Telegraphic address

A telegraphic address or cable address was a unique identifier code for a recipient of telegraph messages.

Rather like a uniform resource locator (URL), the telegraphic address did not contain any routing information (aside from possibly a city name), but instead could be looked up by telegraph office personnel, who would then manually direct the message to the office nearest the destination or to an intermediate office.

[1] Telegraphic addresses were chosen either as versions of a company's name or as a memorable short word somehow associated with the recipient.

Occasionally, an organization would come to be best known by its telegraphic address, for example Interflora, Interpol and Oxfam.

A telegraphic address was a valuable part of a company's corporate identity, and disputes sometimes arose when a competitor registered a telegraphic address similar to a trade name or identifier used by a rival.