Description
Reports, scrapbooks, photographs, equipment descriptions and diagrams, and notes regarding the organization of the Poulsen
Wireless Telephone and Telegraph Company and subsequently, Federal Telegraph Company. Much of this material was collected
by early company electrical technician Douglas M. Perham, and includes many items given to him by fellow Federal Telegraph
Company employees such as Leonard Fuller, Cyril F. Elwell, and Harold F. Elliott.
Background
Douglas M. Perham (1885-1967) was an early wireless experimenter and radio broadcaster, and a talented technician and craftsman.
In 1909, Cyril Elwell rented Perham's Palo Alto bungalow to serve as Poulsen/Federal's first laboratory, hiring Doug as the
first American employee of Poulsen Wireless. Over the next two decades he worked, on and off, with many of Federal's notable
personalities. He also took part in early installations in Stockton, San Francisco, Southern California and Texas, 1910-1919.
Restrictions
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions
of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a
photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used
for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy
or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution
reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation
of copyright law.
Availability
The papers are available for researchers by appointment through the Curator of Library and Archives.