Fax Machines & Facsimiles Xerox ÔTelecopier 485Õ fax machine, 1980

Fax Machines & Facsimiles Xerox ÔTelecopier 485Õ fax machine, 1980. This ÔTelecopier 485Õ fax machine made by the Xerox Corporation was intended for office use. The first fascimile machine was developed shortly after the printed telegraph by the Scottish clockmaker Alexander Bain (1810-1877) in 1842. The central principle in facsimile technology that distinguished it from printed telegraphy was that the text was scanned. The first xerographic image was produced by the American pioneer of electrophotography, Chester Carlson (1906-1968) in 1938. In 1959 the Xerox company brought out the ÔXerox 914Õ, the first automatic office photocopier. Xerox introduced their first ÔtelecopierÕ, which worked in a similar way to the photocopier but using signals transferred by telephone, in 1966. ©SSPL/Science Museum