Summary: Donor's father, George W. Reiners, was employed as a railroad worker in Hurst, Texas, where he owned the telegraph device (shown above) in the early 20th century. A revolution in communication occurred with the development of the telegraph. However, the early telegraph keys used to send messages caused severe strain on the telegrapher's wrist - a condition now known as carpal tunnel syndrome. In 1902, inventor Horace G. Martin patented the first in a line of devices which solved the problem: the Martin Autoplex, an electro-mechanical sending device which required batteries. Two years later, Martin went into business with a group of entrepreneurs, forming the United Electrical Manufacturing Company. It was also in 1904 that Martin filed his second patent for a new sending device which used a weighted, vibrating arm and did not require the use of a magnetic coil or batteries. This device was the basis for the first Vibroplex. In 1908, the association between Martin and U.E.M. ended when the latter went out of business. However, J. E. Albright, who began a business catering to the telephone industry in 1890, began marketing the Vibroplex for Martin. On March 12, 1915, Albright filed a certificate of incorporation in New York for The Vibroplex Company Inc.