Letter from John Logie Baird to Will Day from 21 Linton Crescent, Hastings, dated 5 April 1924, introducing himself and suggesting a meeting.

In 1999 the Hastings Museum acquired a collection of 77 letters written between John Logie Baird and the London cinema owner, Will Day who provided financial backing for Baird's early television experiments in Hastings and Soho. The letters date from April 1924 to August 1926.

They represent the largest surviving group of correspondence from Baird that relates specifically to television and the only such group to document his pioneering work in Hastings. They show the inventor's working methods, ideas and anxieties in great detail.

As a result of these letters we know that Baird was more advanced in his search for true television than previous accounts have indicated. In particular, following the purchase of a photocell in June 1924 he was able to produce images using reflected light. This put him well ahead of others who had not progressed beyond shadowgraphs. There is also evidence that he was exploring the military potential of his experiments earlier than previously thought.

The letters were purchased by the Hastings Museum with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Science Museum PRISM fund, the Pilgrim Trust, the Went Tree Trust and Hastings Borough Council.

Museum Accession No. HASMG 999.40.1
Copyright Malcolm Baird

Letter from John Logie Baird to Will Day

Letter from John Logie Baird to Will Day from 21 Linton Crescent, Hastings, dated 25 July 1924. The letter describes the 1000 volt electric shock received by Baird during experiments at his Queens Arcade workshop. As a result of this Baird burnt his hands and the doctor, presumably Dr Locke, was surprised he had survived.

Museum Accession No. HASMG 999.40.37
Copyright Malcolm Baird

Letter from Will Day to John Logie Baird

Letter from Will Day to John Logie Baird dated 25 July 1924, following the explosion in Queens Arcade and advising him to take more care in handling electrical currents.

Museum Accession No: HASMG 999.40.38

Letter from John Logie Baird to Will Day

Letter from John Logie Baird to Will Day from 21 Linton Crescent, Hastings, dated 6 August 1924, in which Baird describes the successful transmission of moving shadows, albeit broken and indistinct.

Museum Accession No. HASMG 999.40.41
Copyright Malcolm Baird

Letter from John Logie Baird to Will Day

Letter from John Logie Baird to Will Day from 21 Linton Crescent, Hastings, dated 14 August 1924 describing success with horizontal but not vertical transmission lines.

Museum Accession No. HASMG 999.40.43
Copyright Malcolm Baird