Editing Ticker tape (section)

==History==
[[File:Edison Stock Telegraph Ticker.jpg|thumb|Edison gold & stock ticker]]

Although [[Printing telegraph|telegraphic printing systems]] were invented by [[Royal Earl House]] in 1846, early models were fragile, required hand-cranked power, frequently went out of synchronization between sender and receiver, and did not become popular in widespread commercial use. [[David E. Hughes]] improved the printing telegraph design with clockwork weight power in 1856,<ref>David E Hughes, {{US patent|14917}} ''Telegraph'' (with alphabetic keyboard and printer) issued May 20, 1856</ref> and his design was further improved and became viable for commercial use when [[George M. Phelps]] devised a resynchronization system in 1858.<ref>{{cite web|last=Casale|first=John|title=George M. Phelps: Master Telegraph Instrument Maker and Inventor|url=http://www.telegraph-history.org/george-m-phelps|date=1997–2008|publisher=Telegraph-History.org|access-date=30 July 2013}}</ref> The first stock price ticker system using a telegraphic printer was invented by [[Edward A. Calahan]] in 1863; he unveiled his device in New York City on November 15, 1867.<ref>[http://www.stocktickercompany.com/stc/history The History of the Stock Ticker] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225041242/http://www.stocktickercompany.com/stc/history|date=2014-12-25}} Stock Ticker Company</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Profile for Edward A. Calahan|url=http://invent.org/inductee-detail/?IID=255|website=National Inventors Hall of Fame|access-date=18 November 2014|archive-date=9 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109225745/http://invent.org/inductee-detail/?IID=255|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=This Day in History: First stock ticker debuts|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-stock-ticker-debuts|website=History.com|date=24 November 2009 |access-date=18 November 2014}}</ref> Early versions of stock tickers provided the first mechanical means of conveying stock prices ("quotes"), over a long distance via telegraph wiring. In its infancy, the ticker used the same symbols as [[Morse code]] as a medium for conveying messages. One of the earliest practical stock ticker machines, the Universal Stock Ticker developed by [[Thomas Edison]] in 1869, used [[alphanumeric]] characters with a printing speed of approximately one character per second.

Previously, stock prices had been hand-delivered via written or verbal messages. Since the useful time-span of individual quotes is very brief, they generally had not been sent long distances; aggregated summaries, typically for one day, were sent instead. The increase in speed provided by the ticker allowed for faster and more exact sales. Since the ticker ran continuously, updates to a stock's price whenever the price changed became effective much faster and trading became a more time-sensitive matter. For the first time, trades were being done in what is now thought of as [[near real-time]].

By the 1880s, there were about a thousand stock tickers installed in the offices of New York bankers and brokers. In 1890, members of the exchange agreed to create the New York Quotation Co., buying up all other ticker companies to ensure accuracy of reporting of price and volume activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tickertapedigest.com/articles/visitor/visitor.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980629095540/http://www.tickertapedigest.com/articles/visitor/visitor.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=1998-06-29|title=Ticker Tape Digest|work=tickertapedigest.com}}</ref>