Thursday, February 16, 2023

Spy History: The "Detective Dictograph"

The General Acoustic Company in New York manufactured and sold the "Detective Dictograph" which they patented in 1907--only ten years after Marconi's first successful transatlantic radio transmission.

The "Detective Dictograph" was a neat suitcase with a complete covert electronic audio surveillance system, which included a special carbon microphone for concealment and a long cable to run to the suitcase where the operator would covertly monitor the audio on headphones in the next room.


Yes, people were electronically bugging other people over 100 years ago.