Model of a Cabin for Telegraph Personnel

anonymous, 1803

Signalman cabin. Model, 1803. The signalman's cabin was located near the telegraph. It was built with standard elements, making it easy to reassemble.

  • Artwork typedemonstration model
  • Object numberNG-MC-820
  • Dimensionsheight 29.2 cm x width 23.2 cm x depth 19.3 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood, brass and glass

anonymous

Model of a Cabin for Telegraph Personnel

Netherlands, 1803

Inscriptions

  • label, right of the door:820 former inventory label

Conservation

  • Ab Hoving, 1993: missing parts reconstructed

Provenance

…; collection Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1765-1837), Amsterdam, 1807;1HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 4. Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, 1837; transferred to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-820

Entry

Model of a cabin for personnel of an optical telegraph.

The model is a smaller version of the cabin represented by model NG-MC-822. It is a rectangular cabin with a hipped roof made entirely out of loose panels and beams, and held together with sliding bolts. One of the short sides is provided with a bunk with lockers above and beneath it.

According to Obreen this cabin dates from 1803 and belongs to the telegraph represented by model number 819.2J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 820. The model is first mentioned as part of the private collection of Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1755-1837) in 1807.3HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 4.

Cabins of this type were specially designed as a kind of do-it-yourself kit for swift erection and moving.

Scale unknown.

Literature

J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 820; C.P.P. van Romburgh, De Hollandse kustbeseining. De Franse invloed op de technische en organisatorische ontwikkeling van de kusttelegrafen 1794-1813, Leiden 1989 (diss. Rijksuniversiteit Leiden), p. 11; C.C.P. van Romburgh, ‘De revolutionaire verreschrijver’, in H. Stevens (ed.), The Art of Technology: The Navy Model Collection in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam/Wormer 1995, pp. 30-33

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of a Cabin for Telegraph Personnel, Netherlands, 1803', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200315916

(accessed 10 December 2025 21:25:07).

Footnotes

  • 1HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 4.
  • 2J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 820.
  • 3HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 4.