Edison Dynamo Used on SS Columbia, 1880
Add to SetSummary
For Thomas Edison, successful experimental results were but a prelude to continual improvements that would lead to commercial implementation. This dynamo is from the first lighting system he sold -- installed on a ship, four months after the December 1879 experimental demonstration. Its crude finish, at odds with the highly advanced technology it embodied, suggests Edison's impatient eagerness to move from experiment to market.
For Thomas Edison, successful experimental results were but a prelude to continual improvements that would lead to commercial implementation. This dynamo is from the first lighting system he sold -- installed on a ship, four months after the December 1879 experimental demonstration. Its crude finish, at odds with the highly advanced technology it embodied, suggests Edison's impatient eagerness to move from experiment to market.
Artifact
Electric generator
Date Made
1880
On Exhibit
at Henry Ford Museum in Made in America
Object ID
30.1123.2
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of General Electric Company.
Material
Iron (Metal)
Copper (Metal)
Steel (Alloy)
Wood (Plant material)
Dimensions
Height: 5.167 ft
Width: 2.167 ft
Length: 3.25 ft
Inscriptions
stamped on armature, on shaft end: 14 copper nameplate on side reads: Edison Electric Light Company
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