1912 American Marconi " Road Map " Wireless Spark Key For Early Radio Transmitter
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:4300635 |
For the second time this summer, I'm heading up to Chicago, where I'll join a few hundred other like-minded lunatics at a celebration of antique technology. The pilgrimage also involves my stopping at every vintage guitar shop within five miles of the highway to see if I can find the mint 1956 Les Paul Jr. I stupidly pawned for $325 in 1986 when I needed money to buy an MG Midget that caught fire while I was driving it home from the happy individual who'd just sold it to me. Briti...sh Leyland sports cars. Built to last a lifetime if you plan on dying at age two. Right now, I'm into other things, the likes of which you'll see if you browse the roster of no-reserve auctions in my eBay store. It's a great store, probably the best store of its kind on the internet, and if you take a good look, I suspect you'll find something you can't live without. And don't forget, you can add me to your favorite seller list and Ebay will automatically send you updates when I put similar new auctions online
Here's an early Marconi Type C sending key for a spark radio transmitter. The key is mounted on its original base and was manufactured in 1912 by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America. It's known as the "road map" key because of the way the conductors are laid out on the top of the base. One of the earliest instruments manufactured by American Marconi, it's also among the most uncommon.
Condition is outstanding, as you can see in the photographs. 100% original, with no restoration, no repairs, no issues. No damage to the base, no damage to the key, and the binding post nuts are all original and are all accounted for.
Excellent all around. Key is resilient and still works great.
Shipping weight, properly packed, will be approximately 3 lb.
That's about it. I will package it properly so that it arrives at your doorstep safely. I have been shipping antique phonographs and radios for years, and if you check my feedback, you'll see that I know how to do it correctly. Buyer prepays and includes shipping.
On Jul-31-19 at 05:18:52 PDT, seller added the following information:Marconi Road Map Keys did NOT have tags. NONE of them were tagged or engraved. You can confirm this quickly by conducting a Google image search using the term "Marconi Road Map Spark Key." You will not find a single example with a tag, nor any other type of manufacturer's marking. I assumed everyone interested in this key would know that, but apparently everyone doesn't. My apologies for not addressing this in the main body of the listing.
00590
Here's an early Marconi Type C sending key for a spark radio transmitter. The key is mounted on its original base and was manufactured in 1912 by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America. It's known as the "road map" key because of the way the conductors are laid out on the top of the base. One of the earliest instruments manufactured by American Marconi, it's also among the most uncommon.
Condition is outstanding, as you can see in the photographs. 100% original, with no restoration, no repairs, no issues. No damage to the base, no damage to the key, and the binding post nuts are all original and are all accounted for.
Excellent all around. Key is resilient and still works great.
Shipping weight, properly packed, will be approximately 3 lb.
That's about it. I will package it properly so that it arrives at your doorstep safely. I have been shipping antique phonographs and radios for years, and if you check my feedback, you'll see that I know how to do it correctly. Buyer prepays and includes shipping.
On Jul-31-19 at 05:18:52 PDT, seller added the following information:Marconi Road Map Keys did NOT have tags. NONE of them were tagged or engraved. You can confirm this quickly by conducting a Google image search using the term "Marconi Road Map Spark Key." You will not find a single example with a tag, nor any other type of manufacturer's marking. I assumed everyone interested in this key would know that, but apparently everyone doesn't. My apologies for not addressing this in the main body of the listing.
00590
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