of theQueen Mother of Spain and thecity engaged in festivities. On 11May 1850, the Cuban flag,designed by Narciso López, flewfor the first time in New York, atthe Head Office of the newspaperCommercial Advertiser, on FultonSt. and Nassau St.. On 19 MayLópez organized a military coupat Cárdenas (150 km east ofHavana, just beyond Matanzas)where he landed with a legion ofvolunteers. He was joined bytwenty-four Spanish soldiers and asergeant (who was shot, on 25

Havana 379

May together with 4 Americans),but not by the citizens ofCárdenas. Nevertheless, the townwas in his hands for forty-eighthours, after which he was forcedto sail back to the United States.On 10 August a man by the nameof Bernardino Hernández wasgarroted for having supplied ahorse to Narciso López. InSeptember, the Spaniards rein-forced the fortifications for fear offurther invasions.

In November 1850, JoséGutiérrez de la Concha tookoffice as governor. During histerm of government anotherexpedition was organized byNarciso López, who once againset off from New Orleans, LA, inthe United States, and landed on12 August 1851, on the northerncoast of the island, close totoday’s Bahía Honda. Theexpedition also included one hun-dred and fifty Americans, underthe command of Colonel Critten-den. However, the Spaniards hadreceived advance warning of theexpedition and easily defeated theinvaders, executing and mutilatingColonel Crittenden and fifty of hismen in Havana, at the castle ofAtarés, on 16 August. López wascaptured on 29 August and gar-roted three days later. During thesame period, other insurrectionsorganized by non-annexationiststook place, but all were quelled bythe Spaniards.

In 1868, a revolution broke outunder the leadership of CarlosManuel de Céspedes, who freedthe slaves on his estates and de-clared war on Spain, known as theTen Years’ War. A peace treaty

was signed in 1878, after whichthousands of Cubans emigrated tothe United States, where they es-tablished a large colony. A secondwar of independence began in1879 and failed in less than a year.

Finally, in 1895, the so-calledNecessary War began under thecommand of José Martí. On 15February 1898, the United Statesdeclared war on Spain after a UScruiser was destroyed in the portof Havana (causing the death oftwo hundred and eighty-eightAmerican sailors) and landed inSantiago de Cuba. On 1 January1899, a peace treaty was signedwith Spain; no representatives ofthe Cuban rebels were presentdespite the fact that they had donemuch to weaken the resistance ofthe Spanish army on the island.Under the treaty, the Spaniardsleft Cuba, after 407 years ofcolonial rule. The treaty alsomarked the final ousting of Spainfrom the Americas, since also theisland of Puerto Rico (locatedslightly west of Hispaniola) waslost and annexed to the UnitedStates under the same treaty.Moreover, the island of Cuba, ifofficially independent, fell underthe political and economicinfluence of the United States andthe situation remained such practi-cally until the success of FidelCastro’s revolution, in 1952. In-deed, in the years following thetreaty up until Castro’s revolution,Cuba was ruled by a series of gov-ernments that were loyal to theUnited States. Instead, it is worthhighlighting that relationsbetween Cuba and Canada were,

380 Antonio Meucci

and continue to be, on friendlyterms.

BibliographyCastellanos, G. G., Panorama Histórico.Ensayo de Cronología Cubana (1492-1933), UCAR, García y Cia., La Habana,1934Costantino, G., Pérez Ferrer, E., Guia deCuba, Ediciones Gianni Costantino,Italy, 1989Costantino, G., Pérez Ferrer, E., Guia dela Ciudad de La Habana, EdicionesGianni Costantino, Italy, 1989

Garate, R. (Editor), Libro de Cuba,Federación de la Prensa Latina deAmérica, La Habana, 1930González Del Valle, F., La Habana en1841, Oficina del Historiador de laCiudad de La Habana, 1952Pezuela, de la, J., Diccionariogeográfico, estadístico, histórico de laIsla de Cuba, Imprenta delEstablecimiento de Mellado a cargo deDon J. Bernat, Costanilla de Santa Teresan. 3, Madrid, 1863.

Havana 381

THE SLAVES

Slaves played an importantpart in the economic developmentof the island of Cuba, just as theydid many centuries before in theancient civilizations of theMediterranean and of the East. Itis worth highlighting that the firsttwo cargoes of slaves from Africato Cuba, in the years 1523 and1525, respectively, were drawnwith the specific aim to enhanceagricultural activities. Conversely,the natives of the island, namelythe indios, were given theirfreedom in 1529, provided theywithdrew to special reservations,the comunidades indias (as wasdone much later in the UnitedStates). Within a matter ofdecades, such isolation practicallyresulted in their extinction. In1580, the town council of Havana(Cabildo) ordered to go and fetchone thousand slaves to be used inthe mines of Baracoa. In 1595,Spain signed a contract with onePedro Gómez Reynol for the sup-ply of three thousand five hundredslaves a year for nine years. Itmay be recalled that, in the UnitedStates, the trade of black slavesbegan later, in 1619.

There were Creole slaves, thatis to say born in Cuba, or bozales,born elsewhere (generally inAfrica). It was often the Africantribe chiefs who supplied slaves tothe white slave-traders.

In March 1812, a revoltagainst slavery broke out in Cuba,led by José Antonio Aponte. On 9April 1812, the main conspiratorswere hanged.

The free trade of slaves, sanc-tioned by the Las Casas govern-ment in 1789, was supposed toend in 1821, under the treatysigned by England and Spain in1817. Nevertheless, it continuedas an illegal and fraudulentbusiness almost until therevolution of 1868. On the otherhand, the English Parliament itselfabolished black slavery in theBritish Empire only in 1833. InBrazil, slavery was abolished aslate as in 1885 by Emperor PedroII . In Cuba, slaves transportedfrom Africa on ships that had beencaptured by the English wereregarded as emancipated.

1835 was the year in which thelargest number of black slaves ar-rived in Cuba, and that was underthe government of Don MiguelTacón. The United States refusedto allow the English to inspecttheir ships (whether carryingslaves or otherwise) and in 1838arranged through the UnitedStates consul in Havana, NicholasP. Trist (a friend of Tacón’s), toprovide documents for sixty-oneof the seventy-one slave shipsentering the port of Havana duringthat year. Moreover, on 15 July1840, John Forsyth, the USSecretary of State, assured theSpanish government that it couldrely on military and navalassistance from the United Statesin the event of any attempt (by theEnglish) to take Cuba away fromSpain on the pretext of preventingthe slave trade.

382 Antonio Meucci

Tacón gave orders not to killthe fugitive slaves (cimarrones8),as had previously been the habit;instead, they were to be gatheredat the Depósito de Cimarrones,whence they were taken to laboron government works until theywere reclaimed by their owners.Needless to say, no attemptwhatsoever was made to notifythe presumed owners, with theresult that years often went bybefore the captured slaves werereleased. To prevent disputes, theslaves were almost alwaysbranded.

Large numbers of blacks werealso brought into the island in1840-41, under the government ofDon Pedro Téllez Girón, with thepurpose to boost the growing ofsugar cane crops.

According to the 1841 census,in Havana out of 184,508 inhabi-tants, 21.7% were slaves and19.1% were free or emancipatedcolored people. In the hinterland,and in other towns in Cuba, thepercentages were much higher.

The only governor of Cubawho made some effort to curb theillegal slave trade was DonGerónimo Valdés. In 1842, hesigned a new agreement withEngland whereby Englandacquired (partly by virtue ofcertain clauses embodied in thereform of the InternationalTribunal of Weights) the right toappoint an official responsible forprotecting the Africans and to 8The word cimarrón implied the flight tothe mountains, applicable to both animalsand slaves, to denote the wild nature ofthe fugitives.

build in Havana’s port a pontoonthat would serve as a depositorywhere people would awaitdecisions concerning theirfreedom, but which was actuallyused as a shelter by slaves whohad fled from their masters.Nevertheless, although Valdéswas against the slave trade, heexpelled the British ambassador inHavana, David Turnbull, arenowned abolitionist, for heactually encouraged thesupporters of Cuban indepen-dence.

In 1847, six hundred Chinesearrived in Cuba under an eight-year contract envisaging themiserly wage of $4.00 per month.They were semi-slaves who weresold to the colonials and weresometimes treated worse than thebozales. When their contractexpired, as they did not haveenough money to return to theircountry, they ended up workinglike prisoners on public works,like the convicts. Between 1852and 1859, 48,500 Chinese landedin Cuba.

The extent to which slaverywas practiced in Cuba followingthe 1817 Treaty can be deducedfrom the following extract takenfrom the regulations relating tofugitive slaves (cimarrones),issued on 2 December 1845:

Art. 1. He shall be regarded as afugitive (cimarrón) any slave whosleeps outside his own home with-out the permission of his master,or who is found in the fields with-out permission, at one league’sdistance from the edge of the

Havana 383

property to which he has been as-signed.Art. 2. Any person, whether he befrom the place in question or else-where, shall have the right to cap-ture fugitives and shall be re-warded, upon their consignmentto their master, to the general De-pósito or to the local court andspecial delegations, with the cap-ture fee of 4 pesos fuertes. …

Art. 35. They shall be regarded asassociates (apalencados) six ormore fugitives found together.

Art. 36. The local courts shall no-tify the higher civil government ofthe existence of any band(palenque) rumored to exist withintheir jurisdiction and shallproceed without delay to takepriority action to destroy thatband, using whatever armed forceshall prove necessary.

Art. 37. When attacking a band,no means shall be withheld tobring about the submission andpunishment of the guilty parties;however, when the slaves havesurrendered and been disarmed,no ill-treatment shall be allowed.…

Art. 40. For each fugitive slavecaptured with a band thefollowing capture fees shall bepaid: 20ps if no resistance isoffered during the attack; 35pswhen resistance is offered withsteel weapons; 50ps if resistanceis offered with fire-arms. Inaddition, 40ps shall be paid foreach bandit captured unwoundedor without serious contusions;

70ps if captured in the abovecondition after resistance withsteel weapons; and 100ps if hehas used fire-arms. …

Art. 48. The capture of fugitiveslaves singly or in bands shall beregarded solely as the action ofthe government and shall in nocase have any judicialimplications whatsoever.

Still in 1850, the newspapersopenly published advertisementsfor the sale of slaves in thecolumn Esclavos and featureddescriptions of fugitive slaves inthe column Esclavos prófugos,more than thirty years after thetreaty that abolished slavery in1821. In the section Puerto de laHabana - Entradas y Salidas,these newspapers gave notice notonly of goods transported but alsoof the number of passengers,divided into passajeros andreclutas (recruits), this latterincluding slaves.

As we have said in the follow-ing, in 1868, at the onset of therevolution led by Carlos Manuelde Céspedes, he freed his slavesand declared war on Spain (theTen Years’ War). The peace treatythat ensued, in 1878, envisagedthe liberation of all slaves andAsian settlers who had fought inthe Cuban liberation army.Finally, eight years later, Cubandeputies at the Cortes (theRepresentative Assembly ofSpain) succeeded in obtaining theenactment of a decree thatcompletely abolished slavery inCuba.

384 Antonio Meucci

BibliographyBaird, R., Impressions and Experiencesof the West Indies and North America in1849, Philadelphia, 1850 [quoted inEguren]Castellanos, G. G., Panorama Histórico.Ensayo de Cronología Cubana (1492-1933), UCAR, García y Cia., La Habana,1934

Eguren, G., La Fidelísima Habana,Editorial Letras Cubanas, La Habana,1986Garate, R. (Editor), Libro de Cuba,Federación de la Prensa Latina deAmérica, La Habana, 1930 (pp. 1-20)Paiagua, M. M., Reglamento decimarrones [dictated on behalf of theSecretaría del Gobierno Superior Civil dela Isla de Cuba on 2 December 1845].Quoted in Eguren, p. 277

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THE REFRIGERATOR

Natural coldMan discovered the usefulness

of cold, as a means of preservingfood and of creating pleasant sa-vors (particularly for the hot sea-son), several thousand years be-fore Christ. Since the first ma-chines capable of producing artifi-cial cold were not available on anindustrial scale until after the firsthalf of the nineteenth century, be-fore then, man could only resort tonatural cold, mainly ice or snow,whenever and wherever available.Two significant stages in the pro-cess of controlling cold were thediscovery of how to preserve iceor snow from the cold to the hotseason and of how to transportthem from cold to hot regions.Another major step that precededthe production of artificial cold bymachine, was the discovery ofcertain substances, such as brines,which could, by changing theirstate (by evaporation, liquefactionor other) absorb heat fromsurrounding bodies, therebycausing them to cool.

An ancient example of acooling process which did not relyon the use of natural ice or snowcan be found in an Egyptianfresco of the third millennium BC,showing a slave waving a fan infront of an earthenware jar. It isnot known for certain whether theEgyptians knew that theevaporation of water oozing fromthe pores of the terra-cotta causedthe water inside the jar to cool.The idea might have come to themsimply as a result of the habit of

cooling oneself by fanning. Eventoday, however, in the countrysideof Southern Italy, peasants use asmall, porous earthenware jar(called búmmulu), left in a shadyspot and wrapped in wet jutecanvas, for their cool drinkingwater. In this case, the water thatevaporates is mostly the water inthe canvas and the cooling effectis greater, even without anyexternal ventilation. Theevaporation of water also lowersthe temperature in caves wherefood and especially game havebeen preserved since ancienttimes.

An equally effective, if less in-tuitive, method is that of coolingat night under a clear sky,obtained through the irradiation ofheat from the earth into theatmosphere. As we know, in theabove conditions, the temperatureof the ground may drop to belowzero at night, even in hot countriessuch as North Africa. The ancientGreek, Protagoras, narrates thatin the fifth century BC, theEgyptians produced smallquantities of ice in the Nile valleyby placing recipients on the roofsof their houses at night andcollecting, in the morning, the thinlayer of ice that had formed on thesurface, during the night. Thesame principle is adopted in Iran,still today, although on a largerscale, using wide tanks of severalthousand square meters.

Certain cooling mixtures, no-tably those obtained by dissolvingcertain salts in water - calledbrines - have been in use for longtime, before their physicalmechanism was explained, which

386 Antonio Meucci

happened in the second half of thenineteenth century. Some of themhave been known since ancienttimes. For example, as early as thefourth century, in India, sodiumnitrate was added to water tolower its temperature. In Italy,between 1530 and 1550, saltpeter(potassium nitrate) was usuallyadded to water to obtain a mixturefor cooling wine and water. In1589, in his book MagiaNaturalis, Battista Porta in Naplesdescribed the phenomenon oflowering temperature by addingsalts to snow. In 1600, a variety ofmixtures were used, such as am-monium nitrate and water in equalparts, which produces a tempera-ture of -16 °C, or one part sodiumchloride (common salt) to threeparts snow, producing a tempera-ture of -18 °C. Experiments incooling using various types ofbrine were carried out in Florencein 1657 at the Accademia del Ci-mento. In this connection, itshould be recalled that the firstthermometer (an air thermometer)was invented in Florence byGalileo Galilei in 1597. In 1760,in St. Petersburg, von Braun suc-ceeded in freezing mercury (thusreaching -40 °C) using a mixtureof snow and calcium chloride.Lastly, in 1865, Toselli ice boxes,based on the ammonium nitratebrine described above, achievedenormous success in both homesand restaurants. One of these iceboxes was used in 1869 to obtaina block of ice weighing 20kilograms, which was sent fromParis to Algiers for demonstrationpurposes.

It was only in the second halfof the nineteenth century that thelaws governing the cooling effectof brine were discovered. Theircooling effect is a combined resultof two processes: the fusion of salt- that is, its passage from a solidto a liquid state - and of itsdissolution in water, thatcorresponds to its spontaneouspassage to a more disorderedstate. To allow suchtransformations, heat must be ab-sorbed from another substance,which is therefore cooled. Perhapsnot all of us, even today, areaware that even by the verysimple act of dissolving ice inwater we obtain a much greaterdecrease in temperature than themere difference in temperaturesand relative percentage weights ofthe two substances, because, forthe crystal structure of the ice tobreak down, an additional supplyof heat is needed, which can onlybe provided by the surroundingwater.

From the end of the eighteenthcentury, land-owners in the south-ern states of America encouragedthe development of methods forpreserving and transporting largequantities of natural ice collectedin winter from the surface ofnorthern lakes and rivers and handsawed into blocks about thirtycentimeters thick. A Marylandfarmer, Thomas Moore, publishedan article in 1803 entitled: “Anessay on the most eligibleconstruction of ice houses; also adescription of the newly inventedmachine called the refrigerator.”The article was principally

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concerned with the construction ofice houses, which immediatelybecame highly popular all overthe United States. The re-frigerator, quoted in the paper,was basically a tank cooled withsalt and water, which Moorehimself patented in 1793. The firstice house was built in 1799 inCharleston, SC, and was built us-ing double walls of solid wood,additionally isolated by filling thehollow space between the twowith sawdust. The ice housesproved capable of preserving largequantities of ice (up to 60,000tons) for approximately two years,with a loss ranging from 10% to25% of the amount stored.

In 1806, the AmericanFrederic Tudor, later nicknamedthe ice king, launched theinternational trade of natural ice,starting with a shipment of onehundred and thirty tons of icefrom Boston, MA to Martinique,followed shortly afterward byanother shipment to Jamaica,where ice was also needed tocombat yellow fever. In 1815,Tudor undertook an expedition toHavana and in 1816 set up an icehouse there which had beenprefabricated in Massachusetts.Since Don Francisco Martyarrived in Havana in 1810, it isvery likely that he bought said icehouse from Tudor, for it has beenascertained that Marty was theowner in 1834.

From 1817 onward, Tudor or-ganized a coastal trade to supplythe towns in the south of theUnited States by sea. In 1820 heset up an ice store in NewOrleans. It is estimated that in

twenty seven years of activity, upto 1833 that is, Tudor shippedapproximately 4500 tons of ice. In1833, he turned his attention tolonger distances: one hundred andeighty tons of ice were shipped toCalcutta (reduced to one hundredand twenty on arrival); in 1834 heserved Rio de Janeiro and in 1840Great Britain. Statistics show that,still in 1899, Britain imported onehundred and fifty thousand tons ofnatural ice from the United Statesand Norway, and that the UnitedStates alone consumed twenty fivemillion tons of natural ice peryear. Even after the advent ofmachines for production ofartificial ice, there was still a vasttrade in natural ice that continuedfor many years up to the presentcentury.

Artificial coldCreating cold was still

regarded as a divine prerogative(or as magic) even towards themiddle of the nineteenth century.In 1844, John Gorrie, a doctor andhospital administrator atApalachicola in Florida, who hadinvented a refrigerating machineto produce ice for his patients,was obliged to delay the patent to1851 because the press accusedhim of trying to make something(ice) as well as the all powerfulGod (and fortunately for him theHoly Inquisition no longerexisted!).

The year 1755 is regarded asthe ‘year one’ in the history ofartificial cold. In that year, aScotsman, William Cullen,professor of chemistry at GlasgowUniversity, developed a laboratory

388 Antonio Meucci

machine that could produce smallquantities of ice by evaporatingwater in a vacuum under a dome,therefore, without using naturalcold. In 1748, Cullen himself hadobserved that another liquid, ethylether, decreased its temperaturewhen it evaporated. The AmericanOliver Evans, in 1805, had theidea of alternating phases inwhich a liquid evaporated withphases in which the vaporobtained was compressed torestore it to a liquid state; in thisway, he created a closed cycle thatdid not require to replace theliquid used for evaporation.Following Evans’ suggestion, anAmerican engineer living inLondon, Jacob Perkins, patentedan ether refrigeration machine forthe production of ice, in 1834.Unfortunately, in London, themachine was judged to be useless,since stocks of natural ice wereconsidered more than sufficient tomeet the city’s needs. There wastherefore no follow-up to Perkins’machine, which is nevertheless tobe regarded as the forerunner ofmodern so-called compressionrefrigerators.

Only after Michael Faraday’sresearch into the liquefaction ofgas, in 1823, did inventors beginto think of using normally gaseoussubstances that could be liquefiedby compression, in place ofvolatile fluids, that is substancesthat are normally liquid (such aswater, ether and alcohol) thatcould be evaporated as in thePerkins’ machine. Thedevelopment of thermodynamictheories that began in 1824 with

Sadi Carnot and culminated in themajor debates between Julius R.Mayer, James P. Joule, RudolfJ.E. Clausius and WilliamThomson, certainly played a rolein the invention of the newrefrigerators during the decadefrom 1842 to 1852.

The machine mentionedabove, invented by the AmericanJohn Gorrie in 1844, can beregarded as the forerunner of whatare called air machines, based onthe well-known principle that asudden expansion of air - that hadpreviously been compressed -causes it to cool (one need onlythink of the rush of air from aninflated tire). To be more precise,the air was compressed to twoatmospheres in a water-cooledcylinder with a twenty centimeterdiameter and transferred into atank. Salt water, conveyed to theoutlet of the expansion tap, wascooled to -7 °C by the exiting airand then used to produce ice. Itwas an open-cycle machine,though there was no need torecover the air used. Gorrie’smachine was perfected severalyears later by the Scottishengineer Alexander CarnegieKirk, who produced in 1862 aclosed cycle air machine capableof achieving a temperature of -40°C. His machine functioned dayand night at the Bathgate refinery,where it had replaced an ethercompression machine (of thePerkins type) that was thought tobe too dangerous, and remained inoperation, without interruption,for ten years from 1864. In 1877,another air machine was patented,

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the Bell-Coleman, which waseven more advanced than Kirk’smachine and was used from 1879on by British ships on oceancrossings to transport frozen meat.

Perkins’ machine was not usedfor practical applications for overtwenty years. The real industrialdevelopment of refrigerators oc-curred in the two and a halfdecades from 1850 to 1875, andwas not only attributable to Kirk,but also to the Scotsman (living inAustralia) James Harrison (1856)and the Frenchman FerdinandCarré (1859). Another importantdiscovery, that of thermoelectricrefrigeration, which was made in1834 by the Frenchman JeanPeltier, was not put to practicaluses until after 1875.

Harrison’s story is an interest-ing one. As a young man heworked in a printer’s shop inGlasgow and then, in 1837, emi-grated to Australia and took upresidence in Geelong, a town notfar from Melbourne, where hestarted a newspaper. Threeconsiderations inspired his interestin refrigerating machines: firstly,Melbourne was very distant fromany sources of natural ice;secondly, the beer industry neededice; and thirdly, it would bepossible to export Australian beefeven to Great Britain, which wasrecovering from a severe foodcrisis, the so-called ‘hungryforties,’ if the freighters wereequipped with efficientrefrigeration systems. Afterseveral years’ trials, Harrison ob-tained a patent in 1855 for anethyl ether compression machine,similar to that of Perkins. He set

out for London, where he obtainedtwo English patents and beganindustrial production, which heimmediately continued on hisreturn to Australia. Harrison’smachines were produced, with anumber of improvements, forforty five years. Moreover, theywere used in 1861 in Sydney tocreate the first industrial frozenmeat factory.

One serious flaw of the ethylether machines, however, was thatether is highly inflammable andtoxic and therefore very danger-ous. The machines were also notperfectly airtight because etherevaporates at less thanatmospheric pressure. Theseproblems were at the root of thesuccess of air and absorptionmachines (described below)during the three decades from1860 to 1890. From 1880 onward,after experiments with a numberof liquids, the ammoniacompressor was introduced andwithin the space of ten years ithad taken over from every othertype of machine, a lead which itstill maintains today. Although thefirst patent for an ammoniacompressor was taken out by theScotsman David Boyle in 1872, itwas the German Karl von Linde in1876 who perfected the machineso that it could be launched on theworld market.

