This collection was assembled by Dr. Harry G. Lang (1947- ), a deaf mathematician, physicist, and biographer, while researching his 2000 book A Phone of Our Own: The Deaf Insurrection Against Ma Bell. Formerly a professor at NTID, Dr. Lang retired in 2011.

Lang’s book tells the story of the original creators of telephone communication for the deaf. The concept originated with Dr. James C. Marsters (1924-2009), a deaf orthodontist who thought that teletype machines could be used by the deaf to communicate. At that time, teletype machines (also known as teletypewriters or TTYs) required a special and expensive dedicated line, making them impractical for individuals.

In 1963, Marsters approached Dr. Robert Weitbrecht (1920-1983), a physicist and ham radio teletype (RTTY) enthusiast, to design an adapter that would allow TTYs to communicate over ordinary phone lines. Using old, discarded TTY machines, Weitbrecht was able to design an “acoustic coupler,” later known as a modem, and in 1964 Weitbrecht and Marsters made the first successful long-distance telephone call between deaf people using TTYs.

Weitbrecht and Marsters joined with deaf engineer Andrew Saks (1917-1989) to create Applied Communications Inc., or APCOM, which marketed Weitbrecht’s invention under the name Phonetype. Marsters was the primary booster of the device, traveling the country to promote the Phonetype and assisting deaf clubs and organizations in acquiring old TTY machines to adapt for telephone use.

Other significant figures in Dr. Lang’s book and this collection include:

- Saks’ daughter Andrea, who was employed by APCOM and helped promote TTY use in Europe - I. Lee Brody (1926-1997), whose companies, Essco and Phone-TTY, were APCOM’s main competition through the 1970s - H. Latham Breunig (1910-1999), cofounder of TDI (Teletypewriters for the Deaf, Inc.), an organization that distributed TTYs and promoted their use - Reed C. Lawlor, APCOM’s attorney, who advised Weitbrecht on potential patent infringement claims against Brody

With the help of groups such as TDI and similar local groups promoting the use of TTYs, Weitbrecht’s invention helped open a new world of communication to the deaf. This collection covers a period up to early 1980s and the introduction of relay services, which allowed TTY users to communicate with non-users.