This collection consists of a section (4.5 in.) of cable cut from the original trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, laid in 1858 by the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Attached to the cable section is a tag identifying it as the property of A. H. Griffith. Accompanying the cable section are two photocopies of a letter of authentication dated August 31, 1858, and signed by Cyrus W. Field, co-founder of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. The letter explains that the section was part of the unused portion of the cable, sold to Tiffany & Co. (Tiffany purchased 80 miles of the cable to be cut into small sections, sold as souvenirs.)