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Significant and historic letter archive (3 Letters)
From an archive of correspondence from Senator Wallace H. White, Jr. who served in the U.S. Senate from the State of Maine holding positions during his tenure (1931-1949) of Secretary of the Senate Republican Conference, Senate Minority Leader, Chair of the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, Leader of the Senate Republican Conference and Senate Majority Leader.
Most significant letters on the topic of the development of international radio and cable communication between General James Harbord (President of the Radio Corporation of America) and Senator Guglielmo Marconi (Marconi House, Strand, London, England) and General Harbord to Frederick George Kellaway (Managing Director of the Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Co.m London, England).
Guglielmo Marconi, London – founder of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company who in 1896 secured the first patent in radio telegraphy and demonstrated how the wireless telegraph could send coded messages throughout the air and in 1909 won the Nobel Prize for Physics.
General Harbord was a Senior Officer in the United States Army (1889-1922) who served during the Mexican Revolution and WWI. In 1919 under direction of President Woodrow Wilson, Harbord was sent on a fact finding mission to the Middle East, to investigate the feasibility of creating a Jewish State in Palestine and report on the Turkish-Armenian relations in the wake of the Armenian genocide. Awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Harbord retired from the Army in 1922 to become President of the Radio Corporation of America (preceeding long serving David Sarnoff) and remained Chairman of the Board until 1947. Under his leadership, RCA began television broadcasts, jointly formed RKO Pictures and acquired the Victor Talking Machine Company (maker of the Victrola).
In his letter signed “J G Harbord” on his stationary as President of Radio Corporation of America (RCA) dated April 2, 1929, Harbord writes to introduce Marconi to Representative Wallace H. White, Chairman of the Marine and Fisheries Committee of the House of Representatives, which deals with matters concerning radio and author of the “White Act” (Radio Law of 1927) which interposes a barrier to any combination of cables and radio as seems to have been successfully worked out in Great Britain. Harbord goes on to write,”…talk freely to him about the advantages of such a merger, the amount of government control which should be exercised in such a case, and how that control affected Great Britain…say anything …about the merging of cables and radio which has taken place in Italy…”
In his other letter signed “J G Harbord,” on his stationary as President of RCA dated April 2, 1929 to Marconi Managing Director Kellaway, Harbord looks to introduce Kellaway to the Honorable Wallace H. White. Harbord writes of this important matter, “Mr. White is in England for attendance at the Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea, and is particularly interested in the working out of the merger of cable and radio interests in your country. As you may know, the merging of cable and radio interests in this country is still forbidden by law…”
LETTER IS ACCOMPANIED BY A THIRD LETTER IN THIS ARCHIVE ADDRESSED TO MR. WHITE FROM FREDERICK GEORGE KELLAWAY, TYPED ON THE STATIONARY OF THE MARCONI WIRELESS TELEGRAPH COMPANY (LONDON) DATED MAY 7, 1929. Kellaway’s letter writes of his regret in not being able “to stay to lunch yesterday and so missed the opportunity of meeting you.”
Kellaway was Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company. Prior, he was a member of the British Parliament (1910-1922) and during WWI was Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions.
A great trio of historical letters pivotal to the development of international electronic communications.
Authentication: Gotta Have Rock and Roll Certificate of Authenticity.