Morse telegraph station by C. Lorenz. 1890

Antique Telegraph or Morse Station Manufactured by Lorenz. Beautiful. 1890

Spectacular telegraph set, fully restored and in excellent mechanical working order. It has not been electrically tested, but it appears that all the wiring and coils are in perfect condition. The printer is working perfectly and is complete, including the ink reservoir. It was manufactured by the prestigious company C. Lorenz of Berlin around 1890 and is mounted on a wooden tabletop and base dating from 1915, with the top made of cedar and the base of oak. The tabletop features a base designed to be inserted into the top of a larger table. Mounted on the tabletop are the aforementioned telegraph printer, a Morse key, relays, a milliamp meter, and a switch. Everything has been restored and painted in the original colors. The paper rolls are made of metal and have also been painted in their original colors: yellow for the standard roll and red for the spare roll.

The table retains all its original components in excellent condition, with no signs of deterioration, rust, or missing parts. The wood is exceptionally beautiful, as are the various brass components. The printer bears the manufacturers mark: C. Lorenz, Berlin No. 14845. This is an exceptional late 19th-century telegraph desk, highly decorative and of great historical interest. It is undoubtedly an item that any lover of technical antiques would be proud to own.

Dimensions: 55 cm wide x 50 cm high x 30 cm deep

History of C. Lorenz

C. Lorenz (18801958) was a German electrical and electronics company based primarily in Berlin. It innovated, developed, and marketed products for electric lighting, telegraphy, telephony, radar, and radio. It was acquired by ITT in 1930 and became part of the newly founded company Elektrik Lorenz (SEL) in 1958.

Around 1870, Carl Lorenz (18441889) opened a shop in Berlin to manufacture electric lighting products. The shop entered the telegraph business in 1880, adopting the name C. Lorenz Telegraphenbauanstalt. Following Carl Lorenzs death, the firm was acquired in 1890 by textile entrepreneur Robert Held (18621924). Held retained the firms original name, and Carls brother, Alfred Lorenz, was appointed technical director. Under Robert Helds leadership, the company became a major supplier of telegraph and signaling equipment to the National Railroad. It then expanded into the telephone market in 1893 by acquiring Lewart, thereby securing a position as a supplier of telephones to the Postal Service. In 1906, the company was registered for public trading as C. Lorenz AG

By the start of World War I, Lorenz had grown to nearly 3,000 employees and was a major manufacturer of landline and wireless telephone and telegraph equipment for the German armed forces. To support this expansion, a large factory was built in Berlins Tempelhof district, and by 1918, the companys headquarters and research operations had also been established at the same site. When World War I ended, Lorenz downsized considerably and shifted its focus to the production of home radios, broadcast transmitters, and aircraft communications systems. In 1919, Lorenz began radio broadcasting (transmission of voice and music) in Germany. Its main competitor was Telefunken. The company remained active until 1958