As for the absorption machinedeveloped by the Frenchman Fer-dinand Carré in 1859, it was basedon a mix of two liquids, one de-nominated frigorigenous(ammonia) and the other absorber(water). It should not be forgottenthat ammonia evaporates sponta-

390 Antonio Meucci

neously at a temperature of -33°C. The machine functioned insuch a way that ammonia wasalternately absorbed and releasedfrom the water. The production ofcold occurred during evaporationof the ammonia. Two containerswere used, one acting alternatelyas a boiler (heated on a wood fire)and absorber and the otheralternately as condenser andevaporator. The advantage of thismachine was that it possessed nomoving parts, at least in the caseof small models. Furthermore, thetwo containers were connected bya tube and could interchangefunctions with a suitable heatexchanger design.

The domestic machine, whichFerdinand Carré put on show inLondon in 1862, is preserved nowat the Musée National des Tech-niques in Paris. It could producetwo kilograms of ice in one and ahalf hours with a consumption ofsix hundred and fifty grams of

wood. Carré’s machine was ex-ported and produced practicallythroughout the world. In thesouthern states of the UnitedStates (especially the gulf states)Carré’s machines were importedeven during the Civil War, despitethe Yankee blockade.

BibliographyBettarini, L., Director of the Institute ofCold of Padua University (privatecommunication to the author)Colombo, G., Manuale dell’IngegnereCivile e Industriale, Ulrico HoepliEditore, Milan, 75th Edition, 1947Figuier, L., Les Merveilles de l’Industrie,III: Industrie du froid artificiel,Mondadori, Milan, 1875Mattarolo, L., Department of TechnicalPhysics of Padua University (privatecommunication to the author)Thévenot, R., Essai pour une Histoire dufroid artificiel dans le monde, InstitutInternational du Froid, Paris, 1978Various authors, Cronologia Universale,RCS Rizzoli Libri S.p.A., Milan, 1987Various authors, Scienziati e Tecnologi(Dalle Origini al 1875), ArnoldoMondadori Editore, Milan, 1975

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HISTORY OFELECTRODEPOSITIONTECHNIQUES

In the year following thediscovery of Volta’s battery, i.e.1800, electrolysis wasdiscovered by A. Carlisle andW. Nicholson. A new branch ofelectricity was thus born,electrochemistry, which gaverise, in particular, to suchapplications as electroplating,galvanoplastics, electrotypingand so on, which we willhenceforth callelectrodeposition techniques. Itshould be recalled that both theprocesses of electroplating andgalvanoplastics consist in theelectrodeposition of metals,except that galvanoplasticsinvolves the reproduction ofseveral copies of metal objectsby first creating a mold, notnecessarily of metal, and thenelectro-depositing the desiredmetal on the mold, thus leavingthe original unaltered.Electroplating, on the otherhand, consists in coating a metalobject with a thin layer ofanother metal, generally a moreprecious one and/or more re-sistant to external agents.Lastly, electrotyping consists inpreparing molds for printing,called electrotypes.

In order to give as accurateas possible a picture of the stateof the art of these techniquesduring the last century, we havereprinted below (in summaryform and/or with additions, asnecessary) the treatise prepared

by Savorgnan di Brazzà in 1908 (seebibl.). We begin, however, with ashort chapter on electric batteriessince electrodeposition techniquesevolved at very much the same paceas the batteries. Indeed, until theinvention of the dynamo, batteriesplayed a crucial role in elec-trodeposition processes, partly be-cause at first the objects were ac-tually electroplated inside them.

Electric batteriesVolta’s battery — The first

electric battery (called ‘pile’) was,as we know, invented by CountAlessandro Volta, professor of ex-perimental physics at the Universityof Pavia, and was the outcome ofresearch he had undertakenthroughout the decade up to 1800.The official document recording thatmajor invention is, however, a letterdated 20 March 1800, in whichVolta presented his results to theRoyal Society in London (fromwhich he had received the CopleyMedal in 1796). The most reliabletexts date the discovery of Volta’sbattery in 1799. It is a curiosity ofhistory that a so-called electricbattery which the Englishman JohnCuthbertson created in Amsterdamin 1770 by joining 135 Leyden jars,is regarded by some as theforerunner of Volta’s battery.

The voltaic battery, as it wascalled, in its simplest form (voltaicelement or cell) consists of a suc-cession (pile) of four conductors,three of which are metal, M (alsoknown as electronic or first classconductors) and one is an elec-trolyte, E (also called ionic or sec-ond class conductor) according tothe following scheme:

392 Antonio Meucci

M1 | E | M2 | M1,

where the first and last metals(M1) must be equal, E is theelectrolyte and M2 is the secondmetal. A variation of Volta’sbattery is the concentrationbattery, in which a singleelectrolyte is used but in twodifferent concentrations (beingequivalent, therefore, to twoelectrolytes, E1, E2), accordingto the following scheme:

M1 | E1 | E2 | M1.

In the first Volta’s battery,the following elements weresuperimposed, in that order: asilver disc (later replaced bycopper), a disc of cloth soakedin a diluted solution of sulfuricacid, a disc of zinc, then again(up to several times) copper-cloth-zinc etc., ending with cop-per. The word pile, originallyused in place of battery,originated from the pile of thesediscs. Its electromotive force(emf), or open-circuit voltage,was approximately 1 volt.Today, this type of battery isonly of theoretical interest.

The phenomenon ofpolarization— In 1829, A.C.Becquerel gave an explanationfor a serious shortcomingshown by the batteries of thetime - polarization, as hedefined it - which caused arapid drop in their electromotiveforce some time after they hadbeen connected to an external

load. If the battery was then left torest for a few hours, without anyload, it would begin to work again.Becquerel showed that in themajority of cases polarization wascaused by hydrogen ions producedby the passage of the current, whichclustered around the battery’spositive pole (which is also thecathode of the electrolytic bath)thereby reducing the battery’s emf.When the battery was disconnectedfrom the load - and therefore thecurrent passing through the bath wasbroken off - the ions spread slowlythrough the electrolyte, freeing thecathode and restoring the battery’sfull emf. This type of depolarization,which occurred when the batterywas left to rest, was termedspontaneous depolarization. If,however, a substance capable ofreacting with the hydrogen (to formwater, for example) is added to theelectrolyte, one obtains anaccelerated depolarization and thesubstance that causes theacceleration is called a depolarizer.An example of an accelerated depo-larization battery is the Bunsenbattery, which has an acid depolar-izer (nitric acid), as will be dis-cussed further on.

Daniell battery— A radical so-lution to the problem of polarizationwas provided by so-called un-polarizable batteries such as thetwo-liquid battery. This type ofbattery was invented in 1836 by anEnglishman, John F. Daniell, pro-fessor of Chemistry in London, andit consists of an amalgamated zincanode and a copper cathodeimmersed, respectively, in a solution

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of copper sulfate and in one ofzinc sulfate, separated by aporous septum (which will beindicated henceforth by thesymbol ), thus according to thefollowing scheme:

copper | copper sulfatesaturated solution zinc sulfatesolution | amalgamated zinc |

copper.

By this means, the reactionscaused by the passage of currentoccur around the porous septumand so do not alter the electricpotential around the electrodes.

Daniell’s cell (i. e. oneelement of the Daniell’s battery)has an emf of around 1.09 voltsand has the advantage of beingvery constant. For this reason itis suitable whenever a weak butconstant current is required.About once every two monthsthe zinc amalgam had to bereplaced and, moreover, it mustalways be monitored verycarefully to ensure that theconcentration of zinc sulfateremains constant. A variant onDaniell’s battery that was muchused in the Italian telegraphnetwork from 1863 on wasD’Amico’s battery. Instead ofusing a porous septum, thisbattery used a special design toseparate the two liquids, basedon gravity.

Bunsen battery— The firstmodel of the Bunsen batterywas developed by the Englishphysicist, William R. Grove, in1839. He built a battery bybending a sheet of amalgamated

zinc into a U shape around a porousvessel containing nitric acid, insideof which was a foil of platinum. Thewhole was placed in a glass vesselcontaining a solution of sulfuricacid, according to the followingscheme:

copper | platinum | nitric acidsolution sulfuric acid solution |

amalgamated zinc | copper

In Grove’s battery, the releasednitrogen reduces the nitric acid,transforming it into nitrogen diox-ide, which on contact with air be-comes ammonia and nitric acid.This battery was the first to use anacid depolarizer (nitric acid). Theproblem with Grove’s battery,though, was the high price ofplatinum, which prevented it frombecoming widely used. In 1840, theGerman chemist, Robert WilhelmBunsen (see a short biographybelow under “Profiles”), had theidea of replacing platinum withretort graphite and so made Grove’sbattery practical. With thismodification the battery becameknown as Bunsen battery.

Bunsen battery (also called car-bon battery) consists of a chinacontainer containing a 10% solutionof sulfuric acid, in which isimmersed a thin sheet of amalga-mated zinc bent into a slit cylinder;inside the zinc cylinder is a porousvessel containing a solution of nitricacid in which the graphite electrodeis immersed. On top of thiselectrode there is a copper ringwhich acts as the positive pole,hence, according to the followingscheme:

Bunsen battery

394 Antonio Meucci

copper | retort graphite | nitricacid solution sulfuric acid

solution | amalgamated zinc |copper

Bunsen battery produces anemf of approximately 1.9 volts,one of the highest of all voltaicelements, and can supply a verystrong current, much greaterthan that obtainable fromDaniell’s battery. Its dis-advantages are that it is difficultto keep the concentrations of thetwo solutions constant and thatit emits nitrous vapors, whichare both unpleasant andharmful, so that it must be keptin a suitable and well-ventilatedlocation.

Bunsen battery wassubjected to a number ofmodifications, that will bedescribed briefly hereinafter. In1842, Archerau exchanged thepositions of zinc and graphite;in 1847, another Frenchman,Callau, replaced the graphitewith a thin sheet of lead, thenitric acid in the porouscontainer with a solution ofpotassium nitrate and theinternal liquid with a mixture ofsulfuric acid and concentratednitric acid. With this lastcontrivance he managed tocreate a battery with moreconstant current. In 1865,Maike replaced zinc with steel,in water acidulated with nitricacid. At the end of the century,Niandet immersed the zinc in asolution of sodium chloride andfilled the porous vessel withchips of graphite and calcium

chloride. Tommasi closed theporous vessel hermetically toprevent the development of harmfulnitrous vapors, but by doing so hegreatly diminished the amount ofavailable current. D’Arsonvalreplaced the positive electrode,consisting in a single piece of retortgraphite, with a set of thin sticks ofthe same material and so greatlyincreased the surface in contact withthe electrolyte; at the same time hemade up the depolarizing liquidwith a mixture of hydrochloric acidand sulfuric acid which fell drop bydrop onto the battery. Lastly, MarieDavy replaced the acidulated waterwith pure water and the nitric acidwith a mercury sulfate paste, whichabsorbed hydrogen by releasingmercury.

Dry batteries— The so-calleddry batteries should more appro-priately be called as damp batteries,since liquid is replaced by any solidsupport that is kept damp; in acertain sense, Volta’s battery wasalso a damp battery. A so-called drybattery was presented to the RoyalSociety in London in 1809 by aSwiss physicist, Delue. It was acolumn battery consisting of 300zinc discs placed on top of an equalnumber of paper discs, gilded onone side and dampened withacidulated water on the other; thecolumn of discs was enclosed in aglass tube. The following year,1810, Giovanni Zamboni, a physicsprofessor from Verona, Italy, beganconstructing a dry battery, which hefinished in 1812. This batteryconsisted of sheets of tin foil coatedwith a thin layer of finely ground

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black oxide of manganese,mixed with milk and gum.Several thousand tin foil discswere then put together and com-pressed in order to obtain acertain number of threemillimeter thick sheets; thesesheets were alternated with anequal number of metal sheets inwhich holes had been punched,traversed by silk threads. Thewhole was enclosed in a glasstube and dampened withacidulated water. In this battery,the electromotive force resultedfrom chemical reactionsbetween the tin being oxidizedand the black oxide ofmanganese being reduced. Thepaper merely acted as a dampconductor. This battery was oflimited duration because itstopped functioning as soon asthe tin had been completelycorroded.

Leclanché battery— TheLeclanché battery - also usingblack oxide of manganese as adepolarizer - was derived fromthe Zamboni battery, whichshould therefore be regarded asthe forerunner of modern drybatteries, as those used inflashlights, radios, cameras andother portable electronicequipment. The Leclanchébattery was developed by theFrench chemist GeorgesLeclanché many years afterZamboni, i.e. around 1868, andconsisted in a glass vesselcontaining: an electrode inamalgamated zinc, acting asanode; a depolarizing mixtureof black oxide of manganese

and graphite in a porous vessel; agraphite electrode; and a saturatedsolution of ammonium chloride aselectrolyte; according to the follow-ing scheme:

copper | retort graphite | mixture ofgraphite and black oxide of

manganese saturated solution ofammonium chloride | amalgamated

zinc | copper

The average emf was 1.5 volts,like the majority of modern-day drybatteries, however, by usingdifferent depolarizing mixtures, itwas capable of reaching 1.8 volts.The Leclanché battery gained animmediate commercial success andwas particularly used, throughoutthe last century and in the firstdecades of this, for local batterytelephones and household electricbells. The Leclanché battery, how-ever, was only suited to intermittentuse as well as at a moderate currentintensity, because black oxide ofmanganese could easily be polarizedand its concentration under load washighly variable. It was also sensitiveto high room temperature.

Accumulators or storage batter-ies— In 1859, the FrenchmanGaston Planté invented what isknown as the storage (or reversible)battery, later called the electricaccumulator, based on sulfuric acidand lead. This battery only becameof practical use in 1881 when gratedlead plates were introduced.

Other important development inbatteries have taken place during thepresent century.

396 Antonio Meucci

The Ruben-Mallory batteryused a solid depolarizerconsisting of mercury oxide andwas therefore also calledmercury battery. It wasdeveloped during World War IIand became commerciallyavailable around 1957.

The zinc-air battery,developed by the Britishcompany Energy Conversion in1968, weighed only onekilogram and could provide aconstant voltage of 12 volts for12 hours. It was widely used intelecommunications equipment.

The aluminum-air battery,developed in 1987 by AlcanInternational Ltd. of Montreal(Canada) with a Canadiangovernment subsidy, had acapacity of 1.68 kWh and couldpull an electric golf buggy foreight hours running.

Dynamo — It is not inappro-priate to recall how importantthe introduction of the dynamowas as a replacement forelectric batteries in theelectroplating industry. At theend of the nineteenth century,the replacement of batteries bydynamo reduced the cost ofelectroplating by at least fourtimes (for instance, galvanicsilver-plating dropped from 4lire per kilogram of silver

deposited to approximately 1 lira perkilogram)9.

After Michael Faraday sug-gested, in 1831, that electric energycould be obtained from a conductormoving crosswise to the lines offorce of a magnetic field, manyattempts were made to create anelectric generator based on thatprinciple. In 1832, Hippolyte Pixiihad already built a small machineusing natural magnets and a switchto obtain direct current. CharlesWheatstone, in 1845, replacedPixii’s natural magnets with elec-tromagnets fed by a battery. Ap-parently, in 1850, Charles Christoflein Paris also built a rudimentaryelectromagnetic machine for use inelectroplating in his famousfactories, but results were notsatisfactory. In the same year, F.Nollet built another electromagneticmachine that was used to operate anelectric lighthouse. In 1855, SørenHjørth, a Dane, patented anotherelectromagnetic generator. Again,Charles Wheatstone, in 1857,introduced the idea of self-excitation, which some attribute toWerner von Siemens. This latter,however, was the first to build aself-excited dynamo in 1866.Similar discoveries in the field ofself-excitation were made by H.Wilde, Warley and M. G. Farmer.

It is a known fact (although onenot mentioned in some publications)that in 1860 Prof. Antonio Pacinotti,from Pisa, built his famous ringfrom which he created the first

9This corresponds, in 1990, to a drop from18,400 lire to 4,600 lire per kg or from$15.30 to $3.83 per kg.

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direct current induction motorthat was also the core of theelectric dynamo. He published adescription of his discovery inthe renowned Physics’magazine Nuovo Cimento on 13May 1865 (some years after hisdiscovery) and in the same yearalso discussed it with the headof Usines Frémont in Paris, theBelgian Zénobe ThéophileGramme. Gramme took out apatent for a dynamo usingPacinotti’s ring in 1869 andbegan to produce it industriallyin 1871. Pacinotti published hisprotest in the Reports of theFrench Academy of Sciences(Vol. LXXIII), which, however,did not achieve any otherpractical result, such as thecancellation of Gramme’spatent. On this subject, amodern American encyclopedia[Microsoft Bookshelf 1994, onCD-ROM — The People’sChronology] reads: “Energy,1872 - Belgian electricianZénobe Theophile Gramme, 46,perfects the world’s firstindustrial dynamo, employing aring winding of the same typeinvented independently byItalian physicist AntonioPacinotti in 1860.”

Lastly, it should be recalledthat in 1879 the AmericanThomas Alva Edison, built ahigh voltage dynamo to power agroup of direct currentincandescent lamps and in 1882he built the first direct currentelectric power station, using adynamo, in Pearl Street,Manhattan.

Ancient gold- and silver-platingtechniques

The art of covering an objectwith a coat of gold has been knownand practiced since very ancienttimes. The ancient Egyptianalchemists well knew the effectproduced by the immersion of ametal in a saline solution of anothermetal and interpreted it as a trans-mutation of one metal into another.The recipes for this were kept secretby priests in the Egyptian templesand later divulged in the secondcentury AD by the Academy ofAlexandria. Similar knowledge waspossessed by the Chinese at aroundthe same period as the Egyptianpriests.

Historians narrate that the bronzestatues of ancient Egypt werecovered with thin sheets of preciousmetals. The roof of the temple ofJerusalem was also covered in goldat the peak of the Hebrewcivilization. The Romans, in turn,used to cover furniture in the housesof wealthy citizens and the walls oftheir temples with thin sheets ofgold obtained by hammering,known as bracteae quaestoriae. Inorder to make these bracteae adhereperfectly, the Romans used amordant (adhesive) calledleucophoron, and the whole wascoated with egg white.

Silver-plating, on the other hand,was almost entirely unknown inancient times, solid silver itemsbeing preferred, as the metal wasextracted in huge quantities from themines of Laurion and Asia Minor.Silver-plating was imported by theMoors when they invaded Spain andSicily (eighth-ninth centuries) and

398 Antonio Meucci

from there spread throughoutEurope.

During the middle ages(tenth-eleventh centuries)gilding with gold leaf wasreplaced by amalgam gildingwhich, although simple andeconomical, was a highlydangerous process because ofthe toxic elements employed.Mercury, which has theproperty of dissolving all noblemetals, was used to produce theso-called amalgam; this waspainted onto objects which werethen fired. The mercury wouldvolatilize and the gold remainattached to the metal. Thissystem of amalgam gilding -which was employed until afterthe middle of the nineteenthcentury when it was replaced bygalvanic gilding, i.e.electroplating - was extremelyexpensive. To give an example,in 1850 when the outside of thedome of the Church of St. Isaacin St. Petersburg, Russia, wasgilded, the cost totaled4,400,000 francs (equivalent toabout 46 billion lire or 38million dollars in 1990), withoutconsidering the cost ofpensioning off about twohundred workmen, permanentlyinjured by intoxication from themercury vapors. It isunderstandable that thediscovery of electroplating wasimmediately greeted withenthusiasm.

Origin and development ofelectrodeposition techniques

Electrodeposition techniques arebased on the phenomenon of elec-trolytic decomposition (or electrol-ysis) of metal salts when an electriccurrent passes through them. It wasapparent from the very first trials,conducted by Count Volta himself,that an electric current was the mostpowerful method of chemicaldecomposition known. Volta wasthe first to remark in 1800 that themetal salt contained in the batteriesdecomposed into its constituentelements as the current passedthrough and, more especially, thatthe constituent metal deposited onthe negative electrode. At almost thesame time as Volta, W. Nicholsonalso attempted, but without success,to decompose certain metal salts byelectrolysis in order to obtain a de-posit of a thin layer of the compo-nent metal on certain objects.

As we shall see, as soon as thisphenomenon was understood andcontrolled, the expensive gilding,silvering and other plating obtainedby firing were completely replacedby electroplating, which producescoatings that are extremely thin,very even and hard-wearing and,moreover, less expensive. The othersector to benefit enormously fromelectrodeposition techniques was theprinting industry. In the past,engraving had been a highlyspecialized and time consuming job;it was done on sheets of copper orsteel or on wood and only a limitednumber of copies could be runbecause the original was subject togradual and irreversible de-terioration. With the more advanced

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electroplating techniques, on theother hand, it was possible toreproduce millions of copies ofthe original by preparing aplaster, wax or pure lead moldfrom which an electrotype orplate could be obtained rapidlyand by less specializedworkmen. It is worth, therefore,describing in some detail theorigins and development ofthese two important branches ofelectrodeposition techniques.

Galvanic gold and silver platingThe first person to undertake

thorough and serious research inthis field was the physicist LuigiValentino Brugnatelli (see ashort biography below, under“Profiles”), a student of CountVolta (and later his friend andcolleague as professor at PaviaUniversity). In 1802, hedescribed a method which hehad successfully used to obtaina deposit of gold on theconductors of a voltaic battery,as reported in the AnnaliChimici di Pavia of 1801-02.The description of his processwas also published in Vol. I ofthe Journal de Physique et deChimie of Mons (Belgium), in1802, as follows (from:Savorgnan di Brazzà, op. cit.)10:

“Take one part of saturatedgold dissolved in turpentine,add six parts liquid ammonia;the solution will separate and

10Some encyclopedias (Scienziati eTecnologi—Dalle origini al 1875, seebibl.) quote the same Journal fromBrussels, instead of Mons and the year1803, instead of 1802.

precipitate gold oxide, that willinstantly dissolve in part to formammoniated gold. This mixture iscollected in a glass container. Theobjects to be gilded are firmlyattached to a steel or silver wirethat is connected to the negativepole of a voltaic pile. The silverobject to be gold-plated must beimmersed in the liquid containingammoniated gold. The galvaniccurrent is closed with a large stripof dampened carbon which passesfrom the ammoniated gold to thepositive pole of the pile. Within afew hours the silver is entirelycoated with gold by galvanic action.The gilding can later be colored byordinary means.”

This passage is of considerablehistorical interest for it provides in-controvertible proof that ValentinoBrugnatelli was the first to obtaingold-plating by means of electriccurrent. The quality of the gold-plating, however, was not yetcommercially acceptable: the goldwas deposited in the form of ablackish-gray powder, with noshine. For this reason, Brugnatelliabandoned his experiments.

Many years later, his experi-ments were taken up again by theSwiss physicist Auguste Arthur DeLa Rive (see a short biographybelow, under “Profiles”). In 1825 heattempted to gild objects by de-composing gold chloride, but theresults were not good. After Daniellpile was invented (1836) he noticedthat the copper plate (cathode) ofthis battery was coated with a layerof copper, in a pure metal state, andthat the coating was so perfect thatafter a while it could be detached itssurface bearing an exact copy of all

400 Antonio Meucci

the marks on the plate where ithad been deposited. Also JohnDaniell had made the sameobservation on his battery. DeLa Rive continued his gildingexperiments for several yearsbut his results, in 1840, wereonly marginally satisfactory.The first layer of gold heobtained was very bright andadhered well but subsequentlayers quickly turned powderyand uneven, just likeBrugnatelli’s. De La Rive’sapparatus (see illustration)consisted of a cylindricalcontainer of porous materialwhich held the gold chloride;this container was placed in alarger vessel filled withacidulated water where a sheetof zinc was immersed,connected by a copper wire tothe object immersed in the goldchloride.

This apparatus wascomposed of a two-liquidbattery of the following type:

copper-object | gold chloride acidulated water | zinc plate |

copper,

closed in a short circuit by thecopper wire.

Other scientists, such asPerret, Smée, Elsner andBeedger attempted to perfect DeLa Rive’s method, but there wasnot much improvement on hisresults until they were joined bya German scientist, naturalizedRussian, Moritz Hermann vonJacobi (see a short biographybelow, under “Profiles”).

