West Orange, NJ can barely make one curious — at least, it didn’t make me curious when I headed there one tranquilizing Sunday afternoon, an hour away from New York City. The township has population of 50,000, its zipcode is 07052, and oh, it’s also the place, where one of the greatest inventors Thomas Edison lived and worked to patent 1,093 things, including the light bulb, camera, and phonograph.
Edison began his career as an inventor in Newark, New Jersey, with the automatic repeater and his other improved telegraphic devices, but the invention that first gained him notice was the phonograph in 1877. His first phonograph recorded on tinfoil around a grooved cylinder. Despite its limited sound quality and that the recordings could be played only a few times, the phonograph made Edison a celebrity.
In 1884, he purchased a home in West Orange as a wedding gift for his second wife, Mina. Conveniently, the home was next to his new lab and office, where the new inventions were tested, branded and put out in the market.
Electric switch
Fire extinguisher
Three less-known inventions by Thomas Edison
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Electric power meter 1881 |
Battery for electric cars 1880 |
Talking doll
1877 |
A cheat chart of inch-decimal equivalents for the workers
Storage
Edison’s office, library, and (sometimes) bedroom
The Edison Brand
Thomas Edison did great not only with the amount of ideas he could come up but with how those ideas were presented. He was an experienced ad man with a strong focus on his brand and visual style.
The famous logo of the company
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Minimal and clear light switches
Chemical lab
A sign addressed to the workers
Electric fan
The top floor served as a showcase of latest inventionsLearn more about Edison
Edison-style Bulbs for the Modern Home
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Globe
$27 |
Tube
$12 |
Straight
$27 |
More about Edison
Edison, the Man (1940)Film by Clarence Brown
82 year old inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison is honored in 1929 and he reflects back on his sixty year career of scientific achievement.
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Who Was Thomas Alva Edison?Book by Margaret Frith
An accessible, appealing biography with 100 black-and-white illustrations. |
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Thomas Edison at In Our TimePodcast by BBC 4
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the innovations and influence of Thomas Edison, one of the architects of the modern age. |
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