“Si vous réussissez, vous serez bientôt couverts de gloire”(“If you succeed you will bask in glory”)The Chappe Brothers 1791
The Semaphore System was an early mechanical informational device to send visual messages across long distances. In it’s initial guise, the semaphore system was devised by the Chappe Brothers to send coded messages from French military forces in the late 18th century. This blog takes it’s name from The Chappe Brother’s invention (synonymously known as a ‘Semaphore Line‘) , and the quote above comes from the first message sent between two signal towers in 1791.
As a historical example of the nexus of military needs, political and revolutionary events, and visual informational devices, the Semaphore Line acts as a grounding for thinking through the dynamics of geospatial technology, interactive media and the digital frontier. This blog will collate some of the work done at the intersection of these fields.
Sam Hind 
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