Jacobi, who at the time wasprofessor of Physics at the Uni-versity of Dorpat (now Tartu, inEstonia), began from the same ob-servation made by Daniell and DeLa Rive concerning the deposit ofcopper on the copper negative pole -or cathode - of Daniell’s pile.However, he also noted that al-though part of the deposit wascomposed of separate crystallineparticles, beneath them were per-fectly even coats of copper and itwas these that matched the copperelectrode exactly, reproducing eventhe smallest scratch or bump. After aseries of experiments he concludedthat the phenomenon was not due tothe particular kind of the metal(copper) but was a general principle,applicable to all metals. He alsomanaged to reproduce on the copperelectrodes of the batteries, indentedor in relief, any sort of patternengraved on the electrode. Morespecifically, using weak but veryconstant batteries, he managed toobtain an imprint in relief of a plateengraved by burin.

This convinced him that he wason the verge of an important dis-covery and on 21 October 1838 (9October in the Russian calendar) hereported the results of his experi-ments, supported by several sampleobjects made by him, to theAcademy of Sciences of St. Pe-tersburg. Jacobi’s communication,which was read out by his secretary,Russ, was greeted with considerableenthusiasm and earned him theencouragement of Czar Nicholas Iwho later acquired the Russianpatent for 25,000 rubles. The Dukeof Leuchtenberg was commissioned

De la Rive gold platingapparatus

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by the Czar to set up a StateInstitute of Galvanoplastics,employing over 250 workers. Anumber of Russian churchesstill display work carried out inthat factory, such as the twelvegilded bronze statues thatdecorate the inside of the domeof the Church of Saint Iran inSt. Petersburg. The Russiangovernment spent enormoussums of money on the Institute,of which it was justly proud.However, when the Duke ofLeuchtenberg died, the Institutewas sold to private industry.

After Jacobi obtained thefinancial support of the Czar, hecontinued his research andimmediately sought to put hisdiscovery into operation on anindustrial scale. He thusintroduced into the process oneof the three fundamental inno-vations that earned him the titleof father of electrodepositiontechniques.

He had observed that themethod used until then, whichconsisted in depositing thecopper inside the actual cell,made it very difficult to perfectthe process and, above all, didnot allow large size objects tobe copper plated. He found thatdecomposition improved whenthe battery was separated fromthe galvanic bath (of coppersulfate) and connected to thecathode and anode of the gal-vanic bath by two conductors.Unfortunately, in theseconditions the bath was veryquickly depleted. To overcomethis problem he tried to increaseconsiderably both the size of the

bath and the amount of liquid, butthis took up a lot of space and wasvery expensive.

It was in 1839 that he made hisnext major discovery, which madethe process industrially viable: thesoluble anode. He had observed thatwhen an object is attached to thecathode of the galvanic bath and theanode consists of a sheet of the samemetal as that contained in the saltdissolved in the bath, the sheetdissolves slowly in the bath and theamount of dissolved metal ispractically equal to the amountprogressively adhering to the object.The discovery of the soluble anodewas of major significance; it notonly allowed the electric battery tobe separated from the apparatuswhere the deposit occurred, but itbecame possible to use any sourceof electricity whatever, since it nolonger had to contain a salt of themetal to be deposited.

A last problem remained, butquickly solved by Jacobi. In hisearly experiments he had used onlyobjects or molds in copper, whichwas very expensive. He discoveredlater that the molds could be madeof any material, even an insulatingmaterial such as plaster or wax,provided it was coated with a thinlayer of conductive material. Moreparticularly, he found that becauseof its conductive properties, graphitewas the most suitable material touse. His idea of using molds of othermaterials and of coating them with aconductive layer (conductive paints)was taken up and perfected byBerguillon in France and Murray inEngland. Incidentally, it should bepointed out that electrodepositiontechniques would not have become

402 Antonio Meucci

so important had it always beennecessary to rely on metalsupports to obtain electroplatingbecause of the technicalproblems involved in buildingthem and their high cost. Thus,it can be said that MoritzHermann von Jacobi welldeserved the title of father ofelectrodeposition techniques.

Between 1839 and 1840,Spencer, as well as the brothersHenry and George Elkington(cutlers, inspired by earlierstudies of John Wright), allEnglish, and a Frenchman,Count Henri De Ruolz (see ashort biography below, under“Profiles”) discovered that gal-vanic gold- and silver-platinggave better results if, in place ofa chloride, alkaline solutions ofgold or silver cyanide in asolution of potassium cyanidewere used. The deposits thusobtained adhered perfectly tothe metal beneath and it wasalso possible to achieve exactlythe desired thickness by leavingthe object under the action ofthe electric current for a suitabletime. Following thesediscoveries, industrialapplications began, especiallythose of galvanic silver plating,which was the most widelydemanded. Some regard thedate of Elkington’s patent, ob-tained on 29 September 1840,as the start of the galvanicgilding industry.

The two patents obtained byCount Henri De Ruolz weredated 8 December 1840 and 18June 1841, respectively, the first

one only shortly after that of theElkington brothers. This closetiming gave rise to lively disputesbetween the two parties, both actingin good faith, since their discoverieshad seemingly been made withoutthe one knowing about the other. On9 August 1841, Count De Ruolzread a description of his invention tothe Academy of Sciences in Parisand on 24 November the famouschemist Jean Baptiste André Dumascalled the Academy’s attention tothe experimental results of DeRuolz’s system, with particularemphasis on its industrial applica-tions. Dumas’ address, in whichonly a passing mention of the Elk-ington brothers was made, was metby a violent protest from the twoEnglish inventors and on 11December their representative inParis, one Truffart, wrote to theFrench Academy demanding thatthe Elkingtons’ rights be safe-guarded.

The dispute was an extremelydifficult one to solve, for theAcademy, which took the matter toheart, could not deny the true valueof De Ruolz’s research but had torecognize that the English inventorswere indeed first. A compromisewas found that would recognize themerits of both parties. On theproposal of the Commissionappointed to assign the MontyouPrize of 19,000 francs to any personwho had introduced industrialimprovements in unhealthy arts11,the Academy decreed on 6 June

11In fact, the electroplating techniquescompletely replaced the highly toxic systemof mercury-based gilding.

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1842 that the prize should beshared between Prof. AugusteArthur De La Rive, Count HenriDe Ruolz and the Elkingtonbrothers, adducing thefollowing motives (fromSavorgnan di Brazzà, op. cit.):

“The Academy awards aprize of 3,000 francs to Mr. DeLa Rive, Professor of Physics atGeneva, as the first person toemploy electricity in the gildingof metals, and especially ofbronze, brass and copper.

A prize of 6,000 francs isawarded to Messrs. Elkingtonfor the discovery of theirmethod of damp gilding and fortheir discoveries of processesrelating to galvanic gilding andthe application of silver on tometals.

A prize of 6,000 francs isawarded to Mr. De Ruolz forthe discovery and industrialapplication of several of hisown methods for gilding metals,silver plating them and coatingthem with platinum and, lastly,for obtaining economicprecipitation of metals onto oneanother by means of a battery.”

De Ruolz’s patents werepurchased in 1841 by theFrench industrialist CharlesChristofle (see a shortbiography below, under“Profiles”), who later set up theworld’s largest factory forelectroplating.

Moreover, on 13 May 1842,Charles Christofle signed a con-tract with the Elkingtonbrothers, under which theparties granted reciprocal use oftheir patents. In 1845, Christofle

finally purchased all the patents,paying a sum of 150,000 francs toHenri De Ruolz (approximately oneand a half billion lire or 1.25 milliondollars at year 1990’s values) and500,000 francs to the Elkingtonbrothers (just over 5 billion lire orover 4 million dollars in 1990). Thepatents expired and became publicproperty in 1855, by which timeChristofle had already won most ofthe market worldwide.

From what we have said above,it appears that the small electropla-ting industry set up by AntonioMeucci in Havana in 1844, quicklyfollowed the progresses made inFrance and England, and antedates,according to Williams Haynes (seebibl.), the first electroplatingindustry in the United States, set upby Dr. Isaac Adams of Boston in1869.

ElectrotypingIt is difficult to separate the

history of electrotyping from that ofelectroplating. The early obser-vations, made in 1836 by De LaRive and Daniell and in 1837 byJacobi, concerning the reproductionof scratches and bumps on copperdeposits formed on the cathode ofcertain types of battery are at theorigin of electrotyping.

At almost the same time as Ja-cobi, in 1837, an Englishman fromLiverpool, Spencer12, discoveredthat if he used a battery consistingof a sheet of zinc and one of copper,the first immersed in a coppersulfate solution, the second in a

12The author was unable to trace his firstname.

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sodium chloride solution(common salt), on top of thecopper electrode a layer ofcopper was deposited with thesame appearance and propertiesas copper obtained by fusion.Spencer then coated the copperelectrode with paint and en-graved letters on it with a metalpoint so as to reveal theunderlying metal in the sameway as for etchings. By passingthe current through heascertained that the metal wasdeposited in the hollowsengraved in the paint, thusforming a design in relief.

Towards the end of 1838,Spencer decided to apply hisdiscoveries to the reproductionof drawings and was thus thefirst to develop an electrotype.He used it to obtain large runswith the normal printing pressin use at the time. It is believedthat he conducted hisexperiments separately fromJacobi, whose results wereprobably unknown to Spencer.Some even attribute thediscovery of galvanoplastics tohim. This is not historicallyaccurate, however, principallybecause Spencer published hisinvention several months afterJacobi’s first communication,dated 21 October 1838;moreover, Jacobi’s workembraced all aspects ofelectrodeposition techniques.

With the advent ofelectrotyping it became possibleto obtain almost limitless runswhile keeping the artist’soriginal work intact. When the

copy was printed directly using theengraved wood or zinc plate, thesewere rapidly worn down by thepressure of the printing press androller. Therefore, the artist had toengrave several plates, wastingmuch time.

The electrotyping process mostfrequently used in the second half oflast century was the following (fromSavorgnan di Brazzà, op. cit.):

“Take some gutta-percha or themixture which practical experimentsindicate should be made upaccording to the following formula:2 parts pure wax, 10 partsgranzuolo13, 2 parts stearin, 3 partsgraphite; use it to form laminatedplates and cut one to the requiredsize, then heat it and press it ontothe engraving or typographic formto be reproduced, thus obtaining aperfect template of the original. Thistemplate is coated with graphite andplaced in the [galvanic] bath. Whenthe copper film is taken out of thebath it must be reinforced by acoating of tin on the underside. Thiscoating consists of an alloy of equalparts of tin and pure lead, made upas follows. To prepare the copperfor tinning so as to ensure perfectadherence, first hydrochloric acid isdecomposed with zinc and the re-sultant acid essence is used to wetthe grainy surface of the copperplate over which a tin leaf or tinpowder is then placed. The whole isthen exposed to heat so that whenthe tin dissolves it will adhere to thecopper; however, the heat must not

13The author was not able to find a de-scription of this substance, nor to give itstranslation in English.

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be too high or the decomposedhydrogen will form stannousoxide on the copper plate,which will jeopardize thecohesion of the metal alloy to bepoured on top afterwards. Thecopper sheet, which is unlikelyto be more than 3/10 of amillimeter thick, could notwithstand a long series of im-pressions. It must be reinforcedand raised to the requiredconsistency; to do so theelectrotype is placed in a frameand a lead alloy containing 6%antimony and 6% tin is pouredover it; the whole is put throughthe press to remove the excessalloy and ensure that the plateis perfectly flat since it mayhave been altered by the heat. Aplate of this kind can be used toobtain runs of over 300,000copies.”

GalvanoplasticsBefore explaining how the

process of electroplatingemployed in the second half oflast century works in practice, abrief description will be givenof the methods used to preparemolds for galvanoplastics, thatis the technique whereby anoriginal object can bereproduced in any number ofcopies desired using a mold anda galvanic process. This methodis very similar to electrotypingdescribed above since in bothcases there must be a support(mold) on which the galvanicdeposit can form. Ingalvanoplastics, however, themold is very often disposable,in the sense that each mold is

used for one object. Metal wasrarely used to make molds: almostalways a plastic substance waspreferred (hence the termgalvanoplastics), such as plaster,sealing wax, gutta-percha or amixture of waxes, which wastransformed into a conductor bymeans of a layer of plumbago(graphite). Metal molds were usedalmost exclusively for very smallobjects, such as medals and coins,requiring the reproduction of finedetails. The plastic materialsemployed for the molds had to below-melting and highly plastic, aswell as easily detachable. When bas-reliefs had to be reproduced, the bestmaterials were plaster and clay.Below is a description of the processfollowed to obtain a mold of thekind mentioned (from Savorgnan diBrazzà, op. cit.):

“The original to be reproducedis coated with a thin layer of finesttalcum powder and, in the case of amedal, placed in a circle of card-board forming a border around itand giving the impression of beingplaced inside a box. After this, aplaster mixture of the right consis-tency is smeared on the original andcarefully pushed into all the holesand corners. The plaster is then leftto dry and thicken in a current of airor in a moderate oven. When theplaster is dry the two parts areseparated and the mold is ready.

However, since plaster allowswater through, the mold is water-proofed by immersing it in a bath ofliquid stearin at a temperature of100 °C; a large number of air bub-bles are produced as the stearin fillsthe pores. After shaking thoroughly

406 Antonio Meucci

to eliminate the excess stearin,the mold is left to cool.

In all cases in which a moldcan be obtained by pressurealone, gutta-percha is used. Atnormal temperatures thismaterial is fairly hard andresistant but it becomes plasticafter immersion for a while inwarm water. In this state it willgive a faithful indentedreproduction of even the faintestmarks. Preparing gutta-perchamolds is a very delicate processbecause it is hard to avoidleaving tears in the original.Nowadays [ca. 1900, Editor’snote], a compound of pure wax,granzuolo, stearin and paraffin,in varying proportions depend-ing on the surroundingtemperature, is preferred,especially in electrotyping.

When handling aparticularly large object, simplemanual pressure is insufficientto obtain the impression or castand a press operated by a largescrew or by hydraulic powermust be used. A metal guidewith square cross-section isinstalled on the platform of thepress to keep the object per-fectly horizontal; the object islightly greased and placed inthe frame of the guide so as toform a sort of box, the bottom ofwhich is the object itself and thesides are the frame. A thicksheet of gutta-percha, wax orother plastic material is then cutto the exact size of the sides ofthe frame. This sheet is heateduntil it softens to the desiredconsistency, then applied to the

surface of the object and lastlycovered with a heavy cast ironplate, which can run inside theguide. The press is operated, takingcare to slowly increase the pressureas the gutta-percha graduallycovers the object. In this way animpression can be taken of even thesmallest details.”

Once the molds have been pre-pared in this way and coated withthe layer of graphite to make thesurface conductive, electrodeposi-tion can begin using methods simi-lar to electroplating.

ElectroplatingIn the majority of applications,

the electrolytic bath was containedin a solid wooden tank, for instanceseasoned larch, with a (double)lining of lead or stoneware tiles. Thetank was filled up to just over 3/4full so that once the objects areimmersed the water surface rises toapproximately 5 cm from the top ofthe tank. Two copper rods areplaced at a certain distance(specified below) across the tank.The object (or graphitized mold) tobe plated is hung by a metallic hookfrom one of these rods: this will bethe cathode of the electrolytic bathand it will be connected to thenegative pole of the external battery.From the other copper rod hangs thepure metal anode (soluble anode)from which particles will detachunder the effect of the electricalcurrent and replace, in the bath, theparticles deposited on the object (ormold) to be plated (see illustrationbelow). The soluble anode will beconnected to the positive pole of the

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external battery14. The distancebetween the plate acting assoluble anode and the sides ofthe tank must be about 5 cm,while the distance from theobject to be plated should beabout 10 cm if the object issmooth or 20 cm if it is not.Lastly, the objects to be platedmust remain immersed approxi-mately 10 cm below the surfaceof the bath but placed about 10cm above the bottom of thetank.

The electric generator isplaced outside the electrolyticbath; this was a battery or, later,a dynamo or a rechargeableaccumulator in tandem with thedynamo. To operate the bath afairly low voltage is generallysufficient (usually 5-6 volts)and a strong current, whichdepends on a number of factors,notably the size of the object tobe plated. For this reason it isnot the current but the currentdensity, in ampere per squaredecimeter (A/dm2), that isusually given. If agitators areapplied to the bath (either bymechanical means or bycompressed air), higher voltage(and current) is required; thisgives a greater yield in less timebut generally at the expense ofthe quality of the deposit, whichmay tend to flake. Highervoltage is also needed for 14The illustration (reproduced fromReuleaux, see bibl.) shows anincorrect connection, in that thepositive pole (central electrode of thebattery) appears to be connected to thecathode of the bath (the object beingplated), instead of the soluble anode.

electroplating with strong metals,such as nickel, steel, cobalt, and soon.

The most usual form of elec-trodeposition is copper plating,which often precedes gold or silverplating. It is important to ensure thatthe copper deposit is of a con-siderable thickness - particularly onmolds for galvanoplastics - if thefinal object is to be sufficientlysolid. In the early years of elec-trodeposition it was possible to de-posit about three quarters of a mil-limeter of copper every twenty fourhours. Later on, deposits of onemillimeter per hour could be ob-tained. To achieve this result, theconcentration of the electrolytic bathhad to be kept at 20° Bé15, thetemperature between 17 °C and 25°C, the solution constantly saturatedwith copper sulfate (and stirred),and the electrical current veryconstant.

Preliminary operationsWe will now describe the main

stages of the process as followed inthe mid-nineteenth century (see theblock diagram on p. 404), most ofwhich are still valid, in principle,today. Before a metal object couldbe plated it had to be thoroughlycleaned in order that an even depositof the desired metal could beobtained on it. If impuritiesremained attached to the surface -and very often these were insulatingparticles such as grease - the coating

15°Bé = degree of the Baumé scale.— Anancient unit of measurement indicating theconcentration of a substance in a watersolution.

408 Antonio Meucci

would be patchy. The cleaningoperation proceeded as follows:

The first step was to verythoroughly eliminate from theobjects any grease which mayhave been deposited duringproduction or handling. To doso the object was immersed in asolution of potash, followed bya rinse (R) in lukewarm waterand drying. This was followedby chemical purging, a two-stage operation involving, first,a fairly lengthy immersion ofthe objects in a weak acidsolution and then a very briefimmersion in baths ofconcentrated acids (grazing).The purpose of these twooperations was to remove thelayer of oxide that is always de-posited, to varying degrees, onthe surface of the objects to betreated. The concentrated acidsolution was composed asfollows:

Sulfuric acid at 66° Bé....20 partsNitric acid at 66° Bé........15 partsSodium chloride..................l part

The objects were immersedin this bath for two secondsonly because otherwise theywould have been eaten anddamaged by the acids. Afterremoval they were thoroughlyrinsed in plentiful runningwater. After drying, the piecesto be plated were given a finaltreatment to give them greatbrilliancy at the end of theprocess: they were immersed ina third acid bath composed of a

1 ‰ solution of mercury dioxideand sulfuric acid.

In the case of large objects,which could be mechanicallycleaned, the grazing phase was re-placed by energetic rubbing withpowdered pumice stone by a wild-boar-hair brush. In industrial pro-cesses, the brush was fixed to a latheoperated by pedal or by a steamengine.

Copper platingObjects were usually copper

plated before being gold plated be-cause gold will deposit in extremelythin but very resistant layers on topof a copper layer. An object that hasbeen copper plated and then coatedwith a gold layer only one ten-thousandth of a millimeter thick willgive excellent results as regards bothcolor and wear. Moreover, coppercan be very easily deposited bygalvanic process on top of almost allmetals.

In galvanic copper plating thebath most frequently used was thefollowing:

Water..................................1000 gCopper sulfate........................25 gSalic acid16 .............................50 gAmmonia................................50 g

The density of current requiredwas between 2 and 4 A/dm2. Thedeposit, at minimum current, wasaround 25 µm/h thick, that is about aquarter of a millimeter every tenhours.

16Probably, an acid obtained from silicaand alumina.

Copper plating of acast-iron statuette

Procedure forgalvanically gilding ametal or metal coatedobject

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This bath produced a gooddeposit of red copper.Incidentally, it should berecalled that in the last century,galvanic copper plating had alarge number of very importantapplications. Savorgnan diBrazzà (op. cit.) refers that inthe second half of the pastcentury, in the United States,approximately 162 km of steelwire were copper plated eachday for use in telegraph lines,employing around 2500kilograms of copper.

Mention should be made ofa major problem that arose inthe copper plating of iron orcast-iron objects (such asstatuettes). It often happenedthat as soon as the copperplating flaked, even in a verysmall area, the combination ofthe copper layer and theuncovered iron created a voltaiccell, which in turn oxidized theiron and caused it to graduallyrust. Various ways ofovercoming this problem wereproposed. The Frenchman,Oudry, thought of coating ironobjects with very hard-wearingand waterproof isolating paint,which he left to dry thoroughlybefore coating with red lead(acting as a conductive layer)and then depositing on this thelayer of galvanic copper.Obviously, this process wasmuch lengthier and moreexpensive and there weredifficulties in obtaining an evendeposit, particularly if a goodpart of the object was in relief.Nevertheless, Oudry’s methodwas used to copper plate the

chandeliers in the city of Paris, onwhich about a millimeter of copperwas deposited, by a five-days im-mersion in the galvanic bath. Thesame method was also used tocopper plate the large statues inPlace de la Concorde, in Paris,which had to be left in the galvanicbath for two months.

The method employed to copperplate objects made of insulatingmaterial, such as wood, plaster, etc.,involved first transforming theminto conductors so that the coppercould be deposited. They weretherefore immersed in iodizedcollodion and subsequently in a bathof silver nitrate. After this, theywere exposed to light for a giventime and then immersed in a bath ofiron protosulfate [ferrous sulfate,Editor’s note]. The silver, whichwas thus transformed into metallicsilver, made the surface of the objectconductive and thus ready to receivethe copper deposit.

Gold platingAlthough nowadays galvanic

gold plating has fewer practical usesthan silver, nickel or copper plating,it occupies an important place in thehistory of electrodepositiontechniques since it was the first tobe extensively used.

Gold plating could be obtainedby a hot or cold process. Hot goldplating produced a much quickerdeposit and a much richer color. Forthis reason it almost entirelysuperseded the cold process, whichwas the only one used in earlytimes. The best temperature for thehot process was 76 °C. The bath wasusually composed of gold cyanidedissolved in an excess of potassium

410 Antonio Meucci

cyanide. Below is a descriptionof the process, as given bySavorgnan di Brazzà (op. cit.):

“Fifty grams of pure goldare dissolved in aqua regia(consisting of two partshydrochloric acid and one partnitric acid), placing the flaskover a spirit lamp to speed upits dissolution. When this iscompleted, the liquid is pouredinto a china cupel andevaporated until a very densedeposit is obtained. Four litersof water and 1 kilogram of verypure potassium cyanide arethen added to obtain aconcentrated solution which ispreserved in closed containersand is sufficient for 50 liters ofbath. Rosseleur advises adding500 grams of ammonia.

For rapid gold plating ofsteel objects, without priorcopper plating, the followingbath can be used:

Water..................................1000 gSodium phosphate.................50 gSodium bisulfate....................15 gPotassium cyanide...................2 gGold (transformed intochloride)...................................1 g

We now come to the actualgold plating. After the objecthas been subjected to a series ofpreliminary operations

(degreasing, grazing, etc.), it ishung in the bath by copper hooksfrom a rod connected to the negativepole of the battery.

The baths that produce the gal-vanic deposits are rapidly depletedduring the operations since theymust provide the gold to be de-posited. To continually replenishthem, Jacobi’s discovery of thesoluble anode is exploited. To thisend, a sheet of pure gold connectedto the positive pole of the battery isplaced in the bath. The cyanogenreleased by decomposition of thegold cyanide collects on this pole;the cyanogen attacks the gold, pro-ducing gold cyanide in equalamounts to that which has been de-composed. Practical trials have al-lowed to establish the best size forthe soluble anode in each case.

