and Other Communication Devices
[A large portion of the information in this section is taken from Thomas Schlereth's book Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life, published in 1991 by Harper Collins.]The Industrial Revolution, in part, consituted a time of enormous growth in the field of communications. According to Warren Sussman, the increase in speed and availability of information technology changed America's view of time and space by annihilating the physical and personal distance between people: "Consciousness itself was altered. . . . The very perception of time and space was radically changed" (177). In addition to audio technology, visual technology had its place in the society, too: it was a highly visual era, as photography began to become an option for everyday Americans.
From Alexander Graham Bell's first phone-transmitted statement -- "Watson, come here -- I need you!" -- telephones had a far-reaching impact on American culture. In the phone industry, many women found a place in the working world hitherto unavailable to them: known as "hello girls," they worked switchboards (called "Central," which is why Hank Morgan is so accustomed to hearing the term "Hello, Central!" in Twain's novel) (188). As the use of telephones began to spread from city to city, companies were forced to compete for business, and the competing phone systems catered to different levels of society. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, for example, Bell's phone system became known as the one patronized by society's elite. Smaller, competing companies in the area were only able to draw their business from the less well-off sections of the city (189). On top of their assimilation into the existing societal structures, telephones changed aspects of American life, too: the way Americans talked. Everyday language became less formal, less mannered, and used new expressions that had recently entered the lexicon. Even today, we still use phrases like "Give me a ring" that evolved when phones first entered the American consciousness (191).
In the area of visual information transmission, the emergence of less expensive cameras on the market made photography a skill available to the average American. The cameras also added to the de-formalizing of American culture: hand-held cameras made informal snapshots easier to take (197). They also give Hank Morgan a chance to see his dream of a technological Camelot disintegrating in front of him: Clarence shows him a battle picture from Launcelot's attempt to save Guenever.
Here is an instantaneous photograph one of our boys got of the battle; it's for sale on every newsstand. There -- the figures nearest the queen are Sir Launcelot with his sword up, and Sir Gareth gasping his latest breath. You can catch the agony in the queen's face through the curling smoke. It's a rattling battle-picture (414).
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