The Gutta Percha Company was an English company formed in 1845 to make a variety of products from the recently introduced natural rubber
gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ' ...
. Unlike other
natural rubbers, this material was
thermoplastic
A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling.
Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...
allowing it to be easily
moulded. Nothing else like it was available to manufacturing until well into the twentieth century when synthetic
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
s were developed.
Gutta-percha proved to be an ideal
insulator for
submarine telegraph cables. The company started making this type of cable in 1848 and it rapidly became their main product, on which it had a near monopoly. The world's first international telegraph connection under the sea, a link from
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
to
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
in 1851, used a cable made by the company. Except for a few early ones, submarine cables were armoured with iron, then later steel, wires. The Gutta Percha Company made only the insulated cores, not the complete cable, until April 1864 when it merged into the
Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company
Enderby's Wharf is a wharf and industrial site on the south bank of the Thames in Greenwich, London, associated with Telcon and other companies. It has a history of more than 150 years of production of submarine communication cables and associ ...
, which was later acquired by
British Insulated Callender's Cables in 1959.
Gutta-percha
Gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ' ...
is a natural rubber that has the unusual property (for 19th-century materials) of being
thermoplastic
A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling.
Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...
. It can be moulded after placing in hot water and will reharden when cool. It was brought to attention in Europe by
William Montgomerie, a Scottish surgeon of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
in Singapore where the trees from which the material is obtained are native. Montgomerie sent samples to the
Society of Arts in London in 1843 with the idea that the material could be used for medical apparatus.
In 1844, Montgomerie left samples with
Charles Mackintosh's raincoat company. A partner in the company,
Thomas Hancock, passed samples to his brother Charles who was trying to invent a new bottle stopper made from cemented ground cork. Hancock then abandoned his original idea and took out a patent for bottle stoppers made from gutta-percha.
Company history
The company was formed on 4 February 1845 by partners Charles Hancock and Henry Bewley, a Dublin chemist making
soda water
Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...
, initially to make Hancock's bottle stoppers. Their premises were at Wharf Road,
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, London. The range of products was soon greatly expanded, and included
machine belts, shoe soles, and toys. However, one of their most important products was gutta-percha insulated electrical cable.
Bewley was also a lead pipe maker. He had designed a machine for
extruding
Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex ...
lead pipes and on the formation of the Gutta Percha Company, he used this machine for extruding gutta-percha tubing. The company did not at first use this machine for insulating electrical cable. The method initially used was to apply strips of gutta-percha to copper wire. The resulting seam in the insulation was to prove problematic for underwater cables as it provided a route for the ingress of water.
Submarine cables
Gutta-percha made possible practical
submarine telegraph cables because it was both waterproof and resistant to seawater as well as being thermoplastic. Gutta-percha's use as an electrical insulator was first suggested by
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...
after he tested a sample. Many possible insulation schemes for a submarine cable, such as hemp impregnated with tar, were tested by
Charles Wheatstone who had suggested a cable between England and France as early as 1840. None of these schemes were successful. Wheatstone had looked at gutta-percha but could not find a good way of applying it to the conductor.
On hearing of this possible application for gutta-percha, Hancock designed a machine for applying it to a conductor seamlessly. Hancock's machine was an adaptation of Bewley's tube extruding machine. However, Hancock denied Bewley the right to use the machine. The dispute resulted in Hancock leaving and setting up the rival West Ham Gutta Percha Company. Hancock lost the dispute in court and his company went bankrupt. The first order for gutta-percha electrical cable came in 1848 from the
South Eastern Railway for a length for experiment. South Eastern Railway, in collaboration with the
Submarine Telegraph Company, wished to extend their telegraph line through to France. The cable was successfully tested off
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
from the ship ''Princess Clementine'' with messages sent through the cable to London. The railway afterwards used the cable in a wet railway tunnel.
This trial was followed in 1849 by an order for of cable from the Submarine Telegraph Company to lay a cable from
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
to
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
. This cable, laid in 1850, soon failed, largely because the Submarine Telegraph Company failed to have it
armoured. Undeterred, the company placed a new order in 1850, but this time the cable was to be sent to a
wire rope
Steel wire rope (right hand lang lay)
Wire rope is several strands of metal wire twisted into a helix forming a composite
''rope'', in a pattern known as ''laid rope''. Larger diameter wire rope consists of multiple strands of such laid rope in a ...
manufacturer for armouring before laying. This order was four times as large as the 1849 order since the new cable was to have four gutta-percha insulated cores. This cable was a success, and became the first working oceanic submarine cable.
Although the Gutta Percha Company were the first to make a cable for crossing an ocean, they were not the first to make a gutta-percha insulated underwater cable. Faraday published his suggestion in 1848, but had previously privately recommended gutta-percha to
William Siemens of
Siemens Brothers
Siemens Brothers and Company Limited was an electrical engineering design and manufacturing business in London, England. It was first established as a branchThe company started with a small factory at 12 Millbank Row, Westminster SW1, London, ne ...
who passed the information to his brother
Werner von Siemens
Ernst Werner Siemens (von Siemens from 1888; ; ; 13 December 1816 – 6 December 1892) was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He foun ...