As explained above, gold platingand silver plating can be done ineither hot or cold baths, with orwithout bubbling current, as men-tioned in Elkington’s patent. It isonly a matter of conveniencewhether hot or cold baths are used;to gold plate large objects, coldbaths are preferred, while hot bathsare advisable for other objects. Ingeneral, hot baths work faster anddemand lower voltage; moreover,they require much less metallic goldcontent to produce an even,adherent and richly colored deposit.

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When operating with a coldsolution the current must bestronger. A cheap, cold baththat gives excellent results isthat developed by Pfanhanger.The hot bath is prepared inexactly the same way as thecold bath; the simplest one isthat shown in the second table.

FinishingWe quote from Savorgnan di

Brazzà (op. cit.):When the object is removed

from the gold plating bath theprocess is not yet finished. Whatis deposited is pure gold, but aseveryone knows, the color ofpure gold, a slightly opaqueyellow, is not the same as thatof objects normally on sale.Coins and jewelry are made ofan alloy of copper and 80 or 90

percent gold. Therefore, the piecesof voltaic gold-work must be giventhe same, well-known color ascommercially available goldobjects. Three further operationsare needed to do this: buffing,coloring and burnishing.

The process that is carried outwith the buffer is the touchstone ofmetallic deposits. In good condi-tions, metallic deposits can with-stand rubbing with the buffer andacquire a beautiful glow; otherwise,if they do not adhere properly to theunderlying metal they flake easilyand come off in pieces. The buffer -called ‘grattapugia’ in Florence -consists of a bunch of brass wiresattached to a wooden handle or askein of brass wires folded in halfand cut into the shape of a brush.

Buffing is always done inside aliquid substance, usually a decoc-

Pfanhanger cold bath

Water................................................................................................................ 1 literSodium calcium carbonate................................................................................ 10 g99% potassium cyanide.................................................................................... 7 gPure gold in the form of gold fulminate........................................................... 2 gVoltage (at 15 cm distance between anode and object to be gilded)................ 2.85 voltVoltage difference for each 5 cm of more or less distance, ca......................... 0.18 voltConcentration.................................................................................................... 2.5° BéResistance......................................................................................................... 4.4 ohm

Hot bath

Water................................................................................................................ 1 literPure gold in the form of gold fulminate........................................................... 1 g99% Potassium cyanide.................................................................................... 5 gVoltage (at 15 cm distance between anode and object to be gilded)................ 1.3 voltVoltage difference for each 5 cm of more or less distance, ca......................... 0.20 volt

Current required................................................................................................ 0.1 A/dm2

Concentration.................................................................................................... 2° BéResistance......................................................................................................... 2.8 ohm

412 Antonio Meucci

tion of licorice wood, a runnypulp, which softens the action ofthe buffer on the gilded surface.The liquid is placed in a tubwith a plank placed right acrossthe middle of the top. This plankdoes not touch the liquid andthe workman rests on it to dipthe buffer and the object in theliquid at frequent intervals.

This method is lengthy andlaborious and is not used forsmooth objects like cutlery orlarge goldsmith’s objects. Forthese latter, a lathe buffer isused; this is a circular bufferwith disc brushes that areturned at a speed ofapproximately 600 revolutionsper minute by a foot pedal, inmuch the same way that theknife grinder turns his wheel.Smaller objects which areunsuited to polishing with thebuffer are polished by ‘bagging’or ‘tubbing.’

In ‘bagging’ the objects areplaced inside a long thin sackwhich is shaken so that theobjects rub against each otherevenly. In addition to theobjects to be polished, the sackalso holds a large quantity ofbox-wood or pine sawdust, inthe case of very small trinkets,whereas for lightweightknickknacks it contains bran orfine sand. The sack is held ateach end and spun round, firstto the right and then to the left;occasionally, this operation iscarried out by two people, eachof which holds one end of thesack, shaking it rhythmically.

‘Tubbing’ is often used in placeof bagging and is a process whichjewelers have borrowed from con-fetti’s producers. It involves dryingthe objects in a tub hung from theceiling by ropes, containing asuitable quantity of sawdust, bran orsand. The worker takes hold of thetub with both hands and shakes itevenly so that the objects inside arerubbed energetically one against theother.17

The gilded objects are tintedwith a pulp called ‘ground gold,’made up of 30 parts alum, 30 partspotassium nitrate, 8 parts zinc sul-fate, 1 part iron sulfate and 1 partsea salt. This powder is brushedonto the gilded object, which is thenpassed in a wood coal fire until thefused and dried paste acquires aburnished color. The oven employedfor this operation is a verticalcylinder in which the coal burnsbetween the walls and a concentricgrate; the objects prepared with theabove powder are placed in thecenter of this oven.

The object is then removed fromthe oven and immersed while stillhot in water containing 3% hy-drochloric acid. After this, the ob-ject is rinsed thoroughly in plenty ofclear water in which it is suspendedby means of a ladle or wire basket.The object is finally dried insawdust. At the end of this processthe object acquires the same coloras gold objects available in theshops, having lost some of its goldunder the corrosive action of thesaline mixture.”

17 A similar effect is obtained nowadayswith the sanding machines.

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Silver platingWe quote from Savorgnan di

Brazzà (op. cit.):“Galvanic silver plating,

which Elkington developed intoan industrial process in 1840,was and still is used on anextremely wide scale. Byendowing objects in daily usewith a rich and beautifulappearance, it has providedindustry with a line ofproduction accessible toeveryone, creating at the sametime new sources of profit andnew means of development forthis industry.

Every day we see and useobjects that have been subjectedto galvanic silver plating. Atone time, cutlery, for example,was made of tin; now it is madewith a variety of less wearingand less expensive metals. Thethin coating of silver makes itmore attractive to the user andthe consumer enjoys not only amore artistic effect and largersaving, but also a much greaterguarantee of hygiene since thepieces are now rustproof.

In many respects, therefore,silver plate cutlery has becomea major industry. However, weshall consider it from a purelytechnical point of view anddescribe only the underlyingscientific process.

Basically, the processes in-volved in voltaic silver platingare similar to those used involtaic gold plating.

Many different formulas areused, several of which presentserious problems because the

deposits obtained are uneven andnon-adherent. Roselem’s process isundoubtedly the best. The bath iscomposed of:

Water...................................1 literPotassium cyanide.................50 gSilver cyanide.........................25g

The products must be absolutelypure, of course, and for this reasonit is advisable to prepare the silvercyanide oneself. Dissolve 250 gramsof silver in 500 grams of nitric acidin a china cupel; heat the wholegradually to boiling point and allowto boil until the liquid is completelyevaporated. If the silver is pure, i. e.it contains none of the copper withwhich it is usually found, a whiteproduct will be found at the bottomof the cupel; this is the silver nitrate.

The silver nitrate obtained isdissolved in fifteen times its weightof distilled water to which a givenamount of hydrocyanic acid hasbeen added. A large quantity ofwhite precipitate of silver cyanidewill soon be formed in the colorlessliquid, which is then filtered andthoroughly washed; once dry, thesilver cyanide is ready for use.Potassium cyanide and water areadded to it in the proportions quotedabove. The potassium cyanidedissolves, when combined with thesilver cyanide, giving a silver andpotassium cyanide, , while the bathbecomes absolutely clear. This bathnow contains 25 grams of silver perliter which is the correctconcentration; if it were greater, thedeposit would occur faster butwould be less even. The problemwith this system is that in order toprepare the silver cyanide,

414 Antonio Meucci

hydrocyanic or prussic acid isneeded, which is extremely dan-gerous and toxic.

Prof. Zinin has given us theformula for a bath that alsogives satisfactory results andconsists of an aqueous solutionof silver cyanide and potassiumiodide, the second in excess.This bath is more expensivethan the previous one but it hasthe merit of producing a thickercoat of silver in a very shorttime.

The objects to be silverplated must first be degreased,grazed and cleaned as alreadydescribed for galvanic goldplating. In this case, however,the operations are easierbecause the object to be treatedis usually coated with a layer ofcopper to which silver adheresbetter.

For galvanic silver plating,wood vats lined with gutta-percha are employed. A copperrod runs around the mouth ofthe vat and from it hang thesilver sheets, or anodes.

The objects to be silverplated are suspended from asecond rod by means of hooks.The rod carrying the anodes isconnected to the positive pole ofthe battery while the rodcarrying the objects for platingis connected to the negativepole. The two rods must nottouch, otherwise the currentwould pass from one to theother and not through the bath.

During the operation theobjects must be moved from topto bottom since the parts of the

liquid that are lowest in silvercontent tend to rise to the top. Toovercome this problem, largefactories employ a mechanicaldevice to stir the bath continuously.

To have an idea of how impor-tant voltaic silver plating has be-come in our time, one needs onlyreflect upon the fact that an esti-mated 150,000 kilograms of silverare deposited electrically each year[in year 1900 Editor’s note] in thefactories of Europe and America.

The famous Christofle factory,which has given its name to a typeof cutlery, produces every year300,000 ordinary pieces of cutlery,550,000 coffee spoons, 100,000knife handles and 400,000 dessertsettings.

After removal from the bath, thesilver plated objects are buffed, inthe same way as described earlierfor gold plating. This process helpsthe silver to adhere while alsorevealing any objects in which thesilver plating is defective. If thatshould happen, the operation mustbe repeated from the beginning,after removal of the silver depositedon the object. This is done byimmersing the object in a bath of10% pure nitric acid solution; thesilver comes off and precipitates inthe form of insoluble silver nitrate.This is the process followed forsilver plating of objects, which werepreviously copper coated. Theprocess is ineffective in removingthe silver layer from iron, zinc andlead, in which case electricity mustbe used. This is done by invertingthe action to which the objects werepreviously subjected, in other wordsby immersing them in a bath of

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potassium cyanide andconnecting them to the positivepole of the battery.”

ProfilesLuigi Valentino Brugnatelli was

born in Pavia on 14 February1761 and died there on 24October 1818. He was anequally talented physician,physicist and chemist and formany years was Professor ofChemistry at the University ofPavia. He wrote a number ofbooks, including (translationfrom Italian): Elements ofChemistry, with reference to themost recent discoveries (Pavia,1795-97, 2 vols.), HumanLithology, i.e. Chemical andMedical Researches (Pavia,1819). He pioneered research ongalvanic gold plating which waspublished in 1802 in the Journalde Chimie et de Physique ofBelgium and in 1805 in thePhilosophical Magazine. In theAnnali di Chimica he also pub-lished an interesting note on thecrystallization of benzoic acidand another on Phosphorus.Lastly, Valentino Brugnatelliwas largely responsible forpromoting periodical scientificliterature in Italy. He foundedthe Biblioteca Fisica d’Europa(1788), the Annali di Chimica,the Giornale fisico-medico(1792) and lastly the Giornaledi Fisica, Chimica e StoriaNaturale (1808).

Robert Wilhelm von Bunsen,eminent physicist and chemist,was born on 31 March 1811 inGöttingen, Germany, where he

began his studies, later continued atthe Universities of Paris, Berlin andVienna.

In 1836 he was appointed pro-fessor of Chemistry at the Poly-technic of Kassel, and, in 1852, atthe Polytechnic of Heidelberg. Hebecame principally famous for hisstudies on chemical decompositionproduced by electricity. In one of hisexperiments he lost an eye, due tothe explosion of a still. He perfectedspectroscopic techniques, applyingthem to celestial bodies and beganinvestigating photochemicalreactions with studies on the effectof light on reagents. He made amajor contribution to the design ofscientific equipment forlaboratories, the best known beingthe gas burner and the zinc-carbonelectric battery which bear his name.He died in Heidelberg on 16 August1889.

Charles Christofle, one of thegreatest industrial entrepreneurs ofthe last century, as well as anexcellent chemist, was born in Parisin 1805. He completed his earlystudies at the school of Sainte Barbeand then entered one of the mostfamous goldsmiths in Paris, first asan apprentice and then as a worker.He soon distinguished himself fromthe rest of his co-workers for hisamazing technical and commercialskills and became a favorite with theowner, who entrusted him with themost delicate work and mostimportant business, finally raisinghim to a partnership and placing himin charge of the workshop, in 1831.

The purchase of Count DeRuolz’s and the Elkington brothers’patents for galvanic silver and gold

Robert Wilhelm vonBunsen

416 Antonio Meucci

plating enabled CharlesChristofle to expand his factoryinto a giant. When he was firsthired, the number of workersdid not reach one hundred,whereas in 1845 they numberedmore than 1500. The company,which was named after him“Christofle & C.” is still one ofthe most important in France atthe present time and its productsare known as en christofles. Hewas a man of outstandingbrilliance, the author of severalinteresting monographs andbooks, the most important ofwhich are: Observations sur leslois qui régissent le commercedes marques de la bijouterie enFrance (Paris, 1847), Projet deloi sur fabrique (Paris, 1847),Histoire de la dorure et del’argenture electrochimique(Paris, 1851). He died, loadedwith honors and vast wealth, atBrunoy in the Seine et Marneregion on 13 December 1863.

Auguste Arthur De La Rive wasborn in Geneva on 9 October1801. As a result of his greattalent for scientific studies andexceptional brilliance, in 1823,at the age of only 22, he wasappointed professor of Physicsat the Academy of Geneva. In1830 he was forced to leave hisnative city for political reasonsand take refuge in Paris, wherehe had many friends andadmirers. From there he movedto London, where he lived fortwo years. In 1836 he returnedto Geneva, where he startedteaching again and at the same

time took over the management ofthe Bibliothèque Universelle deGenève, which he kept until 1841.Subsequently, he became director ofthe Archives de l’Électricité (1841-46) and, together with the renownedchemist, Prof. Jean-Charles Galissacde Marignac, director of theArchives des sciences physiques etnaturelles, from 1846 to 1860.

Prof. De La Rive published anumber of works and made severalimportant scientific discoveries. Hewas the first, as we have said, tointroduce, in 1828, the galvanic goldplating of copper and silver, usingalkaline baths. He was also one ofthe first to demonstrate that theproduction of electricity in a batterywas caused by a chemicalphenomenon. He invented the sinecompass and carried out extensiveresearch on induction currents, onearth’s magnetism, on specific heatof gases and, finally, conceived avery elegant theory on the origin ofaurora borealis.

He was a member of many sci-entific academies and societies, in-cluding the Académie des Sciencesof Paris and the Royal Society ofLondon. He died in Geneva on 27November 1873.

Count Henri De Ruolz-Moutchal wasborn in Paris on 5 March 1808. Hismusical talent led him to study atthe city’s Conservatory, where hewas a pupil of the famous M° AntonReicha. He wrote three operas:Attendre et courir (Paris, 1830),Lara (Naples, 1835), Vengeance(Paris, 1839).

Having exhausted all his wealthhe was forced to look for a more

Havana 417

remunerative employment thanthat offered by the theater,which may certainly have givenhim glory but could not coverhis living expenses. He decidedto exploit the scientificknowledge he had acquired byattending, for mere pleasure, thelaboratories of the University.He found employment with adyer, one Chappée, where heundertook to find a system forgalvanic gold and silver plating.After a lengthy series of experi-ments he finally succeeded andtook out two patents, the firstdated 8 December 1840 and thesecond 18 June 1841. Count DeRuolz was also the first toproduce alloys byelectrochemical process. In1848 he was appointedinspector general of therailways for the Orléansnetwork. He died at Neuilly-sur-Seine on 30 September 1887.

Moritz Hermann von Jacobi,brother of the famousmathematician Karl Jacobi, theman who discovered ellipticalfunctions, was born in Potsdam,Germany, in 1801 and died inSt. Petersburg, Russia, in 1874.In 1818 he went to Russiawhere he took Russiannationality and completed hisstudies, which he had begun inGermany in his native town. In1832 he was commissioned toset up Russia’s first telegraphline; he was the first man toattempt to eliminate one wire inthe two-wire telegraph lines byusing ground return. In 1837,while he was professor of

physics at Dorpat (currently Tartu,Estonia) he made the threefundamental discoveries ofelectrodeposition.

He was covered with honors byCzar Nicholas I and commissionedto organize a regiment of electri-cians. At the same time he wasmade a member of St. Petersburg’sAcademy of Science.

He investigated all aspects ofelectricity, including a solution tothe problem of applying electro-magnetism to machines and studiedthe means of using electricity toexplode mines from a distance. Hepublished a number of importantscientific works, summaries ofwhich were published in the minutesof St. Petersburg’s Academy ofScience for the years 1834 to 1857.

Chronologysecond century AD - The secret recipes ofthe Egyptian priests for the transmutation(deposition) of metals are revealed by theAcademy of Alexandria. In previous cen-turies, Egyptians, Chinese, Hebrews andlater Romans had coated common objectsand even large buildings (roofs, columns,etc.) with thin sheets of gold (gold leafing)eighth-ninth centuries - The Moors importsilver leafing into Spain and Sicilytenth-eleventh centuries - Gold leafing isreplaced by amalgam gilding, which isemployed until around 1840, when galvanicgold plating begins to take hold1799 - Invention of the electric battery byCount Alessandro Volta1800 - Discovery of electrolysis by A.Carlisle and W. Nicholson. Volta andNicholson try (in vain) to decompose cer-tain metal salts to obtain some electrode-position of their constituent metal on smallobjects1802 - Luigi Valentino Brugnatelli suc-ceeds in completing the first galvanic goldplating, although his deposit is powdery andopaque. He reports his finding in 1803 inthe Journal de Chimie et de Physique andin 1805 in the Philosophical Magazine1809 - A physicist from Geneva, Delue,presents before the Royal Society a battery

Moritz Hermann vonJacobi, pioneer ofelectrodepositiontechniques

418 Antonio Meucci

consisting of a column of 300 zincdiscs and the same number of paperdiscs gilded on one side and acidulatedon the other1810-1812 - Giovanni Zamboni buildsthe first manganese dioxide dry cell,anticipating Leclanché’s battery1825 - Auguste Arthur De La Rive re-sumes research on Brugnatelli’sgalvanic gold plating using goldchloride but does not obtainsatisfactory results1829 - A.C. Becquerel explains thephenomenon of polarization ofbatteries1831 - Michael Faraday demonstratesthat it is possible to obtain electricpower from a conductor movingacross a magnetic field1832 - Inspired by Faraday, H. Pixiibuilds a small machine to obtain directcurrent using natural magnets and aswitch1836 - John Daniell invents the firstunpolarizable, two-liquid battery. Heand De La Rive observe that a thinlayer of copper is deposited on thecathode of this battery and reproducesevery scratch or bump in the cathode1838 - October 21 - The GermanMoritz Hermann Jacobi presents anumber of galvanic deposits obtainedby him to the Academy of Science ofSt. Petersburg and establishes that thephenomenon of electrodeposition is ofa general nature and not confined tocopper. Czar Nicholas I purchases hispatent and creates the State Institute ofGalvanoplastics, employing more than250 workers. Jacobi demonstrates thatdeposition is much more successfulwhen the battery is separate from theelectrolytic bath. A few months later,an Englishman from Liverpool,Spencer, reports having obtainedsimilar results in the field ofelectrotyping1839 - Jacobi discovers the solubleanode and introduces non-metallicmolds which are rendered conductiveby a layer of graphite. Berguillon, inFrance, and Murray in Englandimprove Jacobi’s methods forpreparing molds1839 - The Englishman, William R.Grove, invents a zinc-platinum batterywith an acid depolarizer (nitric acid)1840 - 29 September - The cutlersHenry and George Elkington, inEngland, obtain a patent for galvanic

gold and silver plating in an alkaline bath1840 - De La Rive experiments an im-proved system of galvanic gold plating,obtaining a bright and adherent first layer,although subsequent layers soon becomepowdery and uneven. Other scientists, suchas Perret, Smée, Elsner and Beedger obtainsimilar results1840 - 8 December - Count Henri DeRuolz, in France, obtains a patent forgalvanic gold and silver plating in an al-kaline bath, similar to that of the Elkingtonbrothers. A dispute breaks out over whosucceeded first, which the French Academyof Science resolves by sharing the MontyouPrize among the two litigants and a thirdscientist, De La Rive. Count De Ruolz willobtain his second patent on 18 June 18411840 - The German chemist, RobertWilhelm von Bunsen, modifies Grove’sbattery replacing the platinum with graphiteto make it suitable for practical use. Anumber of versions of this battery wereintroduced in the years 1842, 1847, 1865and others again towards the end of thecentury1841 - 1842 (13 May) - 1845 - The Frenchchemist and industrialist Charles Christoflepurchases first the patents of De Ruolz,then signs an agreement with the Elkingtonbrothers and later purchases their patents,thereby obtaining a monopoly (until 1855)of galvanic gold and silver plating1844 - Antonio Meucci sets up in Havanathe first electroplating workshop ofAmerica1845 - Charles Wheatstone replaces naturalmagnets with electromagnets in H. Pixii’smachine1850 - The gilding of the dome of the SaintIsaac Church in St. Petersburg, iscompleted, using the amalgam method.Two hundred workmen are poisoned andpermanently injured by the toxic mercuryvapors1850 - F. Nollet builds an electromagneticmachine which is used to power an electriclighthouse. C. Christofle also builds anelectromagnetic machine to produce directcurrent in place of batteries1855 - The Dane Søren Hjørth patents anelectromagnetic direct current generator1857 - Charles Wheatstone introduces self-excitation in electromagnetic machines1859 - The Frenchman Gaston Planté in-vents the so-called secondary battery (orreversible battery), later termed electricaccumulator. It becomes suitable for prac-tical use many years later (1881) with theintroduction of grated lead plates

Havana 419

1860 - Antonio Pacinotti creates hisfamous ring, which becomes afundamental element of direct currentinduction motors and dynamos. Hereports his findings in Nuovo Cimentoon 13 May 18651863 - The Italian telegraph networkadopts D’Amico’s battery, based onDaniell’s two-liquids battery1866 - Werner von Siemens, followedby many others, such as Wilde,Warley and Farmer, builds a self-excited dynamo1868 - The French chemist GeorgesLeclanché produces a battery withsolid depolarizer (manganese dioxide),the fore-runner of the modern dry cellbattery1869 - The first large scaleelectroplating industry (nickel plating)in the United States is set up by Dr.Isaac Adams of Boston1869 - The Belgian Zénobe ThéophileGramme patents a dynamo based onPacinotti’s ring, which wasdemonstrated to him some yearspreviously, and begins industrialproduction in 18711879 - Thomas Alva Edison builds ahigh voltage dynamo capable ofpowering thirty incandescent lamps. In1882 he builds, in Manhattan, the firstdirect current electric power stationusing dynamo1957 - The mercury battery, developedduring World War II by Ruben-Mallory Co., becomes commerciallyavailable1968 - The English company EnergyConversion introduces the zinc-air bat-tery, which is used extensively intelecommunications1987 - The aluminum-air battery,developed by Alcan International,succeeds in powering an electric golfbuggy for eight hours

BibliographyColombo, G., Manuale dell’IngegnereCivile e Industriale, Ulrico Hoepli Editore,Milan, 75th Edition, 1947ENEL, Ipotesi per un Museo dell’EnergiaElettrica, ENEL, Milan, 1988Flaumenhaft, D., Research Assistant of theChemical Heritage Foundation,Philadelphia, PA: private communication toBasilio Catania, dated 9 March 1998Fontaine, H.: Éclairage à l’Électricité,

Librairie Polytechnique Baudry & C.ie,Paris, 1888Haynes, Williams: American ChemicalIndustry, Van Nostrand, New York, 1954,Vol. 1, pp. 281, 388The New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia(on CD-ROM), 1991 Edition, GrolierElectronic Publishing Inc., Danbury, CT,USAThe Random House Encyclopedia -Electronic Edition, 1990 (on floppy disc),Microlytics inc., Pittsford, NY, USAReuleaux, F., Le grandi scoperte e le loroapplicazioni, Edizioni Treves, Milan, 1886Perucca, E. (Filippi F. editor): DizionarioD’Ingegneria, UTET, Turin, 1968Savorgnan di Brazzà, F.: L’Elettricità e lesue diverse Applicazioni, Edizioni Treves,Milan, 1908Time Table of History (on CD-ROM), TheSoftware Toolworks, 60 Leveroni Court,Novato, CA (USA), 1991Various authors, Roma: Il Museo dellaPosta, Franco Maria Ricci Editore S.p.A.,Milan, 1988Various authors, Scienziati e Tecnologi(Dalle Origini al 1875), ArnoldoMondadori Editore, Milan, 1975

420 Antonio Meucci

WHAT IS ELECTRICITY?

