Resumen de Bell's travels to Paris and the introduction of his telephone into France (1877-78)
In mid-August 1877 Alexander Graham Bell started what he had planned as a short stay in Great Britain but finally lasted until the end of October of the following year. Despite general scientific recognition and continuous engagements to present his invention, at the beginning of this period he was eager to work personally on the more commercial aspects of its introduction in Europe but, increasingly disenchanted with the difficulties encountered by his patents, he ended up leaving business completely in the hands of the concessionaries.
To the author’s knowledge the French case has received little attention. Based, among other sources, on family letters made available on the internet by the Library of Congress, this communication will show that Bell travelled at least three times to Paris from London, each trip corresponding to a different state of his affairs and attitude towards them. This research will also serve to pinpoint three initial phases in the history of the telephone in France: the heralding work of Alfred Niaudet and the Maison Bréguet; their efforts, together with the concessionaire, Cornelius Roosevelt, to fight the imitators and develop more powerful transmitters; and finally the appearance of Bell’s friend Frederic Allen Gower which would eventually lead to the formation of the first telephone company.
