The fax machine dates from the mid-19th century (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax) and there was a commercial machine for sen

The fax machine dates from the mid-19th century (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax) and there was a commercial machine for sending photographs in 1913 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirephoto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirephoto), so it wasn’t even experimental, just not commonly available.