| Acquisition
Activity
1.The Kahn Collection: The AC Chairman traveled to New York on 23-24 February to bring back another major portion of cryptologic artifacts from the collection of Dr. David Kahn. This donation, his fifth, consisted of 40 boxes of rare books, journals, manuscripts, pamphlets and personal correspondence spanning over 40 years of David’s work and life. The centerpiece of this latest donation was an original carbon copy of Herbert Yardley’s editor’s manuscript for The American Black Chamber. Written in 1931 this book provided details of America’s first peacetime cryptanalytic organization, MI-8, the forerunner of today’s National Security Agency. Other significant items in donation #5 included: uncorrected proof copies of Dr. Kahn’s books “Kahn on Codes” and “Hitler’s Spies”; numerous English and foreign language pamphlets on cryptology from the late 1800s and early 1900s; a number of rare signed first edition books on cryptology; and, many commercial books and pamphlets on cryptology and secret writing written immediately before and during World War II. The ceremonial picture below shows Dr. Kahn bequeathing his latest donation to AC Chairman Dave D’Auria. An interesting side note: the house in the framed picture in the background was Dr. Kahn’s boyhood home. The room on the extreme left is where the Codebreakers was written in its entirety.
2. Problem Solving – Part One: A copy of ‘Problem Solving – Part One’ by former Arlington Hall codebreaker Frank W Lewis was donated by the AC VC from his own collection to the NCM Library. Part Two is already on the library’s shelves. 3. Rare Donitz Photograph: A copy of a color photograph of Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of the German U-boat fleet in WW II, and two other senior Kriegsmarine officers was donated to the NCM as a period piece and support item for the museum’s Enigma exhibit. The caption material included with the photograph was drawn from recent research by AC VC David Hamer. The photo taken in late 1942 shows (L-R) Kapitänleutnant Adalbert Schnee, Admiral Karl Dönitz, and Kapitän zur See Eberhardt Godt in the command bunker of BdU headquarters in the Villa Kerillon at Kernéval in Lorient, France.
4. Enigma Lamps: Thanks to NCMF benefactor Glen Miranka the Foundation recently received a donation of three hundred miniature lamp bulbs specifically made for use in Enigma machines. Spares of these low-profile lamps have been notoriously difficult to find since manufacture ceased after the end of WW II. The use of standard, full-size flashlight bulbs by some museums and collectors in the intervening years has resulted in serious damage to many Enigma machines. Dr. Miranka, an Enigma researcher and collector, took it upon himself to benefit the whole Enigma community by commissioning the re-manufacture of several thousand of these lamps using precision engineering drawings prepared from the study of originals by NCMF member Jim Oram. Glen and Jim visited the museum together in October 2007.
5. WW II Era Western Union Teletype Machine: The AC recently acquired a model KSR-15 Teletype machine from a Western Maryland antique mall. KSR-15's served as the backbone for all U.S. telegraph companies between 1930 and 1954. The one we acquired was owned by the Western Union Telegraph Company (WUTC). Western Union’s history predates the Civil War. During WW II, Western Union and other U.S. telegraph companies provided extensive service and support to the War Department. Western Union in particular received many commendations for service during both world wars. The WW II Teletype acquired by the AC still had WU telegrams from 1943 tucked in the front read plate. Samuel Morse sent the first telegram in May of 1844. WU closed its telegram service in February 2006 after 150 years of continuous telegraphy service. Truly the end of an era. The AC paid $300 for the Teletype machine, an $85 reduction from the listed price of $385.
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