EDISON

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, 1923

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Thomas Edison and Employees outside Menlo Park Laboratory, 1880

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The names of "star" designers might lodge in our minds, just as the names of innovators like Thomas Edison do. But while the essential vision for a design might arise from an individual, it is typically collaboration that drives design ideas through to results. At the Menlo Park laboratory many experimenters undertook the research that made Edison's vision a reality.

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone, circa 1924

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Thomas Edison's Fort Myers Laboratory, Original Site, Fort Myers, Florida, 1912

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Edison Botanic Research Laboratory, Fort Myers, Florida, February 28, 1934

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In the 1920s, Thomas Edison began his search for a home-grown source of rubber. The U.S. imported rubber from Southeast Asia and the East Indies and Edison wanted a ready source in case America's supply was cut off. Edison experimented with a variety of plants at his Fort Myers, Florida, and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories. Goldenrod proved most promising.

Thomas Edison Experimenting with Goldenrod as an Alternative Source of Rubber, Florida, 1929

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In the 1920s, Thomas Edison began his search for a home-grown source of rubber. The U.S. imported rubber from Southeast Asia and the East Indies and Edison wanted a ready source in case America's supply was cut off. Edison experimented with a variety of plants at his Fort Myers, Florida, and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories. Goldenrod proved most promising.

Henry Ford and Thomas Edison with Pine Blocks, 1923

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Both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford owned vacation homes in Fort Myers, Florida. This photograph shows the good friends and neighbors near their winter retreats during 1931, the last year of Edison's life.

Thomas Edison with M. A. Cheek and Russell Firestone in La Belle, Florida, 1925

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In the 1920s, Thomas Edison began his search for a home-grown source of rubber. The U.S. imported rubber from Southeast Asia and the East Indies and Edison wanted a ready source in case America's supply was cut off. Edison experimented with a variety of plants at his Fort Myers, Florida, and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories. Goldenrod proved most promising.

Thomas Edison with His Laboratory Assistants, Menlo Park, New Jersey, circa 1880

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Thomas Edison Experimenting with Goldenrod as an Alternative Source of Rubber, Florida, 1929

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In the 1920s, Thomas Edison began his search for a home-grown source of rubber. The U.S. imported rubber from Southeast Asia and the East Indies and Edison wanted a ready source in case America's supply was cut off. Edison experimented with a variety of plants at his Fort Myers, Florida, and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories. Goldenrod proved most promising.

Thomas Edison Using a Telegraph Key on His 81st Birthday, 1928

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Thomas Edison Experimenting to Find an Alternative Source of Rubber, Florida, 1929

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In the 1920s, Thomas Edison began his search for a home-grown source of rubber. The U.S. imported rubber from Southeast Asia and the East Indies and Edison wanted a ready source in case America's supply was cut off. Edison experimented with a variety of plants at his Fort Myers, Florida, and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories. Goldenrod proved most promising.

Thomas Edison's Fort Myers Laboratory, Fort Myers, Florida, June 19, 1928

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Thomas Edison's Fort Myers Laboratory, Fort Myers, Florida, June 22, 1928

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Thomas Edison's Fort Myers Laboratory, Fort Myers, Florida, June 19, 1928

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Goldenrod Plant at the Edison Botanic Research Laboratory, Fort Myers, Florida, January 28, 1931

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In the 1920s, Thomas Edison began his search for a home-grown source of rubber. The U.S. imported rubber from Southeast Asia and the East Indies and Edison wanted a ready source in case America's supply was cut off. Edison experimented with a variety of plants at his Fort Myers, Florida, and West Orange, New Jersey, laboratories. Goldenrod proved most promising.

Second Floor of Thomas Edison's Laboratory, Menlo Park, New Jersey

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The names of "star" designers might lodge in our minds, just as the names of innovators like Thomas Edison do. But while the essential vision for a design might arise from an individual, it is typically collaboration that drives design ideas through to results. At the Menlo Park laboratory many experimenters undertook the research that made Edison's vision a reality.

John Burroughs and Henry Ford Sawing Down a Tree, Fort Myers, Florida, 1914

Photographic postcard

Henry Ford read and admired the works of John Burroughs. In the early 1910s, Ford sought out the internationally known naturalist and writer. The two bonded over their love of birds and nature and became friends. Ford and Burroughs often visited each another and went on extended vacations with family and other acquaintances.

Order from U.S. Navy Secretary Gideon Welles Naming Officers to Accompany President Lincoln's Funeral Train, April 20, 1865

Order (Military record)