Next on the to read pile. “Faxed:
The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine” from @JHUPress https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/faxed 

This book turned out to be a great read! Had no idea the history of fax tech went back to the 1840s! In the late 1800s newspapers had to wait till late at night to transmit images to not hold up a circuit for too long during peak call times.

Also there are all these related competing technologies over time. Like the “teleautograph” that transmuted the movement of the pen and not what was inscribed.

Then establishing standards and opening up the phone networks enable a shift to mainstream the tech starting in the late 70s

Then as email emerges, it’s wild that their are hybrid “fax over internet” technologies that emerge, and also wild how the development of MIME, PDF, and solutions to the email “roledex” problem all play a role in getting to the point where it makes sense to move away from fax

There is also a whole interesting thread through the book about how the character sets in Japanese made faxing a much more durable communication technology in Japan.