The fax machine dates back to 1842 when Scottish inventor Alexander Bain created and patented a device that could scan a message written with special ink on a metallic surface and transmit it at a distance, using a telegraph circuit.
None of Bain’s machines were particularly successful. It was Italian priest and inventor Giovanni Caselli who in 1863 built the first commercial fax machine, which was first used in France.
By the early 20th Century, fax machines were prized by several professions, including the military who used it to rapidly send maps and charts to and from aircraft, and newspapers, which used them to send photographs for urgent publication.
The Japanese popularised the technology in the 1970s, making it a must-have tool for businesses. By the end of the 20th Century, fax machines had become ubiquitous due to their reliable and quick transmission of information.
By 2000, fax’s role in business was declining as companies switched to email and the internet to share information. But in other sectors, such as healthcare and real estate, the fax machine has stubbornly clung on.