Cool Things We’ve Cataloged: Thomas A. Edison Memorabilia

Thomas Alva Edison, 1847-1931, was one of the world’s most famous inventors. He was also an entrepreneur, who manufactured and sold his inventions to the public. 

In 2015, the NJ State Library received a donation of a collection of Thomas Edison memorabilia. The collection consisted of books, pamphlets, posters, and other documents. Our job, in Technical Services, was to add records for these items to the State Library’s catalog so that they could be found by anyone interested in Thomas Edison. Traditionally this is done by creating a description of the physical item, and then adding subject terms that might help someone find the item. The subject terms also help group similar things together, so that someone looking for information on the Edison phonograph could find everything we had on the topic, even if they did not know specific authors or titles. While some of the collection was standard books and pamphlets, there were also some unusual items.

A Comic Book

One interesting item from this collection is Light for the World. This is a comic book, published by the Consolidated Edison Corporation.  It opens with a depiction of the early life of Thomas Edison as an inventor.  One of the scenes shows how Edison earned the money to start his first factory.  Edison was working as a telegrapher, and in his spare time he worked on, and patented improvements on a stock ticker.  A telegraph firm wanted to purchase the invention, and Edison thought he could get about $5,000 for it.  However, instead of asking for $5,000, he told the buyer to make him an offer for the invention.  Much to his surprise, he was offered $40,000!  With the money from this sale, the 23-year-old Edison opened a factory in Newark, NJ, where he manufactured the improved stock tickers.  The factory also provided time and space for him to work on other inventions.  Some of his inventions were improvements to existing devices and processes, while others, like the electric light bulb, were completely new devices.  This comic book focuses on electricity, so it follows Edison’s 1879 invention of the light bulb, through the development of power stations, all the way to the soaring energy costs of the 1980’s.  Some ironic twists include a call for increasing the use of coal and uranium to generate more electricity, and a prediction that cars and buses will be powered by electricity instead of gasoline.  Light for the World is a summary of Edison’s major contributions to the electrical industry as well as marketing material for the ConEdison Company.  In that respect, it reflects Thomas Edison’s dual roles as a creator and a consummate businessman.

A Letter to Thomas Edison

The collection includes a Letter to Thomas A. Edison, dated 1919 February 4.  The letter was written by a man (the letter contains an illegible signature, so his name is unknown) whose business was selling the Ediphone, which is a dictating machine invented by Thomas Edison.  The letter expresses the author’s long admiration of Edison, and his appreciation of the opportunity to sell Edison’s machines to satisfied customers.  One of the most interesting things about the letter is the letterhead which has a portrait photograph of Thomas Edison and the logo of the Ediphone.  So we see that while the machines may be distributed by the Office Appliance Company in Spokane, Washington, there is value in making it clear that the goods being sold are legitimately connected to Thomas Edison.  Edison clearly understood the power and value of branding.

A Stereogram

Another item in the collection is a photograph with the title The most famous inventor of the age, Thomas A. Edison in his laboratory.  At first glance, these two images look like duplicates, but if you look closer, you can see they are slightly different.  This is an example of a stereogram which uses two offset images to appear 3D using a specialized device known as a stereoscope.  It is a fascinating example of an older technology that also shows the older technology visible in Thomas Edison’s laboratory.

Phonograph Posters

The collection also includes a set Edison Phonograph posters.  Before the ubiquity of television, radio, and the internet, advertisers had to depend on advertisements in newspapers, postcards and magazines in the mail, and posters in shops.  This is an example of a colorful poster advertising the Edison Phonograph with the caption “A concord of sweet sounds.”  I am still undecided if the birds are enjoying the sounds of the phonograph and are singing along or if the sound is just as “sweet” as the songs of birds.

A Dinner Menu

Ever daydream about time traveling? This 1917 menu celebrating Thomas Edison’s 70^th birthday features popular banquet cuisine with many noted dishes of the day.  Held in the Edison Storage Battery building in East Orange, New Jersey, guests enjoyed a variety of dishes such as “cream of celery soup,” “sweetbreads,” and “lady fingers.”  The entertainment for the night included musical arrangements by the “Edison Employees Band” and “featured films by the Edison Studio”, a New Jersey based company and one of the earliest film studios in existence.  Viewing this menu one can almost imagine attending this historic celebration and sharing in the delight of “cutting the Edison cake.”

While none of these items can be checked out, these and many other interesting items are available for viewing at the New Jersey State Library.  Please contact Reference Services for additional information.

You can also search the State Library’s catalog for more information about Thomas Edison [http://tinyurl.com/ya37vbw4]

Additional Resources:

• Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies [https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/biography/life-of-thomas-alva-edison/]
• Information about Thomas Edison National Historic Park in West Orange, N.J. [https://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm]

Content for this article was provided by Edith Beckett, Karen Oliver, and Natasha Zaleski.  All photographs courtesy of Natasha Zaleski.