Edelcrantz

In the same year that Chappe´s telegraph line was established, the Swedish nobleman and poet A.N. Edelcrantz (1754-1821) invented another kind of optical telegraph, which was to prove a great inspiration to many other countries, including Denmark. Optical telegraphy became widespread in Sweden and was used right up to 1881.

Edelcrantz. Drawing by Sergel. From N.J.A. Riisbjerg, Den optiska Telegrafens Historia i Sverige 1794-1881, ( The History of Optical Telegraphy in Sweden), Gothenburg, 1938.

Sprogø sketch.

Edelcrantz type of optical telegraph, installed on Sprogø around 1800. The Edelcrantz telegraph worked in such a way that the clappers could be set horizontally (invisible) or vertically (visible). Via the ten clappers it could send a total of 1,024 different signals.