ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the shared history of the piano, telegraph, and typewriter through the nineteenth century, considering how the haptic and sonic interface of the piano keyboard has shaped modern practices of interpersonal communication. It also uses this case study to reflect on larger philosophical debates about mechanization and artistic expression, and concludes by reconsidering one time-honored tradition of musical performancethe solo piano recital, 'invented' by Franz Liszt around the same time as the early telegraph and typewriter were being pioneeredas another new technology of this era to link sound, touch, and text in a remarkably influential way. Charles Wheatstone and William Fothergill Cooke built the first electric telegraph in Britain that year, while at the same time in the United States, Samuel B. Morse, tested a similar system and developed the famous telegraph code named after him. The writing machines and the musical instruments belong to separate realms of production according to conventional aesthetic attitudes despite their shared history.
