Thomas Edison in West Orange

by Edward Wirth

Overview

Thomas Edison spent the second half of his life in West Orange, about 10 miles from New York City. There he built his last and largest laboratory, where he developed motion pictures, improved the phonograph, and built an international business empire, earning over half of his 1,093 patents. The five laboratory buildings housed over 100 experimenters busily engaged in invention and innovation. As they turned ideas into commercial products, Edison surrounded the laboratory with factories that employed over 4,000 workers. From the first days, staff photographers documented every aspect of life in this town within a town.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738557212
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	06/02/2008
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Edward Wirth, archivist at Edison National Historic Site, selected these photographs from the 60,000 in the site's archives to tell the story of the world's most famous inventor and the many who worked with him.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     6
Introduction     7
Getting to West Orange     9
His Favorite Invention     21
Making Pictures Move     37
Storage Battery Power     45
Giant Crushing Machines     57
A Host of Other Products     67
Working for Mr. Edison     75
The Later Decades     89
Glenmont     107
The Edison Legacy     117
Bibliography     127

Editorial Reviews

Title: Thomas Edison in West Orange
Author: Staff Writer
Publisher: Book News, Inc.
Date: March 2009

Drawing from the extensive archives at the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey, where the inventor of the light bulb spent the latter half of his life (1847-1931), Wirth traces the inventor's subsequent innovations in motion pictures and phonograph recordings. He also overviews his business dealings in the context of the changing nature of work. Among the many vintage images are ones of Edison's family, and his laboratory/ factory complex where he developed many of his inventions.
(Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

From the Publisher