ABSTRACT
Gradually over the first decade of the twentieth century the Marconi Company grew in size and, inevitably, in the complexity of its administration. In the early formative years its aims might be summarized as ‘Invent, patent, develop and sell’. It was as simple as that – provided that the inventions were forthcoming, as indeed they were. Because of the newness of the art, sales were mostly on a ‘one-off’ basis, signifying that the customer was trying out the ultra-modern mode of communication. Only a small clerical staff was necessary and for the most part the engineers were also the salesmen.
