Historic Photos of Thomas Edison
With 1,093 U.S. patents to his credit, Thomas Edison was one of history's most prolific and influential inventors. His Menlo Park and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories pioneered industrial research and produced the first phonograph, practical incandescent electric lamp, and motion picture camera. Edison was also an entrepreneur who created dozens of companies to market his inventions, and he played important roles in the creation of the electric power, sound recording, and motion picture industries. Edison was also one of the first modern celebrities.
The 200 photographs in this book, selected from the Edison National Historic Site archives, portray Edison's long career, from his earliest experiences as a railroad newspaper vendor and telegrapher in the 1860s to his last important research project in the late 1920s, a search for domestic sources of natural rubber. These photographs provide revealing glimpses as well of his family life and personal friendships.
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Book details
- Text by
- Leonard DeGraaf
- Imprint
- Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Pages
- 202
- Formats
- Hardcover
- Series
- Historic Photos
- Subjects
- Biography & Autobiography › Science & Technology
History › United States - Topics
- American inventors · industrial history · black-and-white photography · patents and inventions · American history · pictorial history
- ISBN-13
- 9781683369875
About the author
LEONARD DEGRAAF is an archivist at Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey, and the author of two books on Edison. His recent books include Edison and the Rise of Innovation, which features a foreword by Bill Gates, and Historic Photos of Thomas Edison.
DeGraaf holds an MA in history from Rutgers University and joined the National Park Service in 1991. His articles have appeared in the New York Daily News, Seaport, magazine, and Business History Review.
When not writing, DeGraaf lectures extensively about Edison and his work and serves on the New Jersey National History Day advisory board. That engagement with Edison’s legacy shapes both his archival work and his books.
Leonard lives in Maplewood, New Jersey.