The explanation we haveprovided regarding themechanism by which theHavana experiments werecarried out is based, needless tosay, on our current knowledgeabout electricity. Fortunately,neither in his deposition nor inhis sworn affidavit, nor in anyother circumstance as far as weknow, did Meucci offertheoretical explanations on hisexperimental findings. Healways limited himself todescribing with simple and clearlanguage how the events hadoccurred, loyal to the mostorthodox experimental method.If he had not done so, he wouldhave fallen into sonorous - andtoday risible - absurdities, likemany scientists of his time.

It is nonetheless worthsummarizing what thetheoretical knowledge ofelectricity and magnetism wasat the time. A brief review onthe subject has been presentedin our insert ‘Electricity andMagnetism,’ on pp. 282 seqq.Glancing through it, todaysomeone might be (wrongly)surprised by the fact that, forinstance, the great MichaelFaraday, discoverer in 1831 ofelectromagnetic induction,explained it with a phantom‘electrotonic state’ of iron,capable of ‘convertingmagnetism into electricity.’ Norshould we be surprised by thefact that, even many years after1833, when Faraday proved the

contrary, many scientists wereconvinced that electricity producedby an electric battery was of adifferent nature than that producedby a frictional electrostatic machineor by a Leyden jar. As aconsequence of such convictions,the word ‘electricity’ was reservedto static phenomena, while for alldynamic phenomena where anelectrical current caused by a batterywas present, the word ‘galvanism’was used (Meucci in fact said: “… Iwas one of the first to work with allassiduity in the art of electricity aswell as galvanism …”18). This usecontinued, as we have stated above,for many years still after thedemonstration of the identity ofelectric fluid and galvanic fluidproved by Faraday.

This author also found interest-ing two conferences entitled “Whatis Electricity?” held thirty-five and,respectively, forty years afterMeucci’s famous experiment inHavana, by two renowned Uni-versity professors, John Trowbridgeof Harvard College, Cambridge,Massachusetts, Vice-President ofthe prestigious AmericanAssociation for the Advancement ofScience, and Amos E. Dolbear,Physics Professor at Tufts College(in Massachusetts). Both confer-ences presented a state-of-the-artreport on the period’s knowledge ofelectricity and magnetism and werereviewed and summarized in theTelegraphic Journal and ElectricalReview, on 11 October 1884 and 17

18Letter of A. Meucci to I. Corbellini,published by L'Eco d'Italia of New York on21 October 1865.

Havana 421

August 1888 respectively (seebibl.). Let us note from both ofthem several significant pas-sages:

[Trowbridge, 1884] “Whatis electricity?” We shallprobably never know whatelectricity is, any more than weshall know what energy is …Fifty years ago scientific menattached a force to every phe-nomenon of nature … Out of allthe theories of electricity, thetwo-fluid theories, the one fluid,or Franklin theory, and thevarious molecular theories, notone remains today under theguidance of which we are readyto march onward … What is therelation between electricity andmagnetism and what we callchemical force of attraction? …It is evident that our knowledgeof electricity will increase withour knowledge of molecularaction …”

[Dolbear, 1888] “What iselectricity?” Today we arebetter able to answer thisquestion … There have beentheories in the past that elec-tricity is a fluid, or two fluidssupposed to be imponderable,but nowadays no one thinks thatit is a fluid in any sense. In abattery it is proportional to thechemical reactions, that is tomolecular changes … It beginsin the matter and ends in thematter and must be a propertyof matter … The phenomenoncalled electrification is due tothe molecules being thrown intoabnormal positions and thepropagation from molecule tomolecule by contact of this same

abnormal position constitutes whatis called a current of electricity …”

To no avail, for the better un-derstanding of what electricity is,was the publication in 1873 of atreatise containing the famousMaxwell’s equations, with which allknown phenomena of electricity andmagnetism could be perfectlyexplained and precisely calculated.Moreover, new phenomena werepredicted, such as electromagneticwaves, whose existence was to beexperimentally demonstrated thir-teen years later by Heinrich RudolphHertz, in his famous experimentperformed on 13 November 1886(in between the two conferencesmentioned above). What left thescientific community unsatisfiedwith Maxwell’s theory (which Prof.Trowbridge and Prof. Dolbear didnot even quote) was that it appearedto be a marvelous product ofintuition, demonstrated as correct aposteriori, but delivered as if it werea principle to be accepted without anounce of demonstration or logicalreasoning, almost like Moses’ tables(and not to mention the appearanceof a new character in the play,ether).

The answer to the question Whatis electricity? came, finally, fromthe same Cavendish Laboratorywhich had been directed by JamesClerk Maxwell, thanks to a veryyoung successor of his, Joseph JohnThomson. The latter, in fact, in 1897(thus at the very end of the century),discovered a carrier of negativeelectric charge, having a tiny mass -much smaller than the mass of thesmallest known atom, hydrogen.This unknown particle, which wasfound to be present in all atoms of

422 Antonio Meucci

whatever nature, was named theelectron and is, today, the keyto understanding everyelectrical and magneticphenomenon. The answer to theabove question therefore came,as Prof. Trowbridge and Prof.Dolbear had predicted, from abetter understanding - andconsequently a new vision - ofthe structure of matter. Now,therefore, the electrical currentin a conductor is none otherthan the flow of myriads ofthose tiny particles calledelectrons, while inside a battery,much heavier charge carriers,called ions, exchange electronsduring chemical reactionsoccurring in the space betweenthe two electrodes, as well as atthe positive and negative polesof the battery itself. Finally, themystery of electric fluid andgalvanic fluid was unveiled. Butthis happened at the end of thecentury of which we speak, justas it was at the end of thecentury that the first Universitycourse on electrical disciplineswas instituted in the UnitedStates.

One must therefore not forgetthat Meucci’s experiment was per-formed at mid-century, so that onecould not expect him to give a the-oretical explanation of the phenom-ena he had observed, an explanationwhich no one could have correctlygiven, neither in his time, nor nearlyhalf a century later. Further creditshould go to Antonio Meucci for thefact that in Havana he had no way ofexchanging technical ideas withanyone, and could only obtainscientific information from thebooks he had bought, just as manyself-taught scientists who laterbecame famous had done. This wasone of the reasons, perhaps the mostimportant one, that led Meucci tolook for a better outcome of hisexperiments by moving to theUnited States of America.

BibliographyDolbear, A. E., What is Electricity?, TheTelegraphic Journal and Electrical Review,17 August 1888, pp. 170-171(Editorial) What is Electricity? [address ofProf. Trowbridge to AAAS, inPhiladelphia],The Telegraphic Journal andElectrical Review, London, 11 October1884, pp. 283-285

Havana 423

EXCERPTS FROM THEBELL/GLOBE TRIAL

Excerpts from AntonioMeucci’s First Deposition (7Dec. 1885 - 13 Jan. 1886)

Note. During the depositionof Antonio Meucci at theBell/Globe trial, all directquestions to him were addressedby Globe Telephone Company’sattorney, Mr. DavidHumphreys. The cross-ex-amination was carried out byMr. James J. Storrow, attorneyfor the American BellTelephone Company.Therefore, the latter’s questionsare indicated as “Cross Ques-tion No. …” All questions wereasked in English and promptlytranslated into Italian by aninterpreter appointed by theCourt. Meucci answered inItalian, and his answers werepromptly translated into Englishby the same interpreter andrecorded together with theoriginal answers in Italian. Inthe trial records, the Italiantranslations of the questions arenot reported. The text belowincludes the original questionsin English and our owntranslation in English ofMeucci’s original answers inItalian19. Any observations and

19In some cases, the Author did notconsider the original translation ofMeucci’s answers from Italian intoEnglish wholly satisfactory. He thendecided to have them retranslated byAIT in order for them to matchMeucci’s original words as faithfully

phrases we have added are shown insquare brackets.

[Question No. 10] If employedby anyone on electrical matters,state for whom?

[Answer No. 10] Now I mustfirst state how I began with elec-tricity.

[Question No. 11] Go on.[Answer No. 11] About the year

1842 to 1844 I obtained severaltreatises on electricity, regardinggalvanoplastics and galvanism ofthe authors Becquerel, Jacobi,Mesmer and others, and the ideacame to me to dedicate myself tothat branch of industry. Around theyear 1844 a certain Gaetano Ne-gretti was with me. He suggestedthat he could have all the necessaryinstruments for such an industrysent from England by his brother.Upon said Negretti’s offer I gavehim an order to have all that wasnecessary sent to me, and after afew weeks I received everything Ihad ordered, including many Bun-sen batteries and other tools, andinsulated-copper conductors, andall that was needed to undertakesaid industry.

[Question No. 12] Please stateand specify who this Negretti was?

[Answer No. 12] He was animport merchant in New York whomI recommended to the theaterimpresario in order to buy and shipall the objects that were needed forthe theater, so the above-saidNegretti had relations with me by

as possible. Consequently, the reader maynotice some differences between ourtranslation and the version contained in theofficial records of the Bell/Globe trial.

424 Antonio Meucci

way of the orders that I senthim, as received by said im-presario.

[Question No. 13] In yourformer answer you spoke ofgalvano-plastic; state if any useor experiment was made ofsame by you?

[Answer No. 13] Certainly.When I began to put inoperation the said discoveriesof the above-mentioned authors,I had occasion to obtainthrough the Captain GeneralO’Donnell the job of galvaniz-ing [electroplating, Editor’snote] various supplies for thetroops of the regiment, - such asswords, helmets and otherthings in metal, - it being veryuseful that said articles could begalvanized by me in Havana,instead of those coming fromforeign countries; in that Iserved the government for someyears. In addition, Imanufactured for other personsin Havana several differentobjects in galvano-plastics, -medals, statuettes, etc., as wellas gilding and silvering ofchandeliers, etc., for privatehouses.

[Question No. 14] When andwhat, if any, experiments didyou make in electricity?

[Answer No. 14] … Havingstudied Mesmer’s treatise onanimal magnetism, I had theidea to apply it and performsome experiments applyingelectricity to sick persons byorder of some doctor friendswho wanted to see if whatMesmer said was correct. And

in the times when I didn’t havemuch to do I would also give shocksto people employed by me - Negroes- and sometimes to my spouse. In thesame period, I had laid an electricalconductor from my workshop to athird room and produced electricityby a series of Bunsen batteries that Ikept in my workshop. One day anacquaintance came to me who wassick with head rheumatism. Then, Iput him in the third room, and I putin his hands the two conductorsconnecting to the battery; and at theend of said conductors there was acork implement, isolated from theconductor, of the shape I illustratehere [at this point Meucci drawsFig. 1, reproduced on p. 306]. Abovesaid cork was a metallic tongue sol-dered to the insulated-copper wireconductor which passed inside saidcork and communicated with thebattery. In my workshop (Fig. 2 [seep. 307]), where I had an instrumentidentical to the one he was holdingin his hand, I ordered him to put themetallic tongue in his mouth, so that- he being in communication withme by the electric fluid - I wished toascertain where was his disease. Iput the same instrument to my ear.At the moment that the person putthe little tongue to his lips, hereceived an electric shock, andyelled. At the same moment Iobtained a sound in my ear. Iinterrupted the operation and, toprevent the person receiving anelectric shock, I had an idea toremedy such accident. I took the twoinstruments, the one that was in thehands of the person and my own,and I covered them with a funnel ofpasteboard in order to isolate the

Havana 425

little tongue from contact withthe flesh (Fig. 3 [see p. 307]). Iordered the sick individual torepeat the operation performedearlier, to not be afraid of beinghurt by electricity again, and tospeak freely into the funnel. Hedid so immediately. He put hisfunnel to his mouth and I putmine to my ear. At the momentthat said individual spoke Ireceived the sound of the word -not distinct - a murmur - aninarticulate sound. I caused it tobe repeated several times in thesame day. I then tried again ondifferent days and obtained thesame result. From that momentthis was my imagination and Irecognized that I had obtainedthe transmission of the humanword by means of a conductingwire connected with severalbatteries to produce electricity,and I gave it immediately thename of ‘Speaking telegraph.’This was around the end of1849 to 1850, when I releasedmy experiments on this subject,reserving them for my arrival inNew York, since I had to leaveHavana around 1850 to 1851. Ihad an immense quantity ofbatteries, around 60.

[Cross Question No. 161]When and where did you firstmake the invention which youclaim in this case?

[Answer No. 161] InHavana, in the year 1849.

[Cross Question No. 162]You have spoken of a workshopin Havana; was that at thetheater or in your house whereyou lived, or where in Havana?

[Answer No. 162] In the theater,because I lived in the theater, and inthe same place I had my workshop.

[Cross Question No. 163] Whatapparatus did you use in the exper-iment which you have said you madeat Havana with the person whocame to you sick with rheumatism,as you stated in your fourteenthanswer? Describe the wholeapparatus.

[Answer No. 163] Bunsen bat-teries. The apparatus was composedof a quantity of Bunsen batteries, asI said in my specification; it was inthe first room of the workshop; theelectric conductors went all the wayto the third room, where was theperson I intended to cure fromrheumatisms. The person afflictedwith rheumatisms was in the thirdroom holding an instrument in hishands like the one I have shown inFig. 1 of my deposition; I washolding one like his to be put up tomy ear while the one the individualheld, same as mine, served to beintroduced into his mouth

[Cross Question No. 164] Didthe person have one of those in-struments or two of them?

[Answer No. 164] He had one.[Cross Question No. 165] What

part of the instrument did he take inhis hand?

[Answer No. 165] He had thecork ball.

[Cross Question No. 166] Did hehave anything in the other hand?

[Answer No. 166] I don’t believeso.

[Cross Question No. 167] Howdid the current of electricity, comingfrom the battery, go, and where didit go?

426 Antonio Meucci

[Answer No. 167] From thebattery, it communicated fromthe positive pole to theinstrument I held in my hand,and from that instrument to theone in the person’s hand, andthen went back to the negativepole of the battery.

[Cross Question No. 168]How did it return to thenegative pole of the battery; bythe metal wire, or how?

[Answer No. 168] By thesame conductor.

[Cross Question No. 169]Do you mean that it went fromthe positive pole to the personin the other room, and thencame back to the negative poleby the same wire?

[Answer No. 169] Certainly.[Cross Question No. 170]

And did the current in comingback pass through theinstrument which you held inyour hand?

[Answer No. 170] Certainly;it could not have been any otherway, otherwise I would not havereceived the word from him.

[Cross Question No. 171] Sothere was one wire went fromyou to him, and the current wentover that wire and came backover the same wire; is that whatyou mean?

[Answer No. 171] Byanother wire, of course. I couldnot have received it with thesame wire with which I had sentit.

[Cross Question No. 172]Then do you mean that thecurrent from the battery wentthrough the instrument in your

hand and by one wire to the personin the other room and then cameback to the battery by another wire?

[Answer No. 172] Certainly;there are two wires connected to thebattery; one for receiving and theother for transmitting. Many timesone can receive and transmit withthe same wire as is done currentlywith telegraphs.

[Cross Question No. 173] What Iwish to know is whether in theexperiments at Havana you alwaysused two wires, and why you usedtwo wires.

[Answer No. 173] Not always;sometimes I used only one andsometimes two, one for transmittingand one for receiving.

[Cross Question No. 174] Whenyou used only one, how did youarrange it, and where did thecurrent of electricity go?

[Answer No. 174] I said thisbefore; it started from the positivepole and returned to the negativepole of the battery.

[Cross Question No. 175] Whenyou were doing that did you haveone wire which went from thepositive pole to the person in thefurther room, and then the wirecame back to the negative pole ofthe battery?

[Answer No. 175] When it wasfor transmitting.

[Cross Question No. 176] In thatcase did the current of electricity gofrom the positive pole of the batteryby means of a wire to the person inthe other room, and then come backfrom the person in the other roomby means of a wire to the negativepole of the battery?

Havana 427

[Answer No. 176] Certainly;it formed a circuit.

[Cross Question No. 177]And is that what you mean byone wire?

[Answer No. 177] By onewire.

[Cross Question No. 178]Please look at Fig. 1, in yourfourteenth answer and explainhow the current of electricityran in that utensil?

[Answer No. 178] It camefrom the positive pole, passedthrough the interior of the corkforming a double helix to whichthe metallic tongue wassoldered, and returned back andwent to the negative pole of thebattery.

[Cross Question No. 179]Do you mean it went back to thenegative pole of the battery bywire?

[Answer No. 179] Certainly,by wire.

[Cross Question No. 180]Why did you twist the wire intoa double helix inside the corkhandle?

[Answer No. 180] It was notnecessary; but instead of justbending it I twisted it.

[Cross Question No. 181]You have described anarrangement of wires making acircuit; was that the way inwhich you usually had the wiresarranged to give electricity tosick persons at Havana?

[Answer No. 181] Oh, no.[Cross Question No. 182]

How did you generally applyelectricity to sick persons inHavana?

[Answer No. 182] Many times asin the explanation above; othertimes double conductors and doubleinstruments were needed; thatserved one to receive and the otherto send.

[Cross Question No. 183](Repeated) How did you generallyapply electricity to sick persons inHavana?

[Answer No. 183] I applied itcoming out from the battery with theinstrument they had in their hands,many times [it was] a metallic tubeto be applied to the sick part of thebody, and many times it was asponge, as is currently used withrotary machines that doctors use inpresent system.

[Question No. 531] You havedescribed how you broke the currentwhen you gave your electricalshocks in Havana. Will you pleasestate now how you placed the per-son that you desired to give anelectrical shock to, and how youarranged the wires?[Showing witness several smallarticles]

[Answer No. 531] This is a cir-cuit-breaker which I used severaltimes in Havana to give electricshocks; all the other pieces aremissing, but I can make a drawing(Fig. 16) to show how it was con-structed. Many times in Havana Ididn’t use it, and instead I adopted amethod of interrupting the electri calcurrent, in order to regulate theshocks according to the person, bytaking the two conductors, No. 1(Fig. 15), and separating them fromthe pressure screw No. 2 andtouching and separating them alter-nately, I interrupted the current and

428 Antonio Meucci

gave the shocks as with theswitch (Fig. 16) which I amgoing to draw.

No. 1, horizontal bobbinwith a bundle of metallic wire inthe center.

No. 2, wooden block servingas a base for the bobbin underwhich pass the conductorscommunicating with the battery.

No. 3, horseshoe fastened tothe block by a screw; in thecenter of the horseshoe avertical pivot topped by ahorizontal cross, like No. 5,which turns when the electricitypasses through it, and, since thearms of said cross come alter-nately into contact with the ex-tremities of the horseshoe, itinterrupts the current; the helixthat surrounds the legs of thehorseshoe carries theinterrupted current to theperson holding the ends of thewires. The current is producedby a battery made of a series ofelements.

No. 4, conductors thatreceive the current from thebattery and transmit it to thecircuit breaker.

No. 5, the cross on therotating pivot at the center ofthe horseshoe and set intomotion by the current.[Defendants’ Counsel offers inevidence the four piecesreferred to in Question 531, andthey are marked ‘Defendants’Exhibits 119, A, B, C and D, J.A. S.’]

[Question No. 537] Will youplease describe the same?

[Answer No. 537] Electro-medical apparatus (Fig. 17) [see p.313]

No. 1, tubes of insulated wood tobe kept in the hands, with a spongeabove the tube connected to theconductor; the sponge is to beapplied to the sick part.20

No. 2, breaker to break the cur-rent in giving the shock.

No. 3, series of Bunsen batteries;when I didn’t want to use thebreaker and give the shocks com-monly, materially, I would take theconductor which had been held inthe pressure screw and I touched theextremities as I said yesterday,obtaining the same effect as with thebreaker.

[Question No. 538] Now take theother side of the paper and explainit.

[Answer No. 538] This is similarto the preceding one, only it wasused by me in Havana withinstruments No. 1 that I mentionedin the first explanation of my in-vention (see Fig. 18) [shown on p.318].

No. 1, apparatus to transmit thehuman word.

No. 2, the same to receive.No. 3, the same to transmit.No. 4, the same to receive.No. 5, large reel of conducting

wire to have more resistance andmore distance.

20Captions of Fig. 17, translated fromItalian are slightly different, i.e.: “1. In-sulated wooden tubes to be held in thehands, with a sponge on top communicatingwith the conductor, to be applied to the sickpart of the body; 2. Apparatus to break thecurrent in giving the electric shock; 3.Series of Bunsen batteries”

Fig. 15 (above) and Fig.16 (below), drawn byAntonio Meucci duringhis deposition in theBell/Globe trial

Havana 429

No. 6, series of Bunsenbatteries, as in the preceding.

This apparatus I used in thefirst experiments of myinvention in Havana and Irepeated them with the sameapparatus at Staten Island in1851. The person speaking withme kept in his hands two instru-ments Nos. 2 and 3, one totransmit and the other toreceive as for the same purposeI kept in my hand Nos. 1 and 4.

[Question No. 539] Youhave been cross-examinedextensively in regard to theexperiments you made with Fig.1. Please state whether you hadmore than one in the hands ofeach person experimenting withFig. 1.

[Answer No. 539]Sometimes one, sometimes two,as I said be fore. When oneinstrument was used, instead ofasking the person through theinstrument, I told him with myvoice to put the instrument tohis mouth and speak, while I putmine to my ear; and this was thecase in which the personreceived a shock to his tongue,and so I remedied it for the nextexperiment with the pasteboardfunnel in order to avoid thecontact of the tongue with thesmall tongue of the instrument.And it was then that I receivedthe sound of the other personsvoice, and then I gave my in-vention the name of “speakingtelegraph.” This was in 1849 inHavana; at my arrival in StatenIsland, N. Y., I repeated theexperiments with the samesuccess.

[Question No. 540] When youused only one wire, how many cellsof the battery did you use?

[Answer No. 540] In the firstexperiment I used many; I had 60and I think I put them all together21;but then sometimes I took theconductor away from the negativepole of the last cell and put it incommunication with only four or sixcells, since by experimenting I foundthat I didn’t need a current sostrong as the one produced by manycells; and the current not being toostrong, gave better results in thetransmission of the sound.

[Question No. 553] Please lookat your 537th answer and say if it iscorrect.

[Answer No. 553] What I meantto say is that when I didn’t want touse the breaker and give the shocksin the usual way I took the twoconducting wires away from thepressure screw and alternatelyjoined and separated them,obtaining the same effect as with thebreaker, and a spark at everycontact.

[Question No. 574] Please tolook at Fig. 16 referred to in youranswer 531. If I understand thefigure and your description of it, thecurrent went from the battery to theperson in the other room to whomyou were giving electricity,interrupted only from time to timeby the circuit breaker as that ro-tated; am I correct about that?

[Answer No. 574] The currentpassed from the battery through thebreaker, and from this, by traveling

21The elements of the battery were arrangedin series, as Meucci clearly indicated in fig.18 of his deposition (see p. 318).

Electrodes used by Meuccifor electrotheapy

430 Antonio Meucci

through the conductors, it wentto the person who was toreceive electrical shocks.

