Links

Edison National Historic Site: Edison built his West Orange Laboratory in 1887 and worked there until his death in 1931. In the 1950s it was turned over to the federal government, and it is now maintained for the public by the National Park Service. Its buildings hold thousands of artifacts and photographs as well as the documents that are the primary source of the Edison Papers.
Smithsonian Institution
Edison After 40: An exhibit on the second half of the inventor's life.

Lighting a Revolution: An exploration of the history of inventing electric lights.

Celebrating Edison's 150th Birthday at the Lemelson Center: This site includes a QuickTime movie showing the modern recording and replaying of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on a tinfoil phonograph.

Library of Congress American Memory Project

The Library of Congress is digitizing millions of items in its collection and has linked to other collections as well. A search will turn up many items related to Edison and his work.

Edison Motion Picture and Sound Recordings: The Library holds an unparalleled collection of early motion pictures, including unique Edison productions. They have also digitized several dozen early disc recordings.

Menlo Park in Edison, New Jersey: Birthplace of Recorded Sound: Thomas Alva Edison

The site of the Edison Tower and Menlo Park Museum has many recordings, historic and new, as well as many photographs and related information. "This site represents Thomas Alva Edison's important work in Menlo Park and the dramatic impact [it had] on civilization."

Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village: Edison's Menlo Park Laboratory

Edison left Menlo Park in 1881 and the laboratory complex was abandoned soon after. In the late 1920s Henry Ford moved what remained of the buildings to Dearborn, Michigan, where he rebuilt them, furnishing them with as much original material as possible (including three boxcars of surrounding dirt). When shown the reconstruction, Edison admired its authenticity, commenting only that the laboratory had never been so clean.

Thomas A Edison in Menlo Park (Edison Township) NJ

A site that focuses on Menlo Park at the time Edison lived and worked there. It also has photographs, advertisements, texts, and other materials from later in Edison's career as well as maps and present-day images of earlier buildings' locations.

Edison Birthplace Museum

Edison was born in this home in Milan, Ohio, on 11 February 1847. Built by his father in 1841–42, the house has been restored and is open to the public.

Edison's Fort Myers Winter Home

Built on land Edison purchased in 1885, this home and laboratory are now maintained by the City of Fort Myers. The neighboring estate was originally to have been the home of Edison associate Ezra Gilliland, but after a falling out between the two men it was purchased by Henry Ford.

Recording Technology History

Steve Schoenherr at the University of San Diego has created a set of timelines detailing the history of recorded sound, including records, tape, motion pictures, microphones, loudspeakers, and more. (The site also has Sources and Suggested Readings and Links.)

The Edison Shop - Antique Phonographs & More!

Maintained by phonograph historian Allen Koenigsberg, this site is a principal resource for reliable information on early phonographs and recordings.

Early Incandescent Lamps

This page, the work of a veteran lamp collector, is an eclectic assemblage of information on incandescent electric lighting.

The American Experience: Edison's Miracle of Light

The web site for a show about the introduction of electric lighting and power. It includes a brief animated illustration of the difference between alternating and direct current.

Some Information on the Edison Company's two year run in the Radio Business

Ben Tongue provides documents related to the Edsion radio business, which operated during the years 1929 and 1930 following the acquisition of the Splitdorf Radio Company.

Inventions HQ: Everything Inventions, from 18th Century Inventions to Zipper Invention

This site provides an extensive listing of websites on invention, including many about individual inventors and inventions. Most of the links cover the period from the 18th century to the present, but some on ancient inventions can also be found.

Alexander Graham Bell's Path to the Telephone

Created by W. Bernard Carlson and Michael Gorman at the University of Virginia as a cognitive map of invention, "this site is an attempt to reconstruct, in fine-grained detail, the path taken by Alexander Graham Bell, with links to other inventors and ideas."

Java Applets on Physics

This site includes (under "Electrodynamics") several animated, interactive demonstrations of electromagnetism, including a DC motor and a generator (AC or DC).

IEEE History Center

"The mission of the IEEE History Center is to preserve, research and promote the history of information and electrical technologies. The Center maintains many useful resources for the engineer, for the historian of technology, and for anyone interested in the development of electrical and computer engineering and their role in modern society."

Related Professional Associations

Association for Documentary Editing: "The Association for Documentary Editing was created in 1979 to promote documentary editing through the cooperation and exchange of ideas among the community of editors. Members of the ADE are working on editions in history, literature, philosophy, the arts, and the sciences."
SHOT: Society for the History of Technology: "The Society for the History of Technology was formed in 1958 to encourage the study of the development of technology and its relations with society and culture. An interdisciplinary organization, SHOT is concerned not only with the history of technological devices and processes, but also with the relations of technology to science, politics, social change, the arts and humanities, and economics."