Domestic security : the Holmes burglar alarm telegraph, 1853-1876

624 Pages·1992·11.3 MB·English

by  Donnelly, Karen C. S

^
UNIVERSITY^
PENNSYLVANIA.
LIBRARIES

DOMESTIC SECURITY:
THE HOLMES BURGLAR ALARM TELEGRAPH, 1853 - 1876
Karen C. S. Donnelly
A THESIS
The Graduate Program in Historic Preservation
Presented to the faculties of the University of Pennsylvania
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
1992
'HiA^
Adjiinct Associate Professor
atifon. Advisor
I^^.,v^vixt\ y .Tyjr
Samuel Y. Harris, Adjunct Associate Professor
Historic Preservation, Reader
ivj/d G. De Longr f Architecture
Graduate Group Chairman
AiA 0> OiC^ I T-,' .v.,-^

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ii
LIST OF APPENDICES v
INTRODUCTION
1
Chapter 1: ANTECEDENTS 4
Social and Historical Context
Telegraph Technology
Chapter 2: PATENT ANALYSIS 17
Development of the Domestic Burglar Alarm
Telegraph
Development of Central Station Alarms
Chapter 3: CASE STUDIES 66
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, Norwalk,
Connecticut
Bowne House, Flushing, New York
John Eraser House, Riverton, New Jersey
Beechwood, Newport, Rhode Island
Armour-Stiner (Octagon) House, Irvington-
On-Hudson, New York
Maish House, Des Moines, Iowa
Wilderstein, Rhinebeck, New York
Chapter 4: CONCLUSIONS 106
APPENDICES 108
NOTES 275
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 291

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1. Cells Linked to Form a Battery 11
2. Producing Mechanical Motion with an Electromagnet 13
3. Electrical Schematic, Open Circuit Alarm System 22
.
4. Operation of Bell with Spring Circuit Breaker . . 23
5. Edwin Holmes 25
....
6. Portable Model of Telegraph House Alarm 27
7. Switch Annunciator 28
8. Switch Annunciator; 12 and 15 Knob Varieties . . 29
9. Bell Apparatus: Holmes Burglar Alarm Telegraph . 31
...
10. Holmes City Directory Listings, 1867 - 1900 32
11. Wires Exiting Annunciator Panel 34
12. Wires Led Behind Window Molding 35
13. Regularity of Floor-Embedded Wires 35
14. Floor Groover 36
15. Door Contact or Key, 1853 37
16. Window Contact or Key, 1853 38
....
17. Visible Portion of Door Contact (Dotting) 39
18. Dotting Contact 40
19. Window Plate-Type Contact 41
20. Window Design Restricts Visibility 42
21. Completing the Window Circuit 44
11