Comments on Antonio Meucci’sFirst Deposition

Electrodes used by MeucciFirst of all, let us look more

closely at how those twoconductors used by Meucciwere made, as in his sentence:“I put in his hands the twoconductors connecting to thebattery …”

The figure shown belowseems to us clearer to non-experts than the schematic Fig.1 of Meucci’s deposition. Theobject described is aninstrument with an insulatedhandle and a copper tongue, towhich a double wire ofinsulated copper was soldered,which passed through thehandle and was connected to thecircuit. The handle could bemade of cork or wood and wasmeant to insulate the patient’sor therapist’s hands from theelectrical current; the coppertongue was applied on the sickarea. In the place of the twostraight copper wires as in ourdrawing, Meucci indicates, inhis Figs. 1 and 3, twisted wires.Mr. Storrow, the opposingparty’s attorney, asked himwhy: “Why did you twist thewire into a double helix insidethe cork handle?” And Meuccireplied [Answer No. 180]: “Itwas not necessary; but insteadof bending it back, I twisted it.”Therefore, as we will see on an-

other occasion, Meucci simply didnot want to cut the conductor, be-cause it was not necessary.

Apparatus to break the currentFirst of all, we note that a de-

scription of the device concernedwas given in order to answer aquestion posed by Mr. Humphreys(Question No. 531), in whichMeucci was asked to explain whatwere ‘those four small pieces’ whichthe defense displayed as ‘ExhibitsNo. 119 A, B, C, D.’ In his answer,Meucci stated that ‘all the otherpieces’ were missing. Indeed,according to Fig. 16 whichillustrates this device (shown on p.422), it seems that there were ‘ninepieces:’ inductance 1 (woundaround a bundle of wires); woodbase 2 with clamps for conductors 4connecting the battery on one sideand the patient on the other (asconfirmed by Fig. 17, shown on p.313); electromagnet 3 with a screwto fix it to the wood base; rotatingiron cross 5; the vertical pivotaround which the latter rotates; theyoke containing the eyelet to housethe tip of the pivot; the two rodssupporting the yoke; and, perhaps,also a return spring for the rotatingcross (although the latter is notvisible in the picture).

According to Meucci’s deposi-tion (see, in particular, his answersNos. 531, 537, 574 as well as hisFigs. 15, 16 and 17), he felt the needto send the electric shocks to thepatient through a special devicewhich he called apparatus to breakthe current (that is how it is labeledin the previously-mentioned Fig.17). Apparently, he wasn’t happy

Havana 431

with delivering the shocksimply by bringing one end ofthe wire close to (and then,away from) the clamp of thebattery manually, or (as isillustrated in Fig. 15 of hisdeposition, shown on p. 422) bycutting in two the wire comingfrom the battery and thenjoining and separating the twocrop ends alternately, makingthem slide inside a specialsleeve, through the eyelets ofthe respective clamps (orpressure screws, as he calledthem). Indeed, it is clear that,with either of the foregoingmethods, it was difficult for himto control the duration of theelectric shock to be delivered tothe patient, a duration whichcould accidentally result longerthan needed.

Meucci’s precise aim was(Answer No. 537) to “break thecurrent in giving the shock,”namely, as we would say today,to interrupt the circuitimmediately after havingestablished it. Indeed, this wayhe could send to the patient animpulse of current that wasalways short and of the sameduration, that is to sayindependent of the timerequired for manuallyconnecting the two wire endstogether (or one end of the wireto the battery). Then, he couldrepeat the operation as manytimes as necessary, giving thepatient any desired number ofcalibrated shocks.

From an analysis of thepreviously-mentioned Fig. 16 ofhis deposition - in which all the

electric components of the deviceare shown, but not their interconnec-tion - it seems reasonable to supposethat in order to achieve his aim,Meucci had thought of resorting to adevice similar in principle to anelectric bell. In fact, the electric bell,whose basic electric diagram isshown here, was already applied,around 1831 (shortly after itsinvention by the German physicistNeef) by Charles Wheatstone andWilliam Cooke for call signaling intelegraphy. Therefore, it was wellknown in 1844-1846, when AntonioMeucci began his electrotherapyexperiments.

As is shown in the picture above,the electric bell consists of a switch,in series with an electromagnet,which is kept in its on position bymeans of a spring but that is turnedoff automatically whenever theelectromagnet is excited. To achieveautomatic switching off, thearmature of the electromagnet isrigidly connected to an end of themobile arm (spring) of the switch,as shown in the picture, so that,when the armature is attracted, thecircuit is interrupted. Thus, in theelectric bell, the circuit isinterrupted immediately afterhaving been established, as wasMeucci’s aim, thereby causing thebattery to give off a flash or impulseof current, which, in the case of anelectric bell, is accompanied by astroke of the hammer on the drum.Naturally, the longer the primaryswitch (the one set immediately afterthe battery) which operates the bellis kept in its on position, the morealternations of connections andsubsequent interruptions (and themore strokes of the hammer on the

Layout of an electricbell

432 Antonio Meucci

bell, or the more impulses ofcurrent sent to the patient) therewill be. The frequency of theelectric impulses is determinedby the frequency of theoscillating system comprised ofthe spring and the armature withits hammer (not only joinedtogether but also fixed at oneend to the base of the device).

Thus, it is likely that Meuccithought of solving his problemby simply inserting the patient,in series, in a circuit similar tothat of an electric bell,according to the diagram shownbelow. However, in addition tothe electromagnet, this layoutalso features a second inductor,with iron core, inserted in serieswith the battery, which corre-sponds to the ‘horizontal bobbinwith a bundle of metallic wire inthe center,’ indicated as No. 1in Fig. 16 and in Answer No.531 of Meucci’s deposition. It isvery likely that this secondinductor served to delay theaction of the electromagnet inorder to extend the duration ofeach current pulse22.

The scheme that we havehypothesized is supported by apassage from Meucci’sdeposition (Answer No. 531), inwhich he says: “The helix thatsurrounds the legs of thehorseshoe carries theinterrupted current to theperson holding the ends of the

22Indeed, the rise time of the resultantcurrent pulse is proportional to L/Rwhere L and R are the total inductanceand resistance of the circuit,respectively.

wire.” Furthermore, as regards therelay switch (on at rest), Meuccithought of making it with an ironcross (No. 5 in his Fig. 16) whichrotates horizontally around a verticalpivot. Meucci says about it (AnswerNo. 531): “In the center of thehorseshoe a vertical pivot topped bya horizontal cross, like No. 5, whichturns when the electricity passesthrough it; and, since the arms ofsaid cross come alternately intocontact with the extremities of thehorseshoe, it interrupts thecurrent.”; and, further on: “No. 5,the cross on the rotating pivot at thecenter of the horseshoe and set intomotion by the current [i. e.controlled by the electromagnet].”

Following Meucci’s indications,we have drawn the figure belowwhich shows how electricity couldtravel through the cross when it wasin the on position a) (left of thefigure) and how - once the magnetbecomes excited in this condition -it is made to rotate (either clockwiseor counter-clockwise) so as to reachits position b) (right of the figure),that is to say with its two oppositebranches facing the polar ends of theelectromagnet. The figure clearlyshows that, in the latter position, thecircuit will be interrupted and theelectromagnet will then bedisconnected. If the cross (or thepivot to which it was rigidlyattached) had been provided with areturn spring whereby to hold thecross, at rest, in its on position a), itwould have occurred that, when thecross reached its position b) and themagnet was no longer excited, itwould automatically return toposition a) and the cycle would have

Hypothetical layout ofMeucci’s currentbreaker

«horizontal cross…which turns when theelectricity passesthrough it»

Havana 433

be repeated for as long as theprimary switch of the devicewas kept on. During this timeinterval, the cross wouldoscillate between positions a)and b), very much like thespiral balance wheel of aclock23.

Lastly, it is worth observingthat the solution envisaging thehorizontal oscillation of thecross, as compared to the moreconventional vibration of a rodwith a hammer, as in the electricbell, is much more elegant andoriginal and, furthermore, thatthe duration of the impulse wasprobably the same (ten-fifteenmilliseconds) as that used inmodern electro-stimulators,such a duration being typical ofan electromechanical devicelike the one created by AntonioMeucci.

Excerpts from AntonioMeucci’s Affidavit (9 October1885)[passages regarding hisHavana’s experiments]

“(…) While I was inHavana, I had veryconsiderable leisure, and spenta considerable time in the studyof electrical matters. I provided 23We wish to remind that the use ofthe spiral balance wheel in clocks wasintroduced by Christiaan Huygens in1675, and was thus known in theperiod under consideration (1844-1846). However, had Meucci’ssolution been applied to clocks, itwould have introduced the use of elec-tricity as a motor in clocks more thanone hundred years earlier (see the ap-pendix “The clock” on pp. 188 seqq.).

myself with the best books thenextant treating of matters connectedwith electricity. Among my authorswere Daniell, Thenard, Jacobi.

My first experiment in electricitywas in consequence of reading thatdisease could be told and cured byelectricity.

I had familiarized myself withgalvano plastic electricity, andCaptain General O’Donnell, thengovernor of the Island of Cuba, wasanxious to save expense ingalvanizing buttons, sword-hilts andsuch other things used in the army. Itold the general that I could do it atless price than he was then paying,if I could procure the properbatteries for that purpose. Thesecould not be procured at that time inHavana, but in the year 1844,Gaetano Negretti brought toHavana some galvanic batteries andother electrical supplies that Ineeded for galvano plastic pur-poses. I purchased the batteries andother articles needed of Mr.Negretti. I then made a verbal con-tract with the Governor General togalvanize the articles required bythe soldiers. I found that I was ableto galvanize satisfactorily with thearticles I purchased of Mr. Negretti.I opened a factory for this purpose,and employed several men — asnear as I can remember, about 12 or15. I did not have sufficient batteriesfor my work, and Mr. Negretti, in ayear or two after, sent me furthersupplies from New York, which Ipurchased of him. For about fouryears I continued supplying thearmy as by previous agreement.

During the time that I ran thisfactory, I had constructed an elec-trical machine for the purpose of

434 Antonio Meucci

using it on persons who weresick, or for the mere amusementof giving shocks. This factorywas connected with myresidence. I frequently gaveelectricity to colored people,employees of the theatre andothers. I did this sometimeswhen they were sick. I put upwires through the rooms inwhich we resided, which werefour in number, and I gavecurrents of electricity to mywife. I once gave it at anunfortunate period, whichaffected her quite seriously[further on Meucci says she wasaffected by chronic rheumatism,Editor’s note].

The instrument I used toconvey the currents ofelectricity to persons isrepresented in Figure 1 [shownon p. 310]. The upper part is acopper plate, which I placed inthe person’s mouth or otherparts of the body when I used toshock them. The wire wascovered by a piece of cork,which the party receiving theshock held in his or her hands.A man in my employment at onetime, somewhere about 1849,complained of being sick, and Ithought to try electricity on him.He was placed in one room, andthe end of the wire being incircuit two rooms beyond his, Iwent there wishing to know howstrong a current I was using,and I had a duplicate of hisinstrument with me. I called tohim to put the copper part of hisinstrument in his mouth. I didthis because I had read that

disease could be told by electricity.The man, while he had the copper inhis mouth, cried out from the effectsof the shock. I thought I heard thissound more distinctly than natural. Ithen put this copper of myinstrument to my ear, and heard thesound of his voice through the wire.This was my first impression, andthe origin of my idea of thetransmission of the human voice byelectricity. I then covered theimplement I had, and the one theemployee had at that time, with apaper cone, as represented in theinstrument and drawing. I directedhim to speak through his. I being atthe end of the third room, I placedmine, covered like his, to my ear. Ithen heard, while holding this to myear, quite distinctly, the sound of hisvoice,— so much so that I believed itcame over the wire. I made himrepeat what had said several times,which convinced me that I heard hisvoice over the wire electrically (…)

My business prevented me frommaking further experiments, as Iwas the superintendent of themechanism of the theatre; wasclosing up the contract that I havementioned; also, at this time, I wascontemplating coming to New Yorkas soon as I could make myarrangements; and knowing that Iwould have better opportunitiesthere to experiment, than in Ha-vana, was another reason why Ideferred any further experiment (…)

I know the date of 1849, when Ifirst conceived the idea of aspeaking telegraph, is correct. (…)

[referring to the two figures re-ported on page 310:]

Havana 435

No. 1 is my first instrumentmade in Havana in 1849.

A is a tongue of copper sol-dered to the metallic conductorwhich conducts the electricalcurrent to the said metallictongue.

B is a cork ball for means ofisolating the current from thehands.

C is a double copper wireconductor that brings theelectricity to the said metallictongue, and sends back to thebattery of the negative pole.

No. 2. The same instrumentas No. 1, but with theimprovement of a pasteboardtube to prevent the electricitytouching the lips, having seen,with the first instrument, thatthe person which was holding itreceived a strong electric shock,so I calculated in this way tokeep it isolated by using thesaid pasteboard tube which Icall C. (…)”

Excerpts from otherDepositions and Affidavits

Domenico Mariani’s Deposition(31 Dec. 1885- 16 Jan. 1886)

Note. In the following, as wehave done with AntonioMeucci’s deposition, whereasthe questions addressed toDomenico Mariani are reportedin their original English version,Mariani’s answers (given inItalian), were newly translatedby us into English, to faithfullymatch Mariani’s originalanswers.

[Answer No. 4] When Igained greater familiarity with

Mr. Meucci, I heard from manySpaniards that he was a great in-ventor. He had invented water fil-ters, and in addition he had a con-tract with the government to gal-vanize belts and gilt buttons for themilitary, by means of electricity. Itold him he had a great head, hav-ing invented so many nice things;and then he showed me the buttons,the belts and the electrical ap-paratus, then he told me that on thefollowing Sunday he woulddemonstrate the curing of a Negro.He gave in his hands two things,that I don’t know whether they wereof wood or of metal. When theNegroes took those things in theirhands they began to jump and makegrimaces, and I laughed.

[Question No. 5] Please describethe rooms and the wires with whichMeucci used electricity.

[Answer No. 5] The rooms werethree or four: the theater tailoress’sworkshop, then came the parlor, thekitchen and the bedroom. In the[theater’s] workshop he had thesewires with the two handles attached.Sometimes he gave the shocks on thedoorsteps of the house, sometimesbehind the stage. Once I saw thatMeucci had put these wires from theworkshop to the last room, but as hedidn’t tell me what they were for. Ididn’t ask him because it wasn’t mybusiness. With that, I am done withHavana, where I remained for fiveyears, working in Havana in winterand coming north in summer. In allthese winters I always amusedmyself watching these experimentsrepeated with old and young, blackand white people, and alwaysdifferent. This is all that I saw inHavana.

436 Antonio Meucci

Incidentally, the sometimesplayful aspect of those electricshock treatments was confirmedby Meucci himself in hisaffidavit: “… I had constructedan electrical machine for thepurpose of using it on personswho were sick, or for the mereamusement of giving shocks …”

Luigi Tartarini’s Affidavit(2 April 1880)

I, Luigi Tartarini of the Cityof New York, State of New York,do hereby make oath, to the bestof my knowledge and belief

That previously to the year1852 I lived for about twentyyears in the City of Havana,Island of Cuba, where I havebeen almost always engaged byMr. Fes Marto Torres,proprietor of Tacón Theatreand manager of the ItalianOpera, as a painter during theday in works for the theatre,and as a chorister in theperformance.

That in the said theatre Mr.Antonio Meucci, now of Clifton,Staten Island, was employed asdirector of the mechanism; andI recollect that during the year1849 I have seen him sometimesoccupied in making experimentsfor the transmission of humanvoice by electric wires, andseveral times I was requested byhim to help him in his work, byextending or holding electricwires in the long corridor or inthe yard of said theatre …

Esther Meucci’s Affidavit(2 April 1880)

I, Esterre Meucci, of the town ofClifton, Richmond County, StatenIsland, State of New York, wife ofAntonio Meucci, do hereby makeoath, to the best of my knowledgeand belief that during the year 1849,we were living in the City ofHavana, Island of Cuba, where myhusband was engaged as Director ofthe Mechanism and I asSuperintendent of the costumedepartment in the Tacon OperaHouse, and sometimes my saidhusband devoted his attention in thebusiness of manufacturing variousarticles in Galbano Plastic[galvanoplastics, Editor’s note], andmaking experiments endeavoring tospeak to another person at someshort distance through the use of awire attached to his electricbatteries connected with or used byhis said business.

The person with whom he madeexperiments, as well as myself heardwords through the wire, but notsatisfactorily plain to my husband,who said it was because he had notthe proper material, and that for atime he would cease hisexperiments, because sometimesthey were witnessed by other people.

I further depose and say that wemoved from Havana, and came tolive in Clifton, Staten Island andthat in 1852, at the request of SignorPadner [Pader, Editor’s Note], agentleman who had seen myhusband experiment while we werein Havana, and upon his promise topay for the necessary material, myhusband resumed his study ofspeaking at a distance through anelectric wire, resulting for hisgreater facilities in a marked im-

Havana 437

provement in his power to talkthrough electric wire….

We learn from EstherMeucci’s affidavit that a certainCarlos Pader, a Spaniard, alsodeclared to having witnessedAntonio Meucci’s experimentson his speaking telegraph. Aswe will see in Vol. 2, Mr. Pader,meeting Meucci in New York,directed him to CharlesChester’s shop, where he couldbuy high-quality electricmaterials in order to improvehis experiments.

Gaetano Negretti’s Affidavit(5 July 1880)

I, Gaetano Negretti, of thecity of Como, Kingdom of Italy,temporarily residing in the Cityof Lucca, district of Tuscany, dohereby solemnly declare, that inthe year 1844 I went to Havana,Cuba, and I brought there somegalvanic batteries which I hadpurchased from my late brotherHenry Negretti, of the firm ofNegretti & Zambra, ScientificInstrument Makers, of London,to Mr. Antonio Meucci, whowas then working in makingexperiments in electricity, andthat when I went to New York inthe year 1846, I sent to him inHavana, some other implementsfor the same purpose, whichimplements I had bought fromMr. Benj’n Pike, Jr., Optician,Broadway, New York, and fromother manufacturers.

I do further solemnlydeclare, that on and afterMeucci’s arrival in New York,in the year 1851, he beingunable to speak the English

language at that time, and often af-terwards, I have bought for himsome other implements for the sameobject, as he was continuing hiselectrical experiments.

L. Meriance’s Affidavit(date unknown)

We could not trace the affidavitof a certain L. Meriance, who de-clared having met Meucci in Havanain 1847, and that the latter wasconducting experiments to transmitthe human voice across an electricwire. Said affidavit was quoted, inthe Globe Telephone Company’scircular letter (see bibl.), whoserelative passage is reported below.

“… L. Meriance states in hisaffidavit that he first became ac-quainted with Mr. Meucci in Ha-vana, in 1847. Mr. Meucci was thenmaking experiments with theinstruments to transmit the humanvoice by electric wire …”

It must be pointed out that Mr.Meriance stated that he first metAntonio Meucci in Havana in 1847and that the latter was then makingexperiments with his speakingtelegraph, without specifying theexact year of these experiments. Hemight have possibly watched, in1847, Meucci’s electrotherapyexperiments.

Charles R. Cross’s Affidavit(22 April 1886)

[Excerpts from parts regardingthe Havana experiment]

… I have carefully examined acertified copy of the caveat of An-tonio Meucci …

I have caused to be constructedinstruments in accordance with thiscaveat, containing every element or

438 Antonio Meucci

feature described in the caveat,connecting them by a wire fiftyto hundred feet long, passedthrough several interveningrooms by going through thetransom holes of the door beingsupported by screw eyes orstaples and fastened to theceiling or door frames, the wirenot being pulled very tight. Withthese instruments so constructedand arranged I have transmittedwords after the manner of alover’s telegraph or stringtelephone, and without theemployment of electricitywhatever. Insulating the wireand the operators—either orboth— and connecting the wirewith a battery would not changethe effect at all. I used a copperbell wire, and found a largewire better than a small one.

I have also read thedeposition of Antonio Meucci,lately given in New York beforeMr. Shields, Commissioner andhave particularly examined hisdrawings and the description hegives with them. I haveconstructed a pair of instru-ments like his Figure 3, and findthat they make quite good stringtelephones. I placed the instru-ments about eighty feet apart,one operator in one room andanother operator in another,with two rooms intervening, twoof the intervening walls beingheavy, brick walls. I connectedthem by a copper wire such asbellhangers use, and found itpossible to transmit words andeasy sentences from one personto the other. In some cases we

got long and difficult sentences. Onesentence I remember which we gotthrough was this: ‘I see the picturesof Stokes and Faraday on the wall.’In the course of these experiments Ialso tried the effect of having thelistener hold the wire in his teeth,and found it possible to understandwords by holding the wire in theteeth quite as well, and in someinstances better than when theinstrument was held at the ear.Indeed, in some cases I found thatone person could listen at theinstrument and understand thewords, while another person bytaking with his teeth the wire severalfeet away from the receivinginstrument, could also hear andunderstand what was said.

I have read in that deposition theletter written by Meucci, and pub-lished in the Commercio of Genoa,Dec. 1, 1865, referred to in Mr.Meucci’s answer to Int. 516. Fromthat description it is not difficult toconstruct an apparatus by means ofwhich, either listening at the re-ceiver or holding the wire near thereceiving end in the teeth, wordsspoken into the instrument at theother end can be understood bymechanical transmission, upon theprinciple of the string telephone orlover’s telegraph; but it is not pos-sible by following that description toconstruct an electric speakingtelephone, for the letter contains noreference to, much less any de-scription of the parts which are ab-solutely necessary to make up anyform of an electric speaking tele-phone …

Havana 439

Comments on Prof. Cross'sAffidavit

As we have seen, theaffidavit sworn by Prof. CharlesR. Cross of the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT)in favor of the American BellTelephone Company aimed todemonstrate that, in Meucci’sexperiments it was true that theword was transmitted, but thetransmission occurred accordingto the already-known principleof the mechanical stringtelephone or lover’s telegraph.We want to demonstrate herethat Prof. Cross - a good friendof Alexander Graham Bell, as isevident from the excerpts below- was either grossly negligent orin bad faith.

First of all, we note that, inthe first drawing of Meucci’saffidavit (shown on p. 309), inthe second room there appearsan object labeled “ spiral todemonstrate distance.” Thesame is also indicatedgraphically (without labeling) inFig. 2 of Meucci’s deposition(shown on p. 307), and was fur-ther described by him in his An-swer No. 576 when commentingon his Fig. 18 (shown on p.318):

[Answer No. 576] From thepositive pole it [the current]goes to instrument No. 1,surrounds reel 24 No. 5, goes to

24The Italian word for ‘reel’ or ‘reel ofwire’ used by Meucci in his originalanswer was ‘rocchetto,’ which,however, was translated by the officialinterpreter as ‘bobbin.’ The sameinterpreter used the word ‘bobbin’ alsoto mean ‘coil’ or ‘inductance.’

instrument No. 2 where the personreceives the voice; afterwards itpasses to instrument No. 3, wherethe person speaks, transmitting theword to instrument No. 4, where Ireceive it, and then it goes back tothe negative pole, completing thecircuit.

Moreover, in the same Fig. 18,Meucci’s handwritten words(translated from Italian), read:“ bundle of the same conductor tohave a long distance,” the sameobject that he calls a reel, in theabove answer, as well as in thefollowing one:

[Answer No. 538] “… No. 5,large reel of conducting wire tohave more resistance and moredistance.” We therefore find thisreel or bundle or spiral indicated inat least five different places ofMeucci’s deposition, as a recurringelement in his Havana experiments.On the other hand, in addition to theimportant requirement of havingmore resistance through the use of areel of wire (to limit the maximumcurrent from the battery) it seemsobvious that Antonio Meucci foundit more convenient to simulatedistance by a reel, instead of goingout in the streets to make hisexperiments25.

