What are people missing when they can't see or see in detail a museum's ephemera, like these three telegrams? An enormous amount of information is contained in the paper, the standard headings, the telegram codes, and the details of the transmission.

DESCRIBING: Three Western Union telegrams from June 1937. These nearly square pieces of paper, mounted horizontally and hung on a wall of the Pearson Air Museum, are stacked on top of each other, in a column, with a couple of inches of space between each telegram. 

SYNOPSIS: This series of telegrams includes messages from three public figures of the 1930s responding to the world's first transpolar flight, which landed at Pearson Field in Vancouver, WA, on June 20, 1937. These telegrams were from Vilhjalmur Stefansson, an Arctic explorer who was writing as President of the Explorers Club of New York; Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was president of the United States at the time; and Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., a newspaper publisher of the era who, according to the message, had traveled across Russia during the previous year. The full text of those telegrams is transcribed below.

IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The telegrams are yellowed from age. They all have the larger text of "Western Union" in a standardized banner at the top, with the telegram contents below in a typewriter-like typeface. In this standardized banner, the telegrams all have the statement "The Company Will Appreciate Suggestions From Patrons Concerning Its Service," in all caps, at the top. This banner has a key for the symbols in the telegrams, which convey: DL = Day Letter, NM = Night Message, NL = Night Letter, LC = Deferred Cable, NLT = Cable Night Letter, and Ship Radiogram. R.B. White is listed as President; Newcomb Carlton as the Chairman of the Board; and J.C. Willever as First Vice-President. There is a "Class of Service" statement that reads: "This is a full-rate Telegram or Cablegram unless its deferred character is indicated by a suitable symbol above or preceding the address" as well as another text line that reads "The filing time shown in the date line on the telegram and day letters is STANDARD TIME at point of origin. Time of receipt is STANDARD TIME at point of destination." At the bottom of the telegram is a line of promotion. The first one is covered by the telegram text itself. The second one reads "The Quickest, Surest and Safest Way to Send Money is by Telegraph or Cable," and third one reads "Western Union Alone Serves 89 percent of the Places Having Telegraph Offices," both lines in all caps.  

RELATED TEXT: From the top telegram to the bottom telegram, in all caps, as the telegrams are printed, including typographical errors and telegram symbols, here is what those messages say:

Telegram 1:

FZ131 81 9 EXTRA DL DUPLICATE OF TELEPHONED TELEGRAM=

CHICAGO ILL 1937 JUNE 20 1007A

AMBASSADOR A TROYANOVSKY, DLR=

2563 DIVISADERO CONSULATE OF THE SOVIET UNION=

ON BEHALF OF THE OFFICERS AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB OF

NEWYORK I HAVE THE HONOR TO EXTEND CONGRATULATIONS UPON ONE OF THE

GREATEST FEATS OF COMBINED EXPLORATION AND FLYING IN THE HISTORY OF

AVIATION STOP EXPLORERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TAKE THEIR HATS OFF TO

CHKALOV BAIDUKOV AND BELIAKOV AND ALSO TO YOUR GOVERNMENT FOR THE

WISE AND CONSISTENT SUPPORT WHICH IT HAS BEEN GIVING DURING SEVERAL

YEARS TO ARCTIC EXPLORATION=

VILHJALMUR STEFANSSON    PRESIDENT

Telegram 2: 

Received at                               1937 JUN 20 AM 11 47

PRAA55 56 GOVT=THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC 20 227P

AMBASSADOR TROYANOVSKY=

PIERSON FIELD VANCOUVER BARRACKS WASH=

MY DEAR MR AMBASSADOR I HAVE LEARNED WITH THE GREATEST PLEASURE OF

THE SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THE FIRST NONSTOP FLIGHT FROM THE SOVIET

UNION TO THE UNITEDSTATES THE SKILL AND DARING OF THE THREE SOVIET

AIRMEN WHO HAVE SO BRILLIANTLY CARRIED OUT THIS HISTORIC FEAT COMMAND

THE HIGHEST PRAISE PLEASE CONVEY TO THEM MY WARMEST CONGRATULATIONS=

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT.

Telegram 3

Received at 239 Southwest Broadway, Corner Oak, Portland, Org.  1937 JUN 20 PM 11 33

CDU18A 46 NL=CD NEWYORK NY 20

HON ALEXANDER TROYANOVSKY=

CARE GENERAL GEORGE MARSHALL COMMANDANT

VANCOUVER WASH=

PLEASE EXTEND TO YOUR GALLANT COUNTRYMEN THE SINCERE CONGRATULATIONS

OF AN AMERICAN NEWSPAPER MAN WHOM YOU PERMITTED TO CROSS RUSSIA FROM

SIBERIA TO EUROPE LAST YEAR AND WHO HAS NEVER CEASED TO TALK OF THE

AMAZING AIR FLEET AND ITS FINE YOUNG PILOTS HE SAY ENROUTE=

CORNELIUS VANDERBILT JR.