THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL PHOTO ARCHIVE • FRAMED PRINTS • STOCK IMAGES

March 1923. Washington, D.C. "Western Union telegram -- electric code machine." Jazz Age cryptography? Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

1936. Camden, New Jersey. "RCA Victor Final Inspector -- testing radio frequency alignment and making final test of chassis. This takes place in a room entirely surrounded by copper screening in order to protect testing from any interference. This is the job requiring the highest skill. Even technical training, such as an electrical engineering course, must be supplemented by a course of training at the plant for this particular work." Photo by Lewis Hine. View full size.

There's no label for this circa 1930 Harris & Ewing plate, but maybe it's best that we don't know what's going on. CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Front panel of The Apparatus posted here yesterday. "United States Veterans Hospital. Designed and constructed by Radio Construction Corp. Washington, D.C." Circa 1929 Harris & Ewing negative. View full size.

UPDATE: See the front panel here.

Summer 1929 or thereabouts in Washington, D.C. An impressive rack. Of what? Unlabeled Harris & Ewing glass negative, Part 1 of 2. View full size.

UPDATE: Our subject is Dr. James Harris Rogers (1856-1929) of Hyattsville, Md., inventor of the "loop aerial" and holder of numerous patents in telegraphy, telephony and radio:

August 16, 1929. A Veteran Inventor. About 6 miles from Washington, on the edge of the little hamlet of Hyattsville, Md., may be found Dr. James Harris Rogers, wizard inventor, now 80 years old, retired from his work but still erect and energetic. It was Dr. Rogers who during the war proved that water as well as earth and air is a medium for the transmission of electro-magnetic waves. Through the "well" located on his property, high officials heard German official reports.

Radio apparatus and unidentified operator circa 1930 in this unlabeled Harris & Ewing plate. Who can help us fill in the blanks? View full size.

Circa 1922, the Fiske Reading Machine in the hand of its inventor, Rear Admiral Bradley Fiske. Where's the Home button on this thing? View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Radio at Garfield Hospital." Someday, fellows, they'll make a telegraph you can carry around in your pocket! View full size.

June 1937. "Baltimore, Maryland. For every Social Security account number issued an 'employee master card' is made in the Social Security board records office. Testifying data, given on the application blank form SS-5, is transferred to this master card in the form of upended quadrangular holes, punched by key punch machines, which have a keyboard like a typewriter. Each key struck by an operator causes a hole to be punched in the card. The position of a hole determines the letter or number other machines will reproduce from the master card. From this master card is made an actuarial card, to be used later for statistical purposes. The master card also is used in other machines which sort them numerically, according to account numbers, alphabetically according to the name code, translate the holes into numbers and letters, and print the data on individual ledger sheets, indexes, registry of accounts and other uses. The photograph above shows records office workers punching master cards on key punch machines." Whew. Longest caption ever? Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Radio at Garfield Hospital." We're happy to report this patient has been discharged. National Photo glass negative. View full size.

April 1937. "Bureau in the bedroom of the house occupied by the Ingrahams and the Smallwoods near Nelma, Wisconsin." A cryptic tableau if there ever was one. Medium-format nitrate negative by Russell Lee. View full size.

June 29, 1925. "Dr. H.C. Hayes of U.S. Naval Research Lab, Bellevue, D.C." I'll bet that knob goes up to 11. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.

May 1938. Irwinville Farms, Georgia. "Mrs. Coleman doing a washing." Slow but steady progress in the science of mechanized laundry. Medium-format nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1929. "Loomis Radio School." A display of Fada radio sets. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Circa 1904. "Dynamo room with switchboard." Seen earlier here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.