THOMAS A. EDISON COLLECTION, 1860-1980, BULK 1860-1950 ...

Finding Aid for

THOMAS A. EDISON COLLECTION, 1860-1980, BULK 1860-1950

Accession 1630

Finding Aid Published: January 2012

Electronic conversion of this finding aid was funded by a grant from the Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET)



20900 Oakwood Boulevard ? Dearborn, MI 48124-5029 USA

research.center@ ?

Thomas A. Edison collection

Accession 1630

OVERVIEW

REPOSITORY:

Benson Ford Research Center

The Henry Ford

20900 Oakwood Blvd

Dearborn, MI 48124-5029



research.center@

ACCESSION NUMBER:

1630

CREATOR:

Benson Ford Research Center

TITLE:

Thomas A. Edison collection

INCLUSIVE DATES:

1860-1980

BULK DATES:

1860-1950

QUANTITY:

53.6 cubic ft., 50 oversize boxes and 5 volumes

LANGUAGE:

The materials are in English

ABSTRACT:

Thomas A. Edison was a great American inventor, applying

for 1,093 patents during his lifetime. The collection

includes correspondence, drawings, notes, financial

records, artifacts, photographs and negatives concerning his

work, family, associates and relationship with Henry Ford.

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Thomas A. Edison collection

Accession 1630

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research. Use of original audio or

visual materials will require production of digital copies for

use in the reading room; interested researchers should

contact Benson Ford Research Center staff in advance at

research.center@

COPYRIGHT:

Copyright has been transferred to The Henry Ford by the

donor. Copyright for some items in the collection may still

be held by their respective creator(s).

ACQUISITION:

Various donations and purchases

RELATED MATERIAL:

Related material held by The Henry Ford:

- Greenfield Village Buildings records collection,

Accession 186

- Edison Institute photographs, Accession 1929

PREFERRED CITATION:

Item, folder, box, accession 1630, Thomas A. Edison

collection, Benson Ford Research Center, The Henry Ford

PROCESSING INFORMATION:

Collection processed by Benson Ford Research Center

staff, 1980s and 1998.

DESCRIPTION INFORMATION: Original collection inventory list prepared and published by

Benson Ford Research Center staff, 1980s and 1998.

Finding aid prepared by Elyssa Bisoski, January 2012, and

published in January 2012.

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content

Standard (DACS) and local guidelines.

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Thomas A. Edison collection

Accession 1630

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The famous American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan,

Ohio and grew up in Port Huron, Michigan. Edison received very little formal education and

began his working career at the age of twelve selling newspapers and candy on the Grand Trunk

Railway between Port Huron and Detroit. In 1863, Edison became a telegraph operator, traveling

throughout the South and the Midwest. Edison patented his first invention, an electric vote

recorder, in 1868 and the next year he moved to New York to become a full-time inventor. In

New York, Edison formed his first business manufacturing telegraph equipment, and in 1871 he

moved his laboratory and factory to Newark, New Jersey.

One of Edison's most lasting contributions to scientific invention was the creation of the research

laboratory. Edison employed many skilled craftsmen and engineers, later known as the "Edison

Pioneers", who assisted in his research. In 1876, Edison established a new laboratory at Menlo

Park, New Jersey where he developed the first successful electric light bulb. Edison quickly

became a founding member of the new electric companies and opened Pearl Street Center Power

Station in New York City in 1882. Two years later, Edison's wife Mary Stillwell Edison died and

in 1886 Edison married Mina Miller. In 1887 Edison established a new laboratory in West

Orange, New Jersey. In 1889 the inventor formed Edison General Electric but sold his interest in

the electricity companies to the new General Electric in 1892, created through a merger of

Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston.

Throughout his lifetime Edison applied for 1,093 patents. Some of his most well known

inventions are the electric incandescent light (1879), the phonograph (1888), the kineotograph

(1889) and the storage battery (1910). In 1929, Henry Ford honored his friend, Thomas A.

Edison, by combining the grand opening of his Edison Institute (now known as The Henry Ford)

with the 50th Anniversary of Edison's invention of the electric incandescent light bulb, a

celebration called "Light's Golden Jubilee." Thomas Edison died on October 18, 1931, at the age

of eighty-four.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Accession 1630 is organized into sixteen series, covering a wide variety of topics related to the

life and inventions of Thomas A. Edison. The collection was processed in increments, beginning

in the 1980s and then completed in 1998. The bulk of the collection can be divided into three

main categories; manuscripts related to Edison's personal life and professional career, the papers

of the Recording Artists affiliated with Edison's various phonograph companies, and graphic

materials related to Edison's life and career. The Thomas A. Edison collection also contains

papers and photographs related to individual Edison Pioneers, the development and production

of Edison inventions, and the friendship between Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, culminating in

Ford's creation and dedication of the Edison Institute in 1929.

The box numbering system for series I-VIII is consecutive, however, in IX-XVI each series starts

over again with Box 1.

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Thomas A. Edison collection

Accession 1630

Series I: Manuscripts,* includes five different categories of manuscripts. Boxes 1-3 include

letters to and from Thomas Edison from the 1860s through 1930. Boxes 4-7 include

correspondence with Henry Ford¡¯s office. This material is arranged by date and does not

distinguish by subject or content, and in general is conducted by their respective office staff. All

correspondence written by various Edison family members is included in Box 9. General

correspondence, arranged alphabetically by correspondent, with a brief description and date is

covered in Box 10 and 11. The last box in the series includes non-correspondence manuscripts,

with brief descriptions included in the inventory.

Series II: Thomas Alva Edison Notes and Drawings,* contains drawings, notes and sketches

signed by or attributed to Thomas A. Edison.

Series III: Documents,* includes agreements, blueprints, contracts, deeds, financial data and

mortgage papers. Materials are arranged by date and cover the period from 1856-1925.

Series IV: Patents,* contains copies of all of Thomas Edison patents. The patents are arranged in

numerical order, including an inventory by classification and chronology included in the first

box.

Series V: Edison Pioneers,* covers the Edison "Pioneers" and is divided into four sections.

Boxes 26-42 cover materials pertaining to each individual Pioneer. The members included in

Edison Pioneers are those persons associated with Thomas A. Edison or connected with his work

up to and including 1885, and associate members who were associated with him or connected

with his work between 1886 and 1900. The series is arranged alphabetically by Pioneer name

and then chronologically within each Pioneer's folder. Box 43 contains general Edison Pioneer

information, and the records of Frank A. Wardlaw, who served as secretary to the group. Box 44

includes copies of the Edison Pioneers¡¯ constitution and by-laws, covering the years between

1918 and 1932. The following two boxes contain later correspondence between the Edison

Institute and the descendant family members of the Edison Pioneers, arranged alphabetically by

Pioneer name.

Series VI: Edison Artifacts,* includes a wide assortment of items grouped together as

"artifacts," in some cases including three-dimensional materials. The items range from a tinfoil

recording allegedly made by Sarah Bernhardt to the wedding invitation of Thomas Edison's

daughter, Madeleine. The collection is arranged chronologically.

Series VII: Printed Matter,* consists of printed material, including periodical articles,

addresses, and pamphlets. Additional materials, including the trade catalog collection, can be

found in the research library collection.

Series VIII: Recording Artists,* includes the papers and photographs of music artists affiliated

with Edison's various phonograph companies. The series is arranged alphabetically by individual

artist.

Series IX: Photographs, is arranged according to subject. This series is divided into three parts.

The first part consists of the original series (these photopgraphs have been entered into the

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