Autograph letter signed to Latimer Clark

Bright, Charles Tilston (1832-88). A.L.s. to Latimer Clark. London, October 17, 1879. 1- pp. 202 x 128 mm. Traces of mounting on verso. Provenance: Latimer Clark.

Bright was engineer-in-chief of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, formed by himself, Cyrus Field, George Saward, and J. W. Brett in 1856 for the purpose of manufacturing and laying the first transatlantic cable. Bright superintended the laying of the first complete Atlantic telegraph cable in 1858, receiving a knighthood for his services even though the cable failed a few weeks after its installation. In 1861 Bright went into partnership with Latimer Clark, with whom he developed improved methods of insulating telegraph wires; the two men also wrote an influential paper, "On the formation of standards of electrical quantity and resistance" (1861), which led to the British government's adoption of fixed electrical standards. Bright's letter responds to Clark's request for a portrait photograph. Origins of Cyberspace 129.