. In 1847 Werner invented a machine, described as like a macaroni machine, for applying gutta-percha to a conductor seamlessly. His company,
Siemens & Halske, then laid underground gutta-percha cables extensively around Germany, including one that crossed the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
in 1849. However, the Gutta Percha Company were the first to make a cable that crossed an ocean. The Gutta Percha Company does not appear to have had any
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
issues with Siemens. This was because Siemens' work was largely for military purposes and consequently nothing was patented initially. Siemens even obtained the gutta-percha from the Gutta Percha Company. The cables were not just for military communications, one 1848 cable in Kiel harbour had the overtly military purpose of setting off mines.
Gutta-percha insulated core rapidly became the chief product of the company. In 1851–1852 they produced of it. The company had a monopoly on this product, and the cores for nearly all submarine cables made before 1865 were made by them. The Gutta Percha Company never made finished cables; they supplied the cores and other companies, mostly wire rope manufacturers, laid them into the steel armouring to make complete cables. In April 1864, the Gutta Percha Company merged with
Glass, Elliot and Company, one of these wire rope makers, to form the
Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company
Enderby's Wharf is a wharf and industrial site on the south bank of the Thames in Greenwich, London, associated with Telcon and other companies. It has a history of more than 150 years of production of submarine communication cables and associ ...
who could supply completed cables and provide maintenance for them. The merger was at the instigation of
John Pender who became chairman of the company. Pender's motivation in this was that the new company should make the first successful
transatlantic telegraph cable
Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...
for the
Atlantic Telegraph Company
The Atlantic Telegraph Company was a company formed on 6 November 1856 to undertake and exploit a commercial telegraph cable across the Atlantic ocean, the first such telecommunications link.
History
Cyrus Field, American businessman and finan ...
.
Gutta-percha quality
The quality of gutta-percha, as supplied by the Gutta Percha Company, was extensively discussed by Charles Bright in his book ''Submarine Telegraphs''. Bright's father,
Charles Tilston Bright, was the chief electrician (chief engineer) of the
Magnetic Telegraph Company, a major customer of the Gutta Percha Company, and later electrician-in-chief of the first
transatlantic telegraph cable
Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...
project of the
Atlantic Telegraph Company
The Atlantic Telegraph Company was a company formed on 6 November 1856 to undertake and exploit a commercial telegraph cable across the Atlantic ocean, the first such telecommunications link.
History
Cyrus Field, American businessman and finan ...
, also using the Gutta Percha Company's product.
Gutta-percha from different regions contains different amounts of resin, resulting in variations in quality. For electrical cables, the resin content needs to be minimal. The best gutta-percha came from
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and
Makassar
Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...
, the worst came from
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
. The factory purification process could also make a difference. A good commercial gutta-percha would have around 80% gutta and 15% or less of resin. Water content has no appreciable effect on the
electrical resistance
The electrical resistance of an object is a measure of its opposition to the flow of electric current. Its reciprocal quantity is , measuring the ease with which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallels ...
of the material until the content reaches a
threshold
Threshold may refer to:
Architecture
* Threshold (door), the sill of a door
Media
* ''Threshold'' (1981 film)
* ''Threshold'' (TV series), an American science fiction drama series produced during 2005-2006
* "Threshold" (''Stargate SG-1''), ...
of around 2–3%.
Highly purified gutta-percha is almost entirely resistant to chemical attack and ingress of water. However, obtaining this level of purity was not economical for submarine cables. Impure gutta-percha oxidises and becomes brittle. The rate of deterioration is very slow for cable permanently in the water, but cable crossing the landing zone is exposed to frequent changes in temperature and cycles of exposure and submerging. This environment could cause the insulation to crumble and expose the conductor. For this reason, these sections of cable were protected with an additional layer of another material such as
India rubber.
Additives to the gutta-percha could greatly affect quality. The material supplied for the Siemens cables by the Gutta Percha Company had a high sulphur content. This, together with poor joints and poor manufacturing by Siemens, caused many of the early Siemens cables to quickly fail.
[Bright, p. 250]
See also
*
Willoughby Smith
Willoughby Smith (6 April 1828, in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk – 17 July 1891, in Eastbourne, Sussex) was an English electrical engineer who discovered the photoconductivity of the element selenium. This discovery led to the invention of photoelec ...
References
Bibliography
* Ash, Stewart, "The development of submarine cables", ch. 1 in, Burnett, Douglas R. (ed); Beckman, Robert (ed); Davenport, Tara M. (ed), ''Submarine Cables: The Handbook of Law and Policy'', Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013 .
* Bright, Charles
''Submarine Telegraphs'' London: Crosby Lockwood, 1898 .
* Buckley, Charles Burton
''An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore'' vol. 1, Singapore: Fraser & Neave, 1902 .
* Fari, Simone, ''Victorian Telegraphy Before Nationalization'', Springer, 2015 .
* Haigh, Kenneth Richardson, ''Cableships and Submarine Cables'', Adlard Coles, 1968 .
* Hearn, Chester G., ''Circuits in the Sea: The Men, the Ships, and the Atlantic Cable'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004 .
* Huurdeman, Anton A., ''The Worldwide History of Telecommunications'', Wiley, 2003 .
* Scott, Jesup W., "1851: Precipice in time", introduction in, Wilson, Ben (ed), ''Heyday: Britain and the Birth of the Modern World'', Hachette UK, 2016 .
{{Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom
Defunct telecommunications companies of the United Kingdom
Telecommunications companies established in 1845
British companies established in 1845
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1864
Manufacturing companies established in 1845
British companies disestablished in 1864
Telegraph companies of the United Kingdom
1845 establishments in the United Kingdom
Rubber industry