Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
Lot 229
The Edwardian 'Titanic' crystal receiver constructed by George Leadbetter, Ledbury, circa 1910 on which the SOS signal from RMS Titanic was reportedly heard 15th, April 1912: hand made triple diode detector, tuning coils and headphone in an oak case, fitted small square drawer to right hand side with block and turned handles to both ends, 34 x 73 x 24cm. Together with a newspaper cutting from the Ledbury Reporter dated 'August 31st 1962' with a photograph of Mr George Haines, a signed black and white photograph of Mr Haines with the set, another newspaper cutting dated 'Sept, 22nd 1966' reporting the sale of the set at auction to Mr Bill Price, also a copy of Hill, J, 'Old Radio Sets' Shire Library, 2010 in which the set is illustrated on page 7. *Notes- Prior to the establishment of commercial broadcasting in the 1920s, experiments in wireless telegraphy had been undertaken since the late 1890s. In 1901 Guglielmo Marconi developed his own system that was able to transmit telegraphy from Poldhu, Cornwall to St John's, Newfoundland over 1,800 miles away. Interest in wireless telegraphy led to many amateurs building and developing their own sets on the 'Coherer' principle for sending and receiving Morse code. George Leadbetter was one such enthusiast who constructed this set in 1910 with the aid of his son Walter who made the case. On the night of the 15th April 1912 they heard the 'SOS' distress signal from RMS Titanic. It is reported that Mr Leadbetter went to the local police station to report the sinking but was turned away and none of the officers on duty believed him. Upon his death the set was passed to his son Walter Leadbetter who continued to work as a cabinet maker and restorer in Ledbury. Upon Walter's death the set was acquired by a family friend and local book seller Mr George Haines. The set was sold at auction in 1966 after the death of Mr Haines and purchased by Ledbury Antiques dealer Mr Bill Price. The set was acquired by the vendor in the 1990s.
