Telegraph Code Book Cipher Sale!

Yes I am clearing out the archive again!

A century ago, telegraph or cable codes (aka Commercial Codes) were a method for reducing telegraph costs (they charged per word) and increasing what we now call data security. Technically they were non-secret codes, resolving to commercially available books. But many books wee private and as indecipherable as any OTP. At it's peak there must have been more than a hundred unique codes in use. You can see my current list here. Or buy books below!

The Adams Cable Codex (1896) LINK 

Telegraphic Cipher Code (1921) LINK   SOLD!

Jones & Laughlins Limited Private Telegraph Code (1901) LINK  SOLD!

  The Lumberman's Standard Telegraph Code (1896) LINK  SOLD!

The Standard Cipher Code of the American Railway (1906) LINK SOLD!

Telegraphic Codes

I've written a bit about Telegraphic codes in the past. You can read about one here. But I recently came across a list of other telegraphic codes. These are for the most part utterly obscure and I will spend years searching for more information, possibly to no end. I can't emphasize this enough... there were hundreds of these code books, each with numerous improved, expanded, specialized and updated editions.Not all of them were in widespread use (some surely weren't used at all). To the contrary, most of them appear to specialize in niche-markets. There were code books for mining, leather, shipping, lumber, stock prices and many others. As archaic as this practice is, some code books remained in print into the 1940s!

This list below draws strongly on a Lloyd's Shipping Register of1921. I also used Palmer & Howe's 1906 List of telegraph codes, the digitized code books on Archive.org and the 1911 edition of the Declaration of London which lists off telegraph codes in print at that time. I also referred to the very impressive website of John Mcvey here and some of S.Tomokiyo's writing here. I've omitted police and fire codes as well as non-English language code books from this list for space reasons.