According to the Merriam-Websterdictionary, the meaning of the word‘bobbin’ is that of ‘small round devices,’hence it is more appropriate to indicate coilor inductance, than reel of wire, whichlatter we have correctly used here, thusavoiding to mislead the reader.25The author did exactly the same thing,when he experimented with fiber opticsystems in a laboratory, using a 5-10 kmreel of optical fiber.

440 Antonio Meucci

This notwithstanding, inProf. Cross’s affidavit, althoughhe stated that he had faithfullyreproduced in his Physicslaboratory at MIT Meucci’sexperiments in Havana,succeeding in transmitting thevoice mechanically, there is nomention of the reel of wire,repeatedly mentioned inMeucci’s deposition. As for therest, Prof. Cross went on toexplain minutely, in hisaffidavit, how he had placed thetwo communicating persons at adistance of 80 feet apart, (moreor less equivalent to the lengthof the three rooms plus thewidth of Meucci’s workshop inHavana), that there were brickwalls between the rooms, andclosed doors with transomsacross which the wires werepulled (but not too tightly,Cross emphasized), and so on.Cross added that he had usedcopper wire of the typecurrently used by bellhangers,but that a large wire was better(alluding to the correspondingphrase inserted into Meucci’scaveat, of which we will speakin Vol. 3). It therefore appearsevident that Cross’s scrupu-lousness was applied to alldistinctive elementscharacterizing Meucci’sexperiment, except those thatwould have unequivocallydemonstrated that there was anelectrical transmission ofsound.

In fact, had Prof. Crossinserted a (large) reel of copperwire into the circuit - as in all of

Meucci’s experiments in Havana -he would not have been able totransmit sound mechanically, sincethe words would not have been ableto pass mechanically, neither acrossthe reel of wire nor, in the oppositedirection, across the sixty Bunsencells. Had he, instead, consideredthe presence of the reel, his thesis -which was nonetheless accepted byjudge William J. Wallace in hissentence adverse to Meucci - wouldhave fallen apart. In fact, it was wellknown, long before the time of theBell/Globe trial, that a fundamentalrequirement for mechanicaltransmission of sound (andespecially of speech), is that thetransmitting medium either be rigid(such as wooden or metal rods,juxtaposed head to head) or that itbe made with a string, even a thinone, of any material, as long as it istightly stretched between the twomembranes, the transmitting oneand the receiving one, so that thevibration of the first can betransmitted to the string and fromthere to the second (receiving)membrane.

Besides, the thesis upheld byProf. Cross was rather puerile, inaddition to being offensive to An-tonio Meucci, considering that evenchildren had known how to make agood string telephone for at least acouple of centuries. Cross’s thesisworked well only because of judgeWallace’s connivance (or ig-norance), and also because of thenegligence on the part of Globe’slawyers, not having summoned anexpert to witness for their party.There were, indeed, many profes-sors in New York who would have

Havana 441

been able (and happy) tocounter Cross’s affidavit,among them Professors AmosE. Dolbear and C. A. Young,who so admirably described(two years before theBell/Globe trial) the static tele-phone, upon the principle ofwhich Meucci’s experiments inHavana were based.

As for Prof. Cross’scomments and experimentbased on Antonio Meucci’sletter published by theCommercio di Genova on 1 De-cember 1865, we have alreadyremarked (see p. 319) that thisletter was gratuitouslyinterpreted by Prof. Cross tomean that also the person at thereceiving end may hold theconductor between his teeth.We reproduce, at the end of thisparagraph the whole passage ofsaid letter, so that the readercould verify that Meuccicorrectly quoted his firstexperiment in Havana, sayingthat with “… an instrument heldto the ear … one could transmitthe exact word by holding theconductor in the mouth andpressing it between the teeth…”

Finally, it is hard to believethat Prof. Cross was not aware,at the time he swore his aboveaffidavit (April 1886), of thetheory and experiments on thestatic telephone (see also ourappendix on p. 437), that wouldmuch better explain Meucci’ssecond experiment in Havana.Analogously, Prof. Cross couldeasily imagine a variable re-sistance mechanism to explain

the transmission of the word inMeucci’s first experiment inHavana. Had he done so, however,he would have admitted that in bothexperiments the word was trans-mitted electrically, not mechani-cally. His unfair behavior can onlybe explained with his friendshipwith Alexander Graham Bell (wegive in the following some quota-tions on this subject) and his con-sequent loyalty to the party,American Bell Telephone Company,in favor of which he testified.

Letter from Antonio Meucci toIgnazio Corbellini (13 October 1865)[published by L’Eco d’Italia of NewYork under “Nuove ScoperteItaliane” on 21 October 1865 andby “Il Commercio di Genova” aseditorial news, on 1 December1865]26

Clifton, Staten Island,13 October 1865.

To Mr. Ignazio Corbellini,Arenzano (Genoa)In the Eco d’Italia published last

19 August, I read of a new discoverythat regards one of my efforts; I

26This letter, as published by Il Commerciodi Genova, was exhibited by the lawyers ofAmerican Bell Telephone Co. at theBell/Globe trial as Complainant’s ExhibitF, together with their own translation intoEnglish, as Complainant’s Exhibit G, andalso, as published by L’Eco d’Italia, asComplainant’s Exhibit F (including theirtranslation into English). However, theauthor decided to have the translationnewly made by AIT, to match as faithfullyas possible Meucci’s original letter. As aconsequence of that, the reader may findsome differences between our translationand those exhibited at the Bell/Globe trial.

442 Antonio Meucci

enclose it here so that you mayexamine it.

I was one of the first to workwith all assiduity in the art ofelectricity as well as galvanismsince the time of their firstdiscovery; at the time I lived inHavana. Having abandoned thisbranch of research because ofthe huge expenses, I devotedmyself when I came to theUnited States to other branches,but I did not abandon it. On thecontrary, every now and then Imade some tests on thisbeautiful discovery, and bymeans of some littleexperiments I came to discoverthat [with] an instrument held tothe ear and with the aid ofelectricity and a metallic wire,one could transmit the exactword by holding the conductorin the mouth and pressing itbetween the teeth, and at anydistance two persons could putthemselves in directcommunication, without the ne-cessity of communicating theirsecrets to others. But because ofmy too many occupations Iabandoned it with the idea ofcommunicating it to someintelligent compatriot so thatthe first experiments could bemade in our beautiful Italy.

In the year 1860, starting myfriend Mr. Bendelari for Italy

and offering me his services, I com-municated to him my discovery,which I have always believed veryuseful, reserving myself to give himfurther clarifications when heshould come to see me again, whichhe was not able to do because of hismany occupations and, not seeinghim anymore, all remained inoblivion.

As I have told you supra, I foundthe article, enclosed here, in the Ecod’Italia and I wanted and still wantto justify that I had made thisdiscovery, and since it is identicalwith that of Mr. Manzetti I thoughtthat Mr. Bendelari had disclosed tosomeone what I had verballycommunicated to him. I then wroteto Mr. Bendelari on the subject andhe responded, copy of which lettersI remit to you.

I do not pretend to deny Mr.Manzetti his invention, but I onlywant to let it be remarked that twothoughts can be found to contain thesame discovery, and that by unitingthe two ideas one could more easilyarrive at the certainty about a thingso important.

If ever you should find yourselftogether with said Mr. Manzetti orwith any friend of his, I pray you tocommunicate to him what I havetold you, and I send you my thanksin advance for doing so (…)

Antonio Meucci

Havana 443

Cross and Bell

[from: Robert V. Bruce, seebibl.]

[p. 93] … in October 1872Bell began attending free publiclectures on zoology, geology,and experimental mechanics…at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. The lectures onexperimental mechanics weregiven by Charles A. Cross,assistant to MIT’s ProfessorEdward Pickering, an acousti-cal physicist. Cross had justhelped improve a devicePickering had contrived twoyears earlier for “the electricaltransmission of sound”…27

[p. 110] In March [1874] he[Bell] went to see Charles Crossdemonstrate Helmholtz experi-ments in a lecture at MIT andafterwards talked with Crossabout tuning forks andsympathetic vibrations. AfterBell’s own lecture at MIT inApril on speech training fordeaf-mutes, it was Cross whocame up to offer him the use ofthe Institute’s apparatus andlaboratories …

[p. 112] … Bell’s ingeniousideas won him an invitation todescribe them at Cross’s ownSociety of Arts lecture on thephonautograph and manometric

27Both Prof. Edward E. Pickering andProf. Charles R. Cross opposedAlexander Graham Bell in thequestion of precedence of inventingthe telephone, and in particular in thetrial of United States vs. AmericanBell Telephone Co. et al., in the Stateof Massachusetts.

flame… But Cross welcomed Bell asa full partner in “our acousticexperiments.” In late April [1874],writing about an idea for making aliquid-column gauge more sensitiveto sound waves, Cross added, “Ifyou are at leisure and care to try afew more experiments I should beglad to see you.” …

[p. 125] [September 1874, Edi-tor’s note] Professor Cross invitedhim to talk over the summer’s work“and perhaps plan for a littlemore.”…

[p. 131] [mid November 1874,Editor’s note] … Bell even“ventured cautiously” to try histelephone theory on Farmer… “Headvised me to publish the idea in thePhilosophical Magazine after I hadprotected my [multiple, Editor’snote] telegraphic scheme.”Professor Cross agreed withFarmer but like Bell, Farmer andCross thought the currents gener-ated by the voice would be toofeeble for practical use…. Two dayslater [end November 1874, Editor’snote] he made what seemed “a mostextraordinary discovery.”… Elated,Bell invited Professor Cross andothers to a demonstration. ButCross had to disabuse his youngfriend… as Joseph Henry hadanticipated him. … More than that,Cross told Bell of Philipp Reis’s useof the effect in his “telephone” of1861. …

George F. Durant’s Deposition (19April 1886)

[passages regarding the Havanaexperiment]

444 Antonio Meucci

Note. Mr. George F. Duranttestified in favor of theAmerican Bell TelephoneCompany. He was examined byMr. James J. Storrow attorneyfor the American Bell, andcross-examined by Mr. DavidHumphreys, attorney for theGlobe Telephone Company.

[Question No. 1] State yourage, residence and occupation.

[Answer No. 1] Age 44.Vice-president and generalmanager of the Bell Telephoneof Missouri; I reside at St.Louis.

[Question No. 3] Were youever connected with theAmerican District TelegraphCompany of New York?

[Answer No. 3] Yes sir.[Question No. 4] When and

in what capacity?[Answer No. 4] From about

1871 to October, 1874, assuperintendent of the New YorkDivision.

[Question No. 12] Do youremember while you were at the62 Broadway and New Streetoffice [of the American DistrictTelegraph Company], someItalians coming to the officeabout some alleged electricalinvention; if so, state generallywhat your recollection is aboutit?

[Answer No. 12] Iremember one day twoforeigners coming into theoffice and one of them having aconversation with Mr Grantperhaps for half an hour or so.After they had conversed with

Mr Grant for some time, Mr Grantintroduced them to me; and I thinkMr Grant handed me some papers;and one of them, who spoke Englishquite well, told me the story whichthe papers contained, or were saidto contain. I don’t remember it indetail now. Mr Grant told them thatI would give the matter attention,and the gentlemen left. I took thepapers and put them in the drawerof my desk. It was in manuscript; Ithink it was perhaps ten or a dozenpages of legal cap; my bestrecollection is that it was written onboth sides.

[Question No. 13] Did you af-terwards read it?

[Answer No. 13] Yes sir I think Iread it that same evening.

[Question No. 14] Did theseItalians, or either of them, evercome again and talk with you?

[Answer No. 14] Yes sir, theycalled repeatedly, at intervals, per-haps of two weeks or a month. And Ihad told Mr Grant that I didn’t seeanything in the papers at all; that Ithought the man was a crank,although when they came I treatedthem very politely and told them Ihad been pressed for time and hadnot given the matter any attention.After they called several times Mr.Grant suggested that I had betterhand the papers to him, which I did,and was very glad to get rid of them.

[Question No. 15] Do you knowwhere the papers are now?

[Answer No. 15] I do not.[Question No. 16] Did these two

men ever explain to you anythingabout any experiment they hadmade, or what did they tell you onthat subject?

Havana 445

[Answer No. 16] At the timethe papers were handed to methis gentleman who spokeEnglish described to me thecontents of the papers whichrelated to some experiment theyhad had, and the gentlemanwho was with him listened veryattentively to the explanation;and it seems to me that it was inrelating this story that theyreferred to some apparatuswhich was stuck in the mouth. Iremember distinctly when thegentleman described about thedevice being placed in themouth, and the other manhaving it in the mouth that somesensations were produced; andthis gentleman who was withhim seemed to confirm what hesaid by gestures, by pointing tohis mouth particularly.Apparently he understoodeverything that was said,although he didn’t say a wordhimself

[Question No. 17] Did theytell you where they had madeany of these experiments; didthey mention the place?

[Answer No. 17] I think itwas in Cuba. My recollection isthat this man was a dentist, andan experiment was made withhis assistant. It is so long agothat I have forgotten that part ofit. That is my best recollectionabout it.

[Cross Question No. 62]Why didn’t you ask them tobring their instruments to theoffice?

[Answer No. 62] I don’tthink there were anyinstruments involved in those

papers at all; it was a piece of metalstuck in the mouth. My bestrecollection is this: that the papersdescribed a story of an experimentmade by one of these gentlemen inCuba, where one party lived. Theywere in separate rooms and a wireor two wires between them, and onthat wire they had a galvanicbattery of several cells; and bysticking one end of the circuit orloop of wire, represented by a pieceof metal, in the mouth, theytransmitted some signals, orsensations, rather, which werereceived by another person inanother room, who had also a pieceof metal in his mouth.(…)

BibliographyAffidavit of Charles R. Cross, sworn 22April 188628, National Archives andRecords Administration, Northeast Region,New York, NY - Records of the US CircuitCourt for the Southern District of NewYork - The American Bell Telephone Co. etal. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. -Deposition of Charles R. Cross, Exhibitsand AffidavitsAffidavit of Antonio Meucci, sworn 9October 1885, National Archives andRecords Administration, Northeast Region,New York, NY - Records of the US CircuitCourt for the Southern District of NewYork - The American Bell Telephone Co. etal. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. -Deposition of Antonio Meucci, Defendant’sExhibit No. 120. Also ‘Deposition ofAntonio Meucci,’ New York Public Library(Annex), Part 2, p. 10 seqq.Affidavit of Esterre [Esther] Meucci, sworn2 April 1880, National Archives andRecords Administration, College Park, MD- RG60, File 6921-1885, Box 10, Folder 1

28This affidavit is identical to that sworn on 7January 1886, and exhibited in the case‘American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. NationalImproved Telephone Co. et al.’ in the EasternDistrict of Louisiana.

446 Antonio Meucci

(originally filed at the Interior Dept.file 4513-1885, Encl. 5).Affidavit of Gaetano Negretti, sworn5 July 1880, National Archives andRecords Administration, College Park,MD - RG60, File 6921-1885, Box 10,Folder 1 (originally filed at the InteriorDept. file 4513-1885, Enclosure 9)Affidavit of Luigi Tartarini, sworn 2April 1880, National Archives andRecords Administration, College Park,MD - RG60, File 6921-1885, Box 10,Folder 1 (originally filed at the InteriorDept. file 4513-1885, Enclosure 11)Bruce, R. V., Bell - AlexanderGraham Bell and the Conquest ofSolitude, Cornell University Press,Ithaca and London, 1973Circular of Globe Telephone Co., NewYork, issued 12 September 1885,National Archives and RecordsAdministration, Northeast Region,New York, NY - Records of the USCircuit Court for the Southern Districtof New York - The American BellTelephone Co. et al. vs. The GlobeTelephone Co. et al. - Deposition ofAntonio Meucci, Complainants’Exhibit “H.” Also ‘Deposition ofAntonio Meucci,’ New York PublicLibrary (Annex), Part 2, p. 47 seqq.Deposition of Charles R. Cross,rendered Apr-Oct 1886, NationalArchives and Records Administration,Northeast Region, New York, NY -Records of the US Circuit Court forthe Southern District of New York -The American Bell Telephone Co. etal. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al.

Deposition of George F. Durant, rendered19 April 1886, National Archives andRecords Administration, Northeast Region,New York, NY - Records of the US CircuitCourt for the Southern District of NewYork - The American Bell Telephone Co. etal. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al.Deposition of Domenico Mariani, rendered31 Dec. 1885 - 16 Jan. 1886, NationalArchives and Records Administration,Northeast Region, New York, NY -Records of the US Circuit Court for theSouthern District of New York - TheAmerican Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. TheGlobe Telephone Co. et al.Deposition of Antonio Meucci, rendered 7Dec. 1885 - 13 Jan. 1886, NationalArchives and Records Administration,Northeast Region, New York, NY -Records of the US Circuit Court for theSouthern District of New York - TheAmerican Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. TheGlobe Telephone Co. et al. Also‘Deposition of Antonio Meucci,’ New YorkPublic Library (Annex).Letter from Antonio Meucci to IgnazioCorbellini, Arenzano (Genova) (13 October1865), published on ‘L’Eco d’Italia,’ NewYork, under “Nuove Scoperte Italiane,” 21October 1865 and on ‘Il Commercio diGenova,’ 1 December 1865 (Editorial).Also in ‘Deposition of Antonio Meucci’(see)Perucca, E. (Filippi, F., Editor), Dizionariod’Ingegneria, UTET - Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1977Various Authors, Scienziati e Tecnologi(Dalle Origini al 1875), ArnoldoMondadori Editore, Milan, 1975

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THE STATIC TELEPHONE

We report a few quotationsof the time, that may help thereader to better understand thisunusual type of telephone.

Prof. Dolbear’s lectureWe reproduce below the

paper The Static Telephone,referring to a lecture by Prof.Amos E. Dolbear (Physicsprofessor at Tufts College,Medford, MA) held before theAmerican Association for theAdvancement of Science(AAAS) on 31 August 1883.His lecture was followed by adiscussion with the participationof Prof. H. A. Rowland, AAASPresident, Prof. C. A. Young,inventor Elisha Gray, F. E.Nipher, AAAS Secretary, andothers. We have pointed out inbold characters the passagesthat evoke Antonio Meucci’sexperiments in Havana.

«The Static TelephoneBy Prof. A. E. Dolbear, ofCollege Hill, Mass.

In the static telephone, aring of hard rubber is used,within which are two parallelmetal plates separated by abody of air (a non-conductor)one plate connected with theline carrying the current. Theelectrifying of one plate thencauses attraction or repulsionof the free plate, and thus asound in the receiver. This doesaway with magnetism. Thissystem therefore requires a verylarge electromotive force, and

uses an induction coil of 2,000ohms. A ground or return circuit isnot present here. The equivalent isthe body itself. There is no passageof electricity from plate to plate: theaction is purely inductive throughspace. The insulation isaccomplished by the intervening airspace, and by a coating ofvarnish—an excellent di-electric.There is a device to discharge theinduction plate in connection withthis instrument, which keeps itconstantly up to its full possibilities.When this instrument is fullycharged, and the electricalconditions are perfect, the receivermay be entirely disconnected fromthe transmitter, and the sounds andconversation can still be heard, evenacross a room.

He also called attention to thefact, that instruments that have beenin use work much better than newones, as each plate acts as acondenser.

In the discussion which followed,Dr. Dolbear was asked if the state ofthe atmosphere in any way, affectsthe operation of the instrument. Ihave used these instruments, saidhe, on an actual line betweenBoston and New York, on a nightwhen it rained over the whole lengthof the line, and the whole line wasas badly insulated as it well couldbe. I have also used it on the sameline under the most favourableconditions for insulation, and couldnot really perceive much difference.It seemed to be as loud at one timeas at another.

President H. A. Rowland: Ofcourse this is on an entirely differentprinciple from our telephone. Whatinterested me considerably was the

448 Antonio Meucci

fact, that one could hear betterwhen the plates were charged.The explanation theoretically isvery simple; and it is the sameas that the Thomsonelectrometer is more sensitivewhen the jar is charged thanwhen it is not charged; thereason being, that the attractionis proportionate to the square ofthe difference of the potentials,rather than the simpledifference of the potentials.Therefore a small difference inthe quantity, when it is large,produces a greater effect thanwhen it is small. So theexplanation is exactly the sameas that the Thomson elec-trometer is more sensitive whenyou have the jar charged thanwhen you do not. So, the higherthe charge one would get, themore sensitive the instrumentwould be. I was especiallyinterested in it, because it wason such an entirely differentprinciple from the Bellinstrument. I don’t wish to sayanything about patent laws ordecisions on this subject, forthey have nothing to do withthis; but, scientifically, this is anentirely different instrumentfrom the Bell instrument, and Iam especially interested on thataccount.

Prof. T. C. Mendenhall: Iprofess not to have quiteunderstood the statement madeby Prof. Dolbear. I should liketo hear your own (thepresident’s) opinion with regardto that charge which remains inspite of the fact that the two

poles of the condenser areconnected by conductors. I mayhave misunderstood the statement;but if that is correct, I should like toknow whether that can be explainedor not.

President Rowland: Well, Isuppose we all know how retentivean electroscope is of a charge. Isuppose the idea is very similar inthis case. I do not suppose the plateshave a difference of potential. If youshould leave them for a moment, Ishould suppose they would soonhave a little return charge. If thetwo plates of the condenser weretogether, they would have the samepotential. I understood it as merelya return charge. I do not know howProfessor Dolbear understands it.

Prof. Dolbear: The instrumentitself is a most delicate electrometerwhen tested in this way; and when itis charged and really in goodworking order, the gentlest tap uponthe instrument serves to show that itis in good working order, for onecan apply the instrument to his earand hear himself talk. This is thecase, even when the two plates ofthe condenser are connected witheach other through the inductioncoil and so, although they may havebeen there for hours, or even fordays—the difference between aninstrument that has not been usedand one that has been charged isvery appreciable.

President Rowland: I suppose inthat case it would be simply fromthe charge of the varnished surface?

Prof. Dolbear: Yes; I think theyretain their charge for a muchlonger time if the surface is var-nished. I do think there is a differ-

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ence between the behaviour ofthis and the charged cable. If acable be charged for half anhour by battery, it will requirehalf an hour to run out again,but it will be at that time quitedischarged. But that is not thecase with this instrument.

President Rowland: I shouldsuppose it was the charge in thevarnished surface.

Prof. W. A. Anthony:Professor Dolbear did not sayanything about one advantagethat this telephone has over theother, that struck me when Iread the descriptions of itearlier—that, in consequence ofusing this electricity at such ahigh potential, the ordinarytelegraph lines or otherinstruments would have verylittle effect upon it: therefore thetelephone is very free frominduction.

Prof. Dolbear: Myexperience has been inaccordance with that theory.Electromotive force frominduction from telegraph-linesis ordinarily tolerably small,although there may be at timesconsiderable strength ofcurrent. But, the electromotiveforce being so strong in mycircuit, it follows that the actionof such induced currents is veryslight, and does not interferewith work.

Prof. C. A. Young: I wouldlike to inquire whether you havetried any experiments in puttingthe end of the wire to the ear toillustrate the sensitiveness of theear?

Prof. Dolbear: Yes; I have heardsimply by putting the end of aninsulated wire to my ear, andlistening. I consider the instrumentas simply the enlarged terminal ofa wire, and that you are actuallylistening at the end of a wire.

