The Papers of Thomas A. Edison: New Beginnings, January 1885-December 1887

by Thomas A. Edison, Paul B. Israel (Editor), Louis Carlat, Theresa M. Collins, Alexandra R. Rimer

Overview

This richly illustrated volume explores Edison’s inventive and personal pursuits from 1885 to 1887.

Two decades after the American Civil War, no name was more closely associated with the nation’s inventive and entrepreneurial spirit than that of Thomas Edison. The restless changes of those years were reflected in the life of America’s foremost inventor. Having cemented his reputation with his electric lighting system, Edison had decided to withdraw partially from that field. At the start of 1885, newly widowed at mid-life with three young children, he launched into a series of personal and professional migrations, setting in motion chains of events that would influence his work and fundamentally reshape his life.

Edison’s inventive activities took off in new directions, flowing between practical projects (such as wireless and high-capacity telegraph systems) and futuristic ones (exploring forms of electromagnetic energy and the convertibility of one to another). Inside of two years, he would travel widely, marry the daughter of a prominent industrialist and religious educator, leave New York City for a grand home in a sylvan suburb, and construct a winter laboratory and second home in Florida. Edison’s family and interior life are remarkably visible at this moment; his papers include the only known diary in which he recorded personal thoughts and events. By 1887, the familiar rhythms of his life began to reassert themselves in his new settings; the family faded from view as he planned, built, and occupied a New Jersey laboratory complex befitting his status.

The eighth volume of the series, New Beginnings includes 358 documents (chosen from among thousands) that are the most revealing and representative of Edison’s work, life, and place in American culture in these years. Illustrated with hundreds of Edison’s drawings, these documents are further illuminated by meticulous research on a wide range of sources, including the most recently digitized newspapers and journals of the day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421417493
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	12/30/2015
Series:	The Papers of Thomas A. Edison
Pages:	1032
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 10.30(h) x 2.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Paul B. Israel is director and editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Louis Carlat is an associate editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers University.

Theresa M. Collins is an associate editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers University.

Alexandra R. Rimer is an assistant editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers University.

Daniel J. Weeks is an assistant editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers University.

Table of Contents

Calendar of Documents xiii

List of Editorial Headnotes xxiii

List of Maps xxiv

Preface xxv

Chronology of Thomas A. Edison, January 1885-December 1887 xxxii

Editorial Policy and User's Guide xxxvii

Editorial Symbols xliv

List of Abbreviations xlv

1 January-June 1885: (Docs. 2770-2819) 3

2 July-December 1885: (Docs. 2820-2881) 148

3 January-April 1886: (Docs. 2882-2946) 305

4 May-September 1886: (Docs. 2947-2989) 525

5 October-December 1886: (Docs. 2990-3021) 602

6 January-May 1887: (Docs. 3022-3053) 667

7 June-September 1887: (Docs. 3054-3095) 735

8 October-December 1887: (Docs. 3096-3127) 819

Appendix 1 Edison's Autobiographical Notes 897

Appendix 2 Edison's Patent Applications, 1885-1887 904

Bibliography 915

Credits 951

Index 953

Editorial Reviews

For those who want to delve deeply into Edison’s life and business dealings, this is another essential key to the puzzle.
—The Antique Phonograph

A mine of material . . . Scrupulously edited . . . No one could ask for more . . . A choplicking feast for future Edison biographers—well into the next century, and perhaps beyond.
—Washington Post

A triumph of the bookmaker's art, with splendidly arranged illustrations, essential background information, and cautionary reminders of the common sources on which Edison's imagination drew.
—New York Review of Books

In the pages of this volume Edison the man, his work, and his times come alive . . . A delight to browse through or to read carefully.
—Science

What is most extraordinary about the collection isn't necessarily what it reveals about Edison's inventions . . . It's the insight into the process.
—Associated Press

Those interested in America's technological culture can eagerly look forward to the appearance of each volume of the Edison Papers.
—Technology and Culture

His lucidity comes through everywhere . . . His writing and drawing come together as a single, vigorous thought process.
—New York Times

Beyond its status as the resource for Edison studies, providing a near inexhaustible supply of scholarly fodder, this series . . . will surely become a model for such projects in the future . . . The sheer diversity of material offered here refreshingly transcends any exclusive restriction to Edisonia.
—British Journal for the History of Science

In its superabundance of detail—steely facts and figures, great plates of text riveted with nouns and graffitied with cryptic drawings (Edison was an untrained but natural draftsman)—the book has the same kind of physical impact as that which stuns you when you enter his laboratory in West Orange, N.J.
—Edmund Morris, New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

Beyond its status as the resource for Edison studies, providing a near inexhaustible supply of scholarly fodder, this series . . . will surely become a model for such projects in the future . . . The sheer diversity of material offered here refreshingly transcends any exclusive restriction to Edisonia.

British Journal for the History of Science

In the pages of this volume Edison the man, his work, and his times come alive . . . A delight to browse through or to read carefully.

Science

A triumph of the bookmaker's art, with splendidly arranged illustrations, essential background information, and cautionary reminders of the common sources on which Edison's imagination drew.

New York Review of Books

In its superabundance of detail—steely facts and figures, great plates of text riveted with nouns and graffitied with cryptic drawings (Edison was an untrained but natural draftsman)—the book has the same kind of physical impact as that which stuns you when you enter his laboratory in West Orange, N.J.

New York Times Book Review - Edmund Morris

For those who want to delve deeply into Edison’s life and business dealings, this is another essential key to the puzzle.

The Antique Phonograph

His lucidity comes through everywhere . . . His writing and drawing come together as a single, vigorous thought process.

New York Times

Those interested in America's technological culture can eagerly look forward to the appearance of each volume of the Edison Papers.

Technology and Culture

A mine of material . . . Scrupulously edited . . . No one could ask for more . . . A choplicking feast for future Edison biographers—well into the next century, and perhaps beyond.

Washington Post

What is most extraordinary about the collection isn't necessarily what it reveals about Edison's inventions . . . It's the insight into the process.

Associated Press

"In the pages of this volume Edison the man, his work, and his times come alive... A delight to browse through or to read carefully."

Science

"A mine of material... Scrupulously edited... No one could ask for more... A choplicking feast for future Edison biographers—well into the next century, and perhaps beyond."

Washington Post

"What is most extraordinary about the collection isn't necessarily what it reveals about Edison's inventions... It's the insight into the process."

Associated Press Staff