This newest volume in the acclaimed 'Papers of Thomas A. Edison' covers one year in the life of America's greatest inventor--1878. That year Edison, whom a New York newspaper in the spring first called "the Wizard of Menlo Park," developed the phonograph, one of his most famous inventions; made a breakthrough in the development of telephone transmitters, which made the instrument commercially viable; and announced the advent of domestic electric lighting, with only a few weeks' worth of tinkering necessary to complete its ...
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This newest volume in the acclaimed 'Papers of Thomas A. Edison' covers one year in the life of America's greatest inventor--1878. That year Edison, whom a New York newspaper in the spring first called "the Wizard of Menlo Park," developed the phonograph, one of his most famous inventions; made a breakthrough in the development of telephone transmitters, which made the instrument commercially viable; and announced the advent of domestic electric lighting, with only a few weeks' worth of tinkering necessary to complete its design (the announcement sent gas-company stocks plummeting; the research and development went on for four years). These inventions brought Edison financial support for his work and attention from the public. In January investors in the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company agreed to fund development work on the phonograph. The invention made Edison internationally famous and in May he traveled to Washington, D.C., to show the phonograph at the National Academy of Sciences, to Congress, and to President Rutherford B. Hayes at the White House. That same month Western Union agreed to pay Edison an annual salary of $6,000 for his telephone inventions, although other support from the company declined following the death of its president, William Orton. The stress of unceasing public attention, including a trans-Atlantic dispute over the question of who invented the microphone, led an exhausted Edison to travel west during the summer to witness a solar eclipse but also to seek rest. His six-week trip took him to San Francisco and the Yosemite region of California. Edison began working on electric lighting after his return and in October the Edison Electric Light Company was formed to support his research.
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Add this copy of The Wizard of Menlo Park, 1878 (the Papers of Thomas a. to cart. $157.16, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of The Wizard of Menlo Park, 1878 (the Papers of Thomas a. to cart. $174.95, very good condition, Sold by Salish Sea Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bellingham, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in a Very Good dust jacket; Hardcover; Dust jacket is moderately edgeworn with a few small handling-marks, otherwise is clean and intact with no tears, and has not been price-clipped (Now fitted with a new, Brodart jacket protector); Very light wear to the boards; Unblemished textblock edges; The endpapers and all text pages are clean and unmarked; The binding is excellent with a straight spine; This book will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with foam padding; Medium-Large Format (Quatro, 9.75"-10.75" tall); 4.6 lbs; Gold and black dust jacket with title in white lettering; 1999, Johns Hopkins University Press; 966 pages; "The Wizard of Menlo Park, 1878 (The Papers of Thomas A. Edison), " by Thomas A. Edison.