Mr. E. Gray: I have made a goodmany experiments in another line,which I may state briefly, which maythrow some light upon this, and yet Ithink it is very well understood. Youremember, some of you, reading ofsuch experiments made in 1874,relating to the reproducing of musicon a plate by simply rapping withthe finger or with some animaltissue. Now, I made this experiment,which seems to prove to my mindthat the operation is as Prof.Dolbear has explained it. I set myrevolving disc, which was a simpledisc of zinc, revolving at a steadyrate, giving it a pressure with thefingers. Then I had fifty cells ofbattery set up, as much as I couldbear, passing through them, andhad some one close the circuit witha Morse key. At the same time thekey was closed, my finger would bejerked forward in the direction ofthe rotation of the disc: and it wouldremain in that forward condition,showing an increase of friction,until the key would be opened, andthen it would drop back; showingthat from some cause there was anincrease of friction, either due tomolecular disturbance, or, what isprobably the case, to attractionbetween the finger and the plate. Itis necessary, to produce thisexperiment, that the cuticle beperfectly dry. You must rub it a longtime, and have it perfectly polished;and then the cuticle becomes a

450 Antonio Meucci

dielectric, and the body ischarged with one kind of elec-tricity, and the wire or the platewith another. Later I got somefairly good results inarticulation by using a smalldiaphragm with all theconditions as nearly right aspossible; and, having a currentof sufficient electromotive force,l could actually understandwords produced on the end ofmy finger.

President Rowland: What isthe difference between that andEdison’s motorphone?

Mr. Gray: In Edison’smotorphone, when the currentwas thrown on, there was adecrease of friction; there waschemical action taking place onthe surface. In this case there isnone, and there is an increaseof friction when the current ison: perhaps “current” is a badword to use.

President Rowland: Theprinciple is the same.

Mr. Gray: One is a chemicalaction, which causes the frictionto be less at the moment ofcharge. In this case, however,this is purely static contact, andincreases the friction in thesame manner that the plates arethrown together when they arecharged in this telephone. Andthe motion, of course, or sound,is produced by a letting-go ofthe finger from the plate, andnot by actual vibration, in thesame sense that it takes placebetween the two plates in thisreceiver of Prof. Dolbear.

President Rowland: You at-tribute it to attraction?

Mr. Gray: Yes; my experimentsseem to prove that; I presume, be-cause there was adhesion, there wasan increase of friction during thetime of the charge and the letting-go, when the circuit was open.There was really no circuit exceptwhen the charge was taken off.

Sec. F. E. Nipher: In regard tothe case of which Prof. Dolbearspoke, when it might be supposedthat electricity does actually passfrom the line into the ground, itseems to me that that fact, so far asit did exist, would be prejudicial tothe action of the instruments; thatwhat we want to bring about is nota current but as great a differenceof potential as possible between theplates.»

We have already commented onProf. Dolbear’s statements in themain text. All the same, we wish toemphasize how this type of tele-phone did not require magnets andwas experimented successfully onthe New York - Boston line in theworst atmospheric conditions, withexcellent results. Elisha Gray, be-sides fully confirming Prof. Dol-bear’s affirmations, added that hehad himself experimented with astatic telephone over another stretchand that he had there used fifty cells,just like Meucci who, in Havana,had used up to sixty.

Especially interesting is alsoProf. Rowland’s observation aboutthe analogy between the static tele-phone and the Thomson electrome-ter, whose static polarization greatlyinfluences its sensitivity. Finally,

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quite striking is Prof. Dolbear’sanswer to Prof. Young’squestion, affirming that the re-ceiver held to the ear could bereduced to a simple enlargedconductor terminal, whichreminds us Meucci’s coppertongue.

As referred by F. V. Hunt(see bibl.), the principle of thestatic telephone was not onlyused in the various types ofcondenser microphones, butalso in the static loudspeaker,which made its first appearancein the decade between 1925 and1935 (when many patentapplications on staticloudspeakers were filed) andwhich was taken up again, withbetter materials andperformance, in the 1950s.

‘Telephone — The FirstHundred Years,’ by JohnBrooks

«… Maintaining that theBell patents covered only themagneto transmitter andreceiver, Dolbear, in October1880, applied for a patent onhis own carbon transmitter andcondenser receiver … in April1881, the patent was granted,whereupon Dolbear proceededto incorporate the DolbearElectric Telephone Company…»

‘Telephone’ (EncyclopaediaBritannica), by Bernard Finn

«… another method of trans-mitting sound electrically wasdeveloped in 1878 when A. E.Dolbear, a professor of physics,

devised a transmitter in which thediaphragm was one plate of a smallbattery. When it vibrated, so did thevoltage of the battery and thecurrent in the circuit. In a separatearrangement Dolbear designed areceiver with metal plates in theform of a capacitor. The fluctuatingcurrent caused one plate to vibrate,producing sound. Dolbear’s deviceswere not competitive as telephoneinstruments, though the capacitorprinciple proved valuable in somemicrophone designs in the 20thcentury …»

Bibliography(Editorial), The Static Telephone [Paperread by Prof. Amos E. Dolbear andextensively discussed at the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement ofScience], The Telegraphic Journal andElectrical Review, London, 29 September1883, pp. 237-8Aitken, W., Who invented the Telephone?,Blackie and Son Limited, London andGlasgow, 1939Brooks, J., Telephone — The First HundredYears, Harper & Row, New York, N.Y.,1976, pp. 76-80Dolbear, A. E., The Telephone, Lee &Shepard, Boston, 1877, pp. 99-116, alsoreproduced in “Deposition of AntonioMeucci,” Part 3 (Documentary Evidence),pp. 108-111, New York Public LibraryDolbear, A. E., On Telephone Systems[Dolbear’s electrostatic receiver illustratedon p. 162], Lecture delivered at the FranklinInstitute, The Telegraphic Journal andElectrical Review, 12 February 1886, pp.140-144 and 19 February pp. 161-165Du Moncel, Th. (Comte), Le Téléphone,Librairie Hachette et Cie., Paris, 1882Finn, B. S.: Telephone, EncyclopaediaBritannica, 15th Edition, 1990, pp. 495-499Hunt, F. V., Electroacustics: The Analysisof Transduction and Its HistoricalBackground, Harvard University Press,Cambridge, MA (USA), 1954.

452 Antonio Meucci

INNOCENZO MANZETTI

Innocenzo Vincenzo Bar-tolomeo Luigi Carlo Manzettiwas born in the town of Aostaon 17 March 1826. Afterprimary school, he went to theSaint Bénin boarding school runby the Jesuits, and then toTurin, where he obtained adiploma as a land surveyor,thereafter returning to Aosta.For a time he worked in theCivil Engineering Corps. Hebecame interested in acoustics,mechanics, hydraulics,electricity and astronomy. It issaid that he only slept anaverage of two hours per day,working and experimenting allthe rest of the time.

His first work, whichbrought him much fame, was aflute-playing automaton, built in1849. It was in the stylizedshape of a man, life-size, seatedon a chair with a flute in hand.Hidden inside the chair werelevers, connecting beams andcompressed-air tubes, whichmade the automaton’s fingersmove on the flute keys, as wellas its lips, according to a pro-gram mechanically recorded ona cylinder, similar to those usedin player pianos. The automatonwas wound like a clock, andcould perform twelve differentarias. At the beginning of itsperformance, the automatonwould rise from the chair, bowits head and roll its eyes.

In his workshop, InnocenzoManzetti constructed geodeticinstruments that he needed for

his work as a land surveyor and alsomusical and scientific instrumentsfor third parties. He also built a bi-cycle and a piano. He amused him-self by inlaying precious miniaturesin ivory or bone, often using aspecial pantograph conceived byhim for the reproduction of bas-re-liefs on marble, ivory or wood,scaled at pleasure. Subsequently,Manzetti succeeded in making hisjoueur de flûte29 play any piece ex-ecuted by a musician on an organ,by making the latter’s keys muteand connecting them to the automa-ton’s finger controls. He also built,as a toy for his daughter, a woodenflying parrot (perroquet en boisvolant) also mechanically wound,which began by beating its wings,then slowly rose into the air andhovered for two or three minutes,then went to settle on a shelf.

In 1855 Manzetti invented aningenious hydraulic machine toempty water from the wells of theOllomont mines, which were oth-erwise unserviceable. His con-struction is minutely described byhis clergyman friend EdouardBérard in La feuille d’Aoste in 1862.In 1864, just after marrying MissRosa Sofia Anzola, he built a steam-powered car, 27 years ahead of theone realized in Paris by Serpollet,and an earth telescope with threeconverging lenses that allowed toobserve a lizard’s movements at adistance of 7 km. He also built a

29Flute player. It must be recalled that inthe whole Aosta valley - though being aregion of Italy - the language currentlyspoken is mainly French, whereas all of-ficial deeds and labels are bilingual, Italianand French.

Innocenzo Manzetti

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pendulum watch which could bewound to work for one year.

Tancredi Tibaldi, a personalfriend of Innocenzo Manzetti,recounted, in 1896, that the tele-phone idea came to Manzettiout of the desire to make hisautomaton talk just as he madehim play. That is, analogouslyto the execution of a pieceplayed by another person, hewanted the automaton to pro-nounce words spoken from adistance by another person.Innocenzo’s brother, Anania,recounted that the inspirationcame from the memory of theirchildhood games with thechapeau à gibus (a sprung tophat that could be flattened forcarrying under one’s arm) thatthey used as a loudspeaker toscare their peers by speakingfrom another room into anotherhat, connected to the first withthe usual system of the tautstring.

Manzetti called his first tele-phone model, made in 1864,télégraphe parlant (speakingtelegraph). It was neverpatented nor presented atconferences or described in thenewspapers by Manzettihimself, because he was timidand retiring and, moreover, didnot care about money. All thesame it was spoken of, thoughin generic terms and with anearly identical text, in thefollowing papers, probablyinformed by Manzetti’s friendsor after reading the first news inthe Aosta’s paperL’Indépendant of 29 June 1865:

Il Diritto of Turin30 on 10 July1865; La Feuille d’Aoste on 25 July1865; L’Italia of Florence on 10August 1865; L’Eco d’Italia of NewYork on 19 August 1865; IlCommercio di Genova of Genoa on1 December 1865; the Petit Journalof Paris on 22 November 1865; LaVerità of Novara on 4 January 1866;and again Il Commercio di Genovaon 6 January 1866.

Here is the English translation ofthe text published by the PetitJournal of Paris, written by thelawyer Émile Quétand of the Paris’Imperial Court:

CURIOSITIES OF SCIENCE

Discovery of the transmission ofsound and speech by telegraph

«A new discovery immenselyfruitful in its possible applicationsboth in the fine arts as well as theindustries is going to augment themarvels of this century; and this isthe transmission of the sounds andof the spoken words by telegraph.

The author of this discovery isMr. Manzetti of Aosta, inventor of afamous automaton … … Manzettitransmits directly the word bymeans of the ordinary telegraphicwire, with an apparatus simplerthan the one which is now used fordispatches.

Now, two merchants will be ableto discuss their business instantlyfrom London to Calcutta, announceeach other speculations, proposethem, conclude them. Many

30There were two different magazines titledIl Diritto ; one from Turin and the otherfrom Florence-Rome.

The “Flute player”automaton

454 Antonio Meucci

experiments have been madealready. They were successfulenough to establish thepractical possibility of thisdiscovery. Music can already beperfectly transmitted; as for thewords, the sonorous ones areheard distinctly …»

At this point in the text,L’Eco d’Italia of 19 August1865, which had lifted it, adds:“ those [the words] with aclosed pronunciation are heardconfusedly; that comes from thematerial Manzetti has been ableto use for his apparatus, whichhe is now perfecting …”

In its second announcement,published on 22 August 1865,La Feuille d’Aoste reported thefollowing news: “… It isrumored that Englishtechnicians to whom Mr.Manzetti illustrated his methodfor transmitting spoken wordson the telegraph wire intend toapply said invention in Englandon several private telegraphlines.”

It is also known thatAntonio Meucci, having readsaid news in L’Eco d’Italia,published in New York, sent aletter to Il Commercio diGenova, as well as to L’Ecod’Italia, claiming his priorityand quoting his experiments,made in 1849 in Havana.

Il Diritto on 21 December1865, confuted Meucci’sargument, writing in defense ofManzetti, and especiallyexalting the properties of a(vaguely described) mechanicalmouth used by Manzetti,

“certainly more practical thanMeucci’s system which, requiringone to hold the conductor betweenone’s teeth, impeded the speaker’sproper elocution.” Il Diritto alsomade a point of underlining howMeucci’s suspicion that his friendEnrico Bendelari, going to Italy in1860, might have unveiled the newsof Meucci’s discovery - whichmight then have been picked up byManzetti - was denied in a letter sentby Bendelari to Meucci on 15September 1865. Besides, Meucci’sexpressions toward Manzetti werevery cordial, admitting that “twothoughts can be found to contain thesame discovery,” as we havereported in the foregoing.

The only technical description ofManzetti’s invention came from thepen of Dr. Pierre Dupont, a friend ofthe inventor’s, who was a medicaldoctor and a Major in the Sardinianarmy. His description, however, wasonly found after his death, amonghis papers, without date on it,although Caniggia and Poggianti(see bibl.) maintain that it waswritten in 1861. J. Brocherel (seebibl.) maintained that the samedescription appeared in “an Aostanewspaper of the period,” not betterspecified. We include Dupont’sdescription here, translated fromFrench:

”The speaking telegraph con-sisted of a funnel-shaped cornet inwhich was placed, transversally, aniron lamina, in the shape of a verythin plate. This plate easily vibratedunder the impulsion of the soundwaves coming from the bottom ofthe funnel. In the cornet, there wasalso a magnetized steel needle,

Havana 455

running inside a bobbin,vertically placed with respect tothe vibrating lamina and veryclose to the same.

From the bobbin or spindlestarted a silk-coated copperwire, the other end of which wasconnected to a bobbin placed inan apparatus identical to thatdescribed above. From thissecond apparatus startedanother electric wire, whichwas connected to join theformer. Now, if in the vicinity ofthe lamina of one of the cornetsa sound was emitted, this soundwas immediately reproduced bythe lamina in the other cornet.

The communication betweenthe laminae of the two cornetstook place thanks to theprinciple that the vibrations ofan iron plate in front of a poleof a piece of magnetized ironproduce electric currents, theduration [i.e. frequency,Editor’s note] of which is thesame as that of the motion of thevibrating lamina.

In a word, the acousticwaves produced by speech,voice, sound into a cornet weretransformed in the apparatusinto electric waves, and thentransformed back into acousticwaves in the other cornet.”

The drawing reproducedhere—supposed to be consistentwith the above notes by Dr.Dupont—is taken from a recentbook, authored by Caniggia andPoggianti (see bibl.).

Both the drawing and thedescription above seem to referto a “make-and-break”telephone transmitter and to a

magnetostriction receiver, quitesimilar to those developed by theGerman Johann Philipp Reis in1861 (probably, without Manzettibeing aware of). In fact, in bothcases we have a needle, as amagnetic core, against which an ironplate vibrates. And, due to theknown limitations of the make-and-break systems, the instrumentshowed defects in the transmissionof articulated words, that Manzettiwas not yet able to eliminate, as waswritten in L’Eco d’Italia. Anotherconfirmation of this hypothesis,comes from the clergyman Bérardwho declared that words containingthe letters c, f, g, j, l, u, v, x, and zcould not be transmitted and that,consequently, it was impossible tohold a complete conversation.

Another posthumous descriptionof Manzetti’s telephone came from ashort notice in Il Progresso Italo-Americano of New York on 12January 1937, by a certain Italia T.Gronbony. She affirmed that amodel of Manzetti’s telephone wason display in the cabinet of PhysicalSciences of the “Accademia C. D.Andreis,” and that “it is composedof a permanent steel magnet shapedin a narrow V, about 15 centimeterslong, enclosed in a wooden sheath.”From this notice, we can only learnthat one of the models contained, asa core, a permanent steel magnetshaped in a narrow V about 15centimeters long, instead of amagnetized steel needle (perhapsalso 15 centimeters long), not a bigdifference.

Count Théodose Du Moncel (seebibl.), who studied Manzetti’sdiscovery fairly thoroughly, con-cluded, along our own hypothesis,

Drawing of Manzetti’stelephone, according toCaniggia and Poggianti

456 Antonio Meucci

that Manzetti’s telephone wassimilar to Reis’s. Finally, theRoyal Commission instituted inItaly in 1910 with the task,among others, of verifyingpriority on the invention of thetelephone, thus expressed itselfregarding Manzetti (see bibl.):“Innocenzo Manzetti of Aostahad invented something similar[to a telephone] except that notrace of the principle on whichit was based has remained.”

After 1865, the press nolonger wrote of Manzetti’stélégraph parlant, nor of apractical application for it,which leaves us to suppose thatit was abandoned. Only on 30January 1878, the Fanfulla ofRome reminded its readers - ayear after the death of theAostan inventor - that not allcredit was owed to the mostacclaimed Alexander GrahamBell.

Manzetti died poor andunrecognized in Aosta on 17March 1877 on the exact day ofhis fifty-first birthday, one yearafter the death of his second andlast daughter, Marina Fortunata,who strikingly resembled himand whose loss had caused himenormous pain. The firstdaughter, Maria Sofia, had diedin 1867, at the age of two. Theobituary that appeared in theEcho du Val d’Aoste on 19March 1877, thus describedManzetti’s character: “… Hisexcellent qualities of heart andcharacter, his kindness, hisincomparable affability madehim be loved by all …” Tibaldi

(see bibl.) describes him as “… ofmedium height. He had a blondbeard and hair the latter worn longand flowing on his nape, like aNazarene, a pale complexion, lightblue eyes, a nose rather large at thebase, slightly angular lineaments…”

On the façade of the little houseon Via Xavier de Maistre in Aosta,which Manzetti inhabited in the lastthree years of his life, the Associa-tion of Mechanical Industry andRelated Arts of Turin placed aplaque in 1886, with the followinginscription:

TOINNOCENZO MANZETTI

Executor in 1864of the first telephone apparatus

Nearly three years afterManzetti’s death, precisely on 7February 1880, two Americans fromNew York, Prof. Max Meyer, anAmerican citizen residing in Parisand Sir Horace H. Eldred, a NewYork Telegraph inspector,accompanied by the already citedclergyman of the Aosta Cathedral,Édouard Bérard, went to visitManzetti’s widow, Mrs. RoseAnzola, and Manzetti’s brother,Louis, with the aim of purchasingthe rights, as well as the documentsand models of Manzetti’s télégraphparlant. On the same day a deedwas signed, at the offices of thenotary public César Grognon, bywhich the two Americanscommitted to pay ten thousandItalian lire of the time (slightly over40 million lire, or 30,000 dollars, in1990) to the widow, “as soon as it

Innocenzo Manzetti’shouse and thecommemorative plaque,placed there in 1886

Havana 457

was established that InnocenzoManzetti was the first inventorof the telephone.” An analogousdocument was signed with thebrother, Louis Manzetti, for thesum of five thousand lire. Aftersigning the deed, the twoAmericans obtained drawingsand models from the widow andthe brother, for the sum of thirtyFrench francs of the time(around 1 million lire, or $830,of 1990).

The clergyman Bérard wasaccused by Prof. M. P. Fornariof the University of Milan ofhaving made a deal with the twoAmericans, supposed to beemissaries of the American BellTelephone Company, indisfavor of Manzetti’s widow.His accuses appeared in twoarticles on L’Educatore Italianoof Milan on 13 and 20December 1883, which werelater translated into French andpublished in three parts (18 and25 January and l February 1884)by the Aosta Valley’s paper LePatriote. Bérard defendedhimself with long arguments -published in three more issuesof Le Patriote (15 and 18January and 14 March 1884) -essentially taking GrahamBell’s side and diminishing theimportance of Manzetti’stélégraph parlant. Moreover, hehad Manzetti’s widow release astatement in which sheaffirmed, among other things(translation from French): “…The matter of the telephone ofmy husband, I. Manzetti,consisted of a sort of sleeve,slightly tapered, with two ends

made of pasteboard and aparchment kept at one extremity bymeans of a little ring, fairly solid.This parchment was perforated andcontained inside some thing ofwhich I have no clear recollection…” Thus, Manzetti’s widow did notmention any iron plate, nor themagnetized needle with bobbin,though the shape of the instrumentseems to comply fairly well withthat of the drawing shown above.

In another letter written byBaron B. C. Bich of Aosta to theclergyman Bérard, dated 28 De-cember 1883, it was specified thatthe few remains of Manzetti’s tele-phone, consisting of “a little paste-board cornet with a little iron plate”had not been entrusted to theAmericans but to the Rev. FatherDenza, Physics professor at theMoncalieri boarding school, whointended to pay honor to InnocenzoManzetti. The clergyman Bérard hadthe above letter published andfurther declared that the twoAmericans were by no meansemissaries of the Bell Company andthat, on the contrary, they intendedto use the evidence gathered inEurope to have the Bell patentsannulled. Nevertheless, subsequentsearches for the two Americans,made by order of Manzetti’sbrother, Louis, both in New Yorkand in Paris (where Prof. Meyer hadsaid he resided), yielded no results;the two seemed to have vanished,thus leaving a shadow of doubt onthe assertions of clergyman Bérard.

Bibliography(Editorial), Ancora su Meucci [letter fromItalia T. Gronbony, quoting Manzetti], Il

458 Antonio Meucci

Progresso Italo-Americano, NewYork, 12 January 1937(Editorial), Del telegrafo vocale diManzetti (letter), Il Telegrafista, A. IX,September 1889, pp. 98-101(Editorial), The First Inventors of theTelephone [Correspondence from W.C. Barney], The Telegraphic Journaland Electrical Review, 1 March 1884,pp. 187-188(Editorial), The Invention of theSpeaking Telephone [by W. C.Barney], The Telegraphic Journal andElectrical Review, London, 7 January1882, p. 14Brocherel, J., Innocent Manzetti etl’invention du téléphone, AugustaPraetoria, Aosta, May-June-July 1923,p. 115Caniggia, M., Poggianti, L., IlValdostano che inventò il telefono —Innocenzo Manzetti, Aosta (1826-1877), Centro Studi De Tillier, Aosta,1996Commissione Reale, Studio TecnicoAmministrativo e Finanziario delServizio Telefonico in Italia,Tipografia dell’Unione Editrice,Rome, 1911

Du Moncel, Th., De la question desantériorités dans la découverte dutéléphone (2), La Lumière Électrique, A. 5,Vol. X, No. 52, 29 December 1883, p. 545-549Fornari, M. P., Innocent Manzetti le vraiinventeur du téléphone, Le Patriote, 18 and25 January and 1 February 1884.Clergyman Bérard’s rebuttals in 15 and 18January and 14 March 1884Meucci, A., Letter to Ignazio Corbellini,written on 13 October 1865, published in IlCommercio di Genova, on 1 December1865 and in L’Eco d’Italia, New York, on21 October 1865, under Nuove scoperteitalianePerucca, E. (Filippi F. editor): DizionarioD’Ingegneria, UTET, Turin, 1968Tibaldi, T., Innocenzo Manzetti di Aosta,Roux Frassati e C., Turin, 1897Various Authors, Il Cammino del Telefonoin Valle d’Aosta, SIP/SEAT, RegioneAutonoma Valle d’Aosta, Turin, 1987Zanotto, A., Innocent Manzetti dans lecentenaire de sa mort (1877-1977), 49°Bulletin de l’Académie Saint Anselme,Aosta, 1979.

MAPS SHOWING LOCATIONS QUOTED IN THE TEXTA Pescadería; B Plaza de la Catedral; C Plaza de Armas; D Puertas deMonserrate; E Gran Teatro de Tacón; F Estación de Villanueva; GPlaza y Mercado del Santo Cristo; H Plaza Vieja; I Teatro Principal; LAlameda de Paula; M Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula; N Iglesia deSan Francisco de Asís y Fuente de los Leones.

A Fuente del Neptuno (current location); B Malecón; C Torreón de SanLázaro D Calle San Lázaro; E Castillo del Príncipe; F La Zanja; GPaseo de Tacón; H Estación provisoria de Ferrocarriles; I Calzada deSan Luis Gonzaga; L Paseo Extramural; M Gran Teatro de Tacón; NEstación de Villanueva; O Plaza del Vapor; P Campo de Marte; QCalzada del Monte; R Castillo de Atarés; S Luyanó stream

Locations in intramuralHavana, quoted in thetext

Locations in extramuralHavana, quoted in thetext