Adam's Cable Codex
Anderson's Expert Cypher Words
Anglo-American Cable Code
Anglo-International Cable Code
Atlantic Cable Directory
Atlantic Cotton Telegraph Code
Atlas Universal Travelers' Telegraphic Cipher Code
Ager's Shipping Telegram Code [LINK]
Ager's Standard Telegram Code
Ager's Alphabetical Telegram Code
Australian railway telegraphic code
AYZ Telegram Code
Broomhall's Comprehensive Cipher Code
Baltimore Export Cable Code
Bedford McNeil's Mining and General Telegraphic Code
Beith's 10-Letter Combinations 
Bentley's Complete Phrase Code [LINK]
Bennett's Cypher Code for Steamship Owners and Brokers
Bentley's Baltic and White Sea Code [LINK]
Berne's Official Vocabulary
Bi-Literal Telegraph Cipher for Code Messages
Billionaire Phrase Code
Bink's Cut-Rate Cable Code
Bishop's Travellers Telegraph Code
Bloomer's Commercial Cryptograph [LINK]
Brentano’s Telegraph and Cable Code [LINK]
British and Foreign Trade Shipping Code
Broomhall Miniature Code
Century Standard Code
Cheeseborough Private Telegraphic Code
Chestnutt, Cooper & Co. Bristle Code
Clare's Telegraphic Code for Black Sea and Mediterranean Trade
Clauson-Thue A.B.C. Universal Commercial Electric Telegraphic Code
Clauson-Thue A1 Universal Commercial Electric Telegraphic Code
Corby's Code for Drapers
Cornforth Telegraphic Code
Crossley's Cable Code
Cook's Unicode
Dieckelmann's Code
D.M. Ferry & Co Wholesale Trade List & Telegraphic Code [LINK]
Dunn's Cypher Code
Durst Telegraphic Code
Figure Code for Stocks and Shares
Gallesi's Commercial Telegraphic Code
Gerrish System Telegraphic Cipher Code 
Gilburt's Tourists Telegraphic Code
Globe Commercial Telegraph Code [LINK]
Glover Brothers Telegraphic Code
Grain Trade Standard Code
Great Western Railway Telegraphic Code
Hamilton's Telegraphic Code of Numeral Quotations
Hancock Telegraph Code
Hartfield's Wall Street Code
Harvey's Cosmopolitan Cable Code
Hawke's Tables for Telegraphing
Hawke's Inland and Foreign Telegram Code
Hawke's Maximum Cyphers
Heath Telegraphic Cipher [LINK]
Heath & Finnemore Private Telegraphic Code
Hendiploun, a Telegraphic Code
Herbert's Universal-Simplex Code System
Hinrich's Shipbrokers' and Steamship Cable Code
Igha Telegraph Code and Tables
Ironscrap Telegraph Code
International Telegraphic Code
Jeweller's Telegraphic Code
Jones's Universal Shipping Telegraph Code
Kraipnos Telegraphic Shorthand
Keegan's International Three-Letter Code
Kerr & Gordon Private Cipher Code
Kendell's Figure Cypher Code
Kolkenbeck's Ideal Code Condenser
Laurie's Universal Code
Lawrie's Pocket Telegraphic Code
Lieber's Standard Telegraph Code [LINK]
Leviathan Cable Code
Lieber's Standard Telegraphic Code
Longford Wire Cable Code
Low's Pocket Cable Code
Lumberman's Standard Telegraphic Code  [LINK]
Maguire’s Code of Ciphers
Mackay's One Word Telegraph Code
Manchester Piece Goods and General Phrase Code
Massey-Harris Telegraphic Code
McNeill’s Code [LINK]
McNichol's Nine Figure Code
Mercury Code
Meyer's Atlantic Cotton Code
Meyer's Anglo-American Cotton Code
Meyer's Commercial Telegraph Code 
Meyer's International Mercantile Telegraph Code
Murray's Insurance and Maritime Telegraphic Code
Marconi International Code
Miners and Smelters Code (aka Master telegraph Code)
Mitchell's Code
Montgomery Code
Moreing & McCutcheon's General Commercial and Mining Telegram Code
Moreing & Neal's New General and Mining Telegraph Code
Musgrove Private Telegraphic Code
National Tube Works Pocket Companion Telegraphic Code
Nattini Codice Telegráfico Commerciale e Mercantile
Pain's Directory Code
Pacific Railway Company Private Mining & Metallurgical Telegraphic Cipher Code
Parker's Economical Code for Piece Goods Code (aka Parker’s Combination Code)
Patakys Telegraphic Code
Penny's Cipher Code
Perfect Cypher Code
Peycke's Abbreviation Key [LINK]
Peycke's Ekonomik Telegraphic Cipher Code
Phillip's Telegraphic Code for Rapid Transmission [LINK]
Pieron's Code Condenser
Piggott's Cable Code
Premier Cypher Telegraphic Code [LINK]
Prentice's Cable Code
Private Cable Code for the Timber Trade by Price and Peirce [LINK]
Repetition Code
Riverside Code
Rohde's Code Words and Terminal Key
Ross-Moss Phrase and Combination Code
Everybody's Pocket Code by W.M. Saunders
Scattergood's Fruit Merchants Cable Code
Scott's Shipowners' Telegraphic Code [LINK]
Schnore's Telegraphic Code
Shepperson's Telegraphic Cipher Code (cotton trade)  [LINK]
Simplex Telegraphic Code
Slater's Telegraph Code [LINK]
Southard & Co.'s Telegraphic Cypher
Spalding’s Telegram Guide [LINK]
Standard Shipping Code
Steven's Engineering Telegraph Code
Stewart's Five Letter Telegraph Code
Stockbrokers Telegraph Code
Sutherlands K.K. the Complete Code
Swift's Private Telegraphic Code
Tahl's Telegraphic Code
Timber Trades Universal Code
Timber Trades Journal New Zebra Code
Tracey's Tenmil Code 
Tybo Code
Unicode Universal Phrase Book [LINK]
Universal Alphabetical Figure and Column Cable Code
Universal Shipping Telegraph Code
V.A.J. Figure Code for Stocks
Victoria Code
Vicker's Mariners and Family Cable Code
Voller's 12-Figure System
Voller's 9-Figure System
Victorian Railways' Telegraph Code Book [LINK]
Watkins' Code, 1881 (aka Shipbrokers' Telegraphic Code)
Watt's Telegraphic Cypher (multiple editions)
Watkins' Universal Shipping Code (multiple editions)
Watson Cable Code
Wray's Telegraphic Code
Western Union (Five Letter)
Wetmore's Commercial Telegraphic Code
Western Union Telegraphic Code and International Cable
Whitelaw's Telegraphic Cyphers with Terminal Order
Widebrook's Code
Williams & Brown Private Telegraphic Code
Wilson's Ship Brokers Telegraph Code [LINK]
Whitelaw's  Telegraph Cyphers
Whittingham’s Skeleton Telegraph Code [LINK]
Wilson's Shipbrokers' Code
Wood's Bohemian Telegraph Code
U.S. Steel Corporation Private Telegraphic Code

