Existing comment:
1870s - 1940s: The Museum Collection:
"I shall never rest till every article, book or paper has been so indexed and cross indexed that its whereabouts are known.... and the result will be a peace of mind and a certainty of getting what one is looking for, similar to that felt by the possessor of a safe deposit box."
-- William Bayley, Vault Service to JW Robinson, January 17, 1921
The collections at the Laboratory and Glenmont are unusual because they are housed in their original locations, not assembled from numerous donors as are the collections in many museums. Documents, which can be easily linked to the artifacts they describe, are invaluable for scholarly research into all areas of Thomas Edison's business and family life. Staff also use the collections to create and improve museum exhibits and educational programs.
Some of the 400,000 artifacts include prototypes and commercial Edison products, laboratory furnishings and equipment, and the personal items used by the Edison family at their home, Glenmont. The archival collection (approximately 5 million documents) contains 3,500 laboratory notebooks; business and personal correspondence; blueprints for products and factory buildings; 60,000 historical photographs; 48,000 sound recordings on both cylinders and discs; family papers; and library materials including Edison's technical and scientific reference books, serials, trade journals, booklets, and sheet music.
This is the largest body of Edison-related material in existence, the product of Edison's 60-year career as inventor, manufacturer, businessman, and private citizen. |