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Alexander Graham Bell used a drum of goldbeater's skin with an armature of magnetised iron attached to its middle as a sound receiver (see Invention of the telephone), and the North German Confederation printed 10- and 30-groschen postage stamps on goldbeater's skin to prevent reuse of these high-value stamps.
Although the young firm thrived in the telegraph industry, it was not until the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, and the incandescent lamp by Thomas Alva Edison in 1879, that Western Electric began to gain stature as a large company.