--------------------------Update--------------------------

I am continuing this research on a page here.

Lumbermans Standard Telegraph Code

In my radio research sometimes I unearth something so obscure I surprise even myself. Lumberman's Standard Telegraph Code is a artifact from another era of data transmission and data encryption. The book above is copyrighted to 1885. It's pre-broadcasting, pre-computer, pre-WWI and really a relic from another era of codetext cipher. (More here) Before things like ASCII and SSL, many codes were based on simple substitution as is this one. But this one is very specialized.  The Lumberman's Standard Telegraph Code is, and I quote:

"A practical system of telegraphing in cipher, especially adapted to the requirements of the lumber trade; with phrases and technical terms so arranged as to make it universally applicable to all branches of the trade, and interchangeable throughout all sections of the United States."

This edition was published in 1899, and it cost $3.00; which at the time was fairly pricey for a book. It had been in print as early as 1892. The preamble in my edition states that the purpose of the code was not secrecy but making business less expensive. Western Union had made a rule that when transmitting code, only words could be used, not numerals. This was probably more about billing practices than secrecy. The ruling also required that if prefixes were added to words to make them meaningless they would be billed at the rate of one word per letter. Western Union was trying to prevent what this guide was doing... shortening messages to save money. The company had strong incentive to try to stop it. In the year 1900, they carried 63.2 million messages on their network. More here.

So the purpose of the code was to condense a message through encryption. It was a simple form of analog data compression. An advertisement in the American Lumberman Magazine in 1899 sold it with the following language:

"The mail is quick, Lumbermans Standard Telegraph Code is quicker. It will save the cost of the book every few days. A telegram containing 50-100 words can usually be brought within 10 with it's use..."

The book includes tables of types of wood, sizes, lengths, thicknesses, grades, dates, times, numbers, percentages, railroads, and phrases. The word "Transfix" replaces the entire phrase "The stock inquired for is scarce here; will do best we can."  The cipher is structured sensibly variations on a word cover similar phrases

• Rust - Use our judgement?
• Rusticate - The prices quotes are good for this day only
• Rustication - The prices quoted are good until notice
• Rustiness - The prices quotes are subject to change without notice
• Rustiness - The prices are subject to change occasioned by fluctuations in freights before receiving your order
• Rusting - The____ are too green to deliver there at the price you name
• Rustle - Think it best to sell now at what we can get
• Rustling - Think market will be better

The book gives this simple example showing how it reduced the size of a message. the first message below is a commercial order for doors and windows as one might for building a house. It has 82 words by the Western Union definition.

"Ship by express, 10 8x10, 12-light, plain rail glazed windows; 5 14x32, 4-light check rail glazed windows, plowed and bored; 4 2-6x6-6 4 panel No. 1 doors, 1 1/8th inches thick; 6, 2-6x6-6 5 panel No. 2 doors 1 1/8th inches thick; 1 3x7 4 panel, circled top panel door, 1 3/4 inches thick, raised moldings 1 side; 4 pair blinds, 4-light, 14x32."

When compressed into the Lumberman's code it contains only 19 words:

"Refuse, mask, raindeer, raphelite. Martyrology, raidzy, ravage. Martyrdom, recusancy, redient. Marvel, recuperationaly, redient. Martin, redargutionky, redly. Martyrdom, ramble, ravage.

While some spellings have changes, and some words are now archaic... the code works. It's over 70% shorter. At the end of the book is an appendix listing hundreds of lumberyards ostensibly using the code. I'm sure they all made the Western Union enemies list but I'm not sure how they countered the maneuver.