Model of an Optical Telegraph

anonymous, c. 1798 - c. 1803

Model van een Dépillon telegraaf met een seinhuiszoals deze o.a. op de toren van de Grote Kerk te Veere heeft gestaan.

  • Artwork typedemonstration model
  • Object numberNG-MC-821
  • Dimensionsheight 51 cm x width 15.2 cm x depth 12.1 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood, brass, ivory and rope

anonymous

Model of an Optical Telegraph

Netherlands, c. 1798 - c. 1803

Provenance

…; collection Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1765-1837), Amsterdam, 1807;1HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 5. Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, 1837;2After the death of Asmus in 1837 models from his private collection remained in the Navy Model Room in The Hague and were henceforth considered an integral part of the collection of the Department of the Navy. transferred to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-821

Entry

Model of an optical telegraph, mounted on an octagonal pedestal.

This model consists of a shored mast with a short cross-beam at the top. Between two of the four shores, rungs are fitted for climbing the mast. Two wings attached halfway up the mast are operated with tackles through sheaves at the top; two other signals, probably balls but now missing, can be raised or lowered by means of tackles going through sheaves at the ends of the cross-beam. The wings are mounted on a metal ring, which turns freely around the mast; by means of a pole, pushed from below, the wings can be turned to face another communication line. Traces of a part now missing, possibly a flagpole, can be seen at the cross-beam.

Obreen mentions two telegraphs dating from the year 1803 that belong to the two cabin models NG-MC-820 and NG-MC-822.3J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 821. Although with a different scale, the models described as numbers 819 and 821 are the only possible candidates; their identification, however, is uncertain. The model is first mentioned as part of the private collection of Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1755-1837) in 1807.4HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 5.

This type of telegraph has not been found in other sources and was never used. They strongly resemble the telegraphs used for the coastal signal stations along the North Sea coast between 1798 and 1801, but could be a proposed design of a later date, probably around 1803, when a new coastal telegraph line was planned.

The advantage of this design is the ability to turn the wings, which enables the telegraph to exchange signals with ships at sea along two perpendicular communication lines.

Scale (on model) 1:27.

Literature

J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 821; J. Schepman, De Franse semafoor type Depillon, Flushing 1987, manuscript in RMA, folder NG-MC-810/825 (telegrafen); E. Ludwig, Beschrijvingen van de telegraafmodellen in het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam, s.l. 1992, manuscript in RMA, folder NG-MC-810/825 (telegrafen)

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of an Optical Telegraph, Netherlands, c. 1798 - c. 1803', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20053985

(accessed 13 December 2025 09:15:57).

Footnotes

  • 1HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 5.
  • 2After the death of Asmus in 1837 models from his private collection remained in the Navy Model Room in The Hague and were henceforth considered an integral part of the collection of the Department of the Navy.
  • 3J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 821.
  • 4HNA 2.01.29.02 Dept. Marine, Aanhangsel I, inv. no. 20, La. F no. 5.