[ichabod1]

I’ll be doggone:

“Scottish inventor Alexander Bain worked on chemical mechanical fax type devices and in 1846 was able to reproduce graphic signs in laboratory experiments. He received British patent 9745 on May 27, 1843 for his “Electric Printing Telegraph.”[2]” (wikipedia)

[Moltke]

Thanks, I'm aware that early concepts were out there, but in the context of the article (everyday usables that are supposedly obsolete) I'm going with this (or we might as well go back to 400 B.C. and Democritus for his atomic theory from which a lot of modern science evolved):

In 1964 Xerox Corporation introduced LDX (Long Distance Xerography), an invention that is generally considered the first “commercial” version of today’s fax machine.

Xerox’s 1966 Magnafax Telecopier could be connected to any telephone line, and could transmit a letter sized document in six minutes.

Japan became a leader in technological innovation in the fax market, bringing a number of compact inventions to the market. As competition in the market evolved, fax machines became smaller and quicker.

It was in 1980 that the ITU G3 Fascimile Standard was developed, primarily by Japan’s domestic telephone company NTT and overseas telephone company KDDI.

This standard helped lead to a surge in fax technology, both as a national and international form of communication.