
The Papers of Thomas A. Edison
Competing Interests, January 1888-December 1889
Thomas A. Edison(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 14. December 2021
Book
Hardback
1160 pages
978-1-4214-4011-8 (ISBN)
Description
This richly illustrated volume explores Edison's inventive and personal pursuits from 1888 to 1889, documenting his responses to technological, organizational, and economic challenges.
Thomas A. Edison was received at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle-the World's Fair-as a conquering hero. Extravagantly feted and besieged by well-wishers, he was seen, like Gustave Eiffel's iron tower, as a triumphal symbol of republicanism and material progress. The visit was a high-water mark of his international fame.
Out of the limelight, Edison worked as hard as ever. On top of his work as an inventor, entrepreneur, and manufacturer, he created a new role as a director of research. At his peerless laboratory in Orange, New Jersey, he directed assistants working in parallel on multiple projects. These included the "perfected" phonograph; a major but little-recognized effort to make musical recordings for sale; the start of work on motion pictures; and improvements in the recovery of low-grade iron ore. He also pursued a public "War of the Currents" against electrical rival George Westinghouse. Keenly attuned to manufacturing as a way to support the laboratory financially and control his most iconic products, Edison created a new cluster of factories. He kept his manufacturing rights to the phonograph while selling the underlying patents to an outside investor in a deal he would regret. When market pressures led to the consolidation of Edison lighting interests, he sold his factories to the new Edison General Electric Company. These changes disrupted his longtime personal and professional relations even as he planned an iron-mining project that would take him to the New Jersey wilderness for long periods.
The ninth volume of the series, Competing Interests explores Edison's inventive and personal pursuits from 1888 to 1889, documenting his responses to technological, organizational, and economic challenges. The book includes 331 documents and hundreds of Edison's drawings, which are all revealing and representative of his life and work in these years. Essays and notes based on meticulous research in a wide range of sources, many only recently available, provide a rich context for the documents.
Thomas A. Edison was received at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle-the World's Fair-as a conquering hero. Extravagantly feted and besieged by well-wishers, he was seen, like Gustave Eiffel's iron tower, as a triumphal symbol of republicanism and material progress. The visit was a high-water mark of his international fame.
Out of the limelight, Edison worked as hard as ever. On top of his work as an inventor, entrepreneur, and manufacturer, he created a new role as a director of research. At his peerless laboratory in Orange, New Jersey, he directed assistants working in parallel on multiple projects. These included the "perfected" phonograph; a major but little-recognized effort to make musical recordings for sale; the start of work on motion pictures; and improvements in the recovery of low-grade iron ore. He also pursued a public "War of the Currents" against electrical rival George Westinghouse. Keenly attuned to manufacturing as a way to support the laboratory financially and control his most iconic products, Edison created a new cluster of factories. He kept his manufacturing rights to the phonograph while selling the underlying patents to an outside investor in a deal he would regret. When market pressures led to the consolidation of Edison lighting interests, he sold his factories to the new Edison General Electric Company. These changes disrupted his longtime personal and professional relations even as he planned an iron-mining project that would take him to the New Jersey wilderness for long periods.
The ninth volume of the series, Competing Interests explores Edison's inventive and personal pursuits from 1888 to 1889, documenting his responses to technological, organizational, and economic challenges. The book includes 331 documents and hundreds of Edison's drawings, which are all revealing and representative of his life and work in these years. Essays and notes based on meticulous research in a wide range of sources, many only recently available, provide a rich context for the documents.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
5 Karten, 295 s/w Zeichnungen, 16 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder
16 Halftones, black and white; 5 Maps; 295 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 256 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 56 mm
Weight
1960 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4214-4011-8 (9781421440118)
DOI
10.1353/book.84205
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Paul B. Israel is the director and general editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers University. Louis Carlat and Theresa M. Collins are associate editors and Alexandra R. Rimer and Daniel J. Weeks are assistant editors of the project.
Author
Thomas A. Edison Papers
Editor
Director and General EditorThomas A. Edison Papers
On Mondays and Fridays:Thomas A. Edison Papers
Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey
Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey
Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey
Content
Calendar of Documents
List of Editorial Headnotes
List of Maps
Preface
Chronology of Thomas A. Edison, January 1888-December 1889
Editorial Policy and User's Guide
Editorial Symbols
List of Abbreviations
-1- January-March 1888 (Docs. 3128-3172)
-2- April-June 1888 (Docs. 3173-3219)
-3- July-September 1888 (Docs. 3220-3266)
-4- October-December 1888 (Docs. 3267-3304)
-5- January-March 1889(Docs. 3305-3338)
-6- April-June 1889 (Docs. 3339-3372) 594
-7- July-September 1889 (Docs. 3373-3419)
-8- October-December 1889 (Docs. 3420-3458)
Appendix 1. Edison's Autobiographical Notes
Appendix 2. Edison's Draft List of Inventions for Henry Villard
Appendix 3. List of Edison's "Dead Experiments for 1888"
Appendix 4. Laboratory Experimental Staff, 1888-1889
Appendix 5. Edison's U.S. Patent Applications, 1888-1889
Bibliography
Credits
Index
List of Editorial Headnotes
List of Maps
Preface
Chronology of Thomas A. Edison, January 1888-December 1889
Editorial Policy and User's Guide
Editorial Symbols
List of Abbreviations
-1- January-March 1888 (Docs. 3128-3172)
-2- April-June 1888 (Docs. 3173-3219)
-3- July-September 1888 (Docs. 3220-3266)
-4- October-December 1888 (Docs. 3267-3304)
-5- January-March 1889(Docs. 3305-3338)
-6- April-June 1889 (Docs. 3339-3372) 594
-7- July-September 1889 (Docs. 3373-3419)
-8- October-December 1889 (Docs. 3420-3458)
Appendix 1. Edison's Autobiographical Notes
Appendix 2. Edison's Draft List of Inventions for Henry Villard
Appendix 3. List of Edison's "Dead Experiments for 1888"
Appendix 4. Laboratory Experimental Staff, 1888-1889
Appendix 5. Edison's U.S. Patent Applications, 1888-1889
Bibliography
Credits
Index