Bell Telephone Patent Print 1876 — Framed Patent Art

The story of this patent drawing

The most valuable patent ever issued does not use the word telephone. Granted on 7 March 1876 as US 174,465, Improvement in Telegraphy, Bell’s patent claims a method of transmitting vocal sounds by causing “electrical undulations similar in form to the vibrations of the air” — and sheet 1 shows what that meant: diagrams of the waves, and the figures of a transmitter and receiver in which a membrane vibrates before an electromagnet. Three days later he spoke to Watson through it.

The drawing is a page of physics as much as of apparatus, and it frames as one. This print is made from the official grant itself, rendered at double resolution from the USPTO’s scan with the ink lifted onto an aged-paper tone.

Printed to order on archival matte paper, framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Bell Telephone Patent, 1876: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Preparation: the drawing sheet of the official patent grant was rendered from the USPTO's 300-dpi scan at double resolution, its bilevel line anti-aliased, the ink lifted onto an aged-paper tone with a light grain, and the empty page margin trimmed. Nothing in the drawing is redrawn or removed; the examiner's stamps, signatures and sheet numbers stay.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

What does the drawing show?

Sheet 1 of the patent: Bell's diagrams of undulating currents and the figures of his transmitter and receiver, with the vibrating membrane and the electromagnet that turned speech into current and back again, signed by Bell and his witnesses.

Is this an original patent document?

No. It is a new archival print of the drawing sheet from the official patent grant, published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Patent documents are works of the United States government and in the public domain; the grant number and a link to the document are on this page.

Does it come framed?

Yes, if you choose a framed option: a black, white or natural oak wood frame, ready to hang, made in the country of delivery. Unframed archival matte paper is also available. The sheet's proportions fit 12×18, 16×24 and 20×30.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Edison Electric Lamp Patent, 1880

Thomas A. Edison · US Patent and Trademark Office

$129 18×24 in framed · paper from $35

Kodak Camera Patent, 1888

George Eastman · US Patent and Trademark Office

$129 18×24 in framed · paper from $35

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
12×16 in	30×41 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
12×18 in	30×46 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
16×24 in	41×61 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
18×24 in	46×61 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
20×30 in	51×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×32 in	61×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×36 in	61×91 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Bell Telephone Patent, 1876

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print