Tech From the 1870s: History's Best Sellers

Extra! Extra! On the home front and across the nation, 1870s saw a swell surge of swell Yankee ingenuity and home-front craftsmanship in the world of tech! Leading the charge were mighty, top-selling marvels like Barbed Wire and Telephone, capturing the public’s fancy in grand fashion. Distinguished creators from industry leaders like Joseph Glidden and Alexander Graham Bell proved their mettle with First Telephone Call, delivering craftsmanship that swept main street from coast to coast as genuine top-flight hits. Step right up and inspect our complete, rank-ordered historical archive below!

1. Barbed Wire

   Released in 1874 by Joseph Glidden

   November 24, 1874, marks a pivotal moment in the history of the American West. On this day, the U.S. Patent Office granted Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, patent number 157,124 for his 'Improvement in Wire-Fences'. This was not the first patent for barbed wire, but Glidden's design was the most practical, effective, and easily mass-produced. The patent protected his simple but ingenious method of twisting two strands of wire together to hold sharp barbs securely in place. This legal protection allowed Glidden to commercialize his invention, which would soon fence the prairies, end the open range, and forever change the face of agriculture and land ownership.

2. Telephone

   Released in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell

   March 7, 1876, stands as a pivotal date in the history of technology and human connection. On this day, the United States Patent Office issued U.S. Patent 174,465 to a 29-year-old inventor named Alexander Graham Bell for his invention described as 'Improvements in Telegraphy.' This patent, often considered the most valuable single patent ever issued, secured Bell's legal claim to the invention of the telephone. The issuance was the culmination of a frantic race against other inventors, most notably Elisha Gray, whose own design was filed just hours after Bell's. While Bell's first successful voice transmission would happen three days later, securing this patent on March 7th provided the legal and commercial foundation for the entire telecommunications industry that would soon follow.

3. First Telephone Call

   Released in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell

   March 10, 1876, marks the pivotal moment when the telephone transformed from a theoretical concept into a proven reality. In his Boston laboratory, just three days after being awarded U.S. Patent 174,465, Alexander Graham Bell conducted a landmark experiment. Speaking into his new 'liquid transmitter' device, he uttered the now-famous words, 'Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you.' His assistant, Thomas Watson, located in an adjoining room, heard the message clearly through the receiver. This event was not a public release but the first successful and unambiguous transmission of articulate speech over a wire, proving the invention's capability and heralding the dawn of the telecommunications age.

4. Phonograph

   Released in 1878 by Thomas Edison

   On February 19, 1878, the world of technology was formally changed forever when Thomas A. Edison was granted U.S. Patent 200,521 for his 'Phonograph or Speaking Machine.' While Edison and his team had successfully demonstrated the device in late 1877, this date marks the official legal recognition and protection of his groundbreaking invention. The patent secured his claim to the first practical device capable of both recording and reproducing sound. This pivotal event transformed the phonograph from a laboratory marvel, famously tested with the nursery rhyme 'Mary Had a Little Lamb,' into a commercially viable piece of intellectual property, setting the stage for the birth of the entire recording industry.