Seeking to replicate the success of his New York electric central station throughout the United States and in Europe and Latin America, Thomas A. Edison vowed to become a 'business man for a year.' This bold decision began a remarkable transition period for America's greatest inventive thinker. The seventh volume of Edison's papers chronicles the profound changes in his professional and personal life, including the unexpected death of his wife. It concludes with Edison returning to the laboratory to develop new communications technology.Praise for The Papers of Thomas A. Edison'A mine of material... Scrupulously edited... No one could ask for more... A choplicking feast for future Edison biographers -- well into the next century, and perhaps beyond.' -- Washington Post'What is most extraordinary about the collection isn't necessarily what it reveals about Edison's inventions... It's the insight into the process.' -- Associated Press'Those interested in America's technological culture can eagerly look forward to the appearance of each volume of the Edison Papers.' -- Technology and Culture'His lucidity comes through everywhere... His writing and drawing come together as a single, vigorous thought process.' -- New York Times'A triumph of the bookmaker's art, with splendidly arranged illustrations, essential background information, and cautionary reminders of the common sources on which Edison's imagination drew.' -- New York Review of Books'In the pages of this volume Edison the man, his work, and his times come alive... A delight to browse through or to read carefully.' -- Science'Beyond its status as the resource for Edison studies, providing a near inexhaustible supply of scholarly fodder, this series... will surely become a model for such projects in the future... The sheer diversity of material offered here refreshingly transcends any exclusive restriction to Edisonia.' -- British Journal for the History of Science
Calendar of Documents List of Editorial Headnotes Preface Chronology of Thomas A. Edison, April 1883 December 1884 Editorial Policy and User's Guide Editorial Symbols List of Abbreviations 1. April June 1883 (Docs. 2418 2476) 2. July September 1883 (Docs. 2477 2531) 3. October December 1883 (Docs. 2532 2578) 4. January March 1884 (Docs. 2579 2638) 5. April June 1884 (Docs. 2639 2691) 6. July September 1884 (Docs. 2692 2737) 7. October December 1884 (Docs. 2738 2769) Appendix 1: Edison's Autobiographical Notes Appendix 2: Edison Village Plants Appendix 3: Specifications of Dynamos Produced at the Edison Machine Works, April 1883 December 1884 Appendix 4: Edison's Patents, April 1883 December 1884 Bibliography Credits Index
""In its superabundance of detail ' steely facts and figures, great plates of text riveted with nouns and graffitied with cryptic drawings (Edison was an untrained but natural draftsman) ' the book has the same kind of physical impact as that which stuns you when you enter his laboratory in West Orange, N.J.""
