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@

OVERVIEW REPOSITORY:

ACCESSION NUMBER: CREATOR: TITLE: INCLUSIVE DATES: BULK DATES: QUANTITY: LANGUAGE: ABSTRACT:

Thomas A. Edison collection Accession 1630

Benson Ford Research Center The Henry Ford 20900 Oakwood Blvd Dearborn, MI 48124-5029 research.center@

1630

Benson Ford Research Center

Thomas A. Edison collection

1860-1980

1860-1950

53.6 cubic ft., 50 oversize boxes and 5 volumes

The materials are in English

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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