Wheatstone's original Morse perforator only had three keys: Dot; Space; Dash. You hit the keys with little hammers, using both hands. It was also known as a "Mallet Perforator."



Later, Wheatstone added pneumatic power to make punching easier.

Edmund Kleinschmidt added a keyboard, with all the letters of the alphabet, plus special Morse characters such as BT & AR and a "COMB" key that could combine letters.  It was powered by a 110VDC solenoid.  His original design was sold under the "Kleinschmidt Electric", "Morkrum-Kleinschmidt", and "Teletype" names.  

These perforators were used up through WWII and it may have been that Teletype Corp. could not supply them fast enough during the war, so the government also gave a contract to Boehme.  (This is supported by the fact that United Press had to import Creed perforators during the war.  See Below.)

On 9/22/2026 1:13 PM, Nick England via GreenKeys 

A Creed unit in the V&A Museum says

  "KLEINSCHMIDT PERFORATOR PATENTED - PAT'S PD'G CREED & CO. LTD. LONDON SOLE AGENTS SERIAL NO. 1244 VOLTS 110-120"

https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/409646

This perforator has what looks like a polar relay laying on top of it.  The polar relay was not part of the Morse Perforator.


The AWA Museum of Communication Technologies has a Creed perforator with a different form factor than the Kleinschmidt design and seems to be motor driven.







I have not had a chance to compare this Creed perforator with the Kleinschmidt design.

Have Fun,

Duncan Brown, K2OEQ
USASA    31J30

Antique Wireless Association
 Communication Technologies Museum
   Asst. Curator, Commercial Equipment
(also chief TTY op & repairman)

i-Telex: 212503

www.antiquewireless.org

AWA Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX55peBhzeX1qps_VYXdLBA

Virtual AWA Museum TTY Tour:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpB6jM90VV8

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