Edison Court Trial Exhibits

Historic Collection

Most Famous Lamps in the World - Found at last

Famous Collection DISCOVERED After Century in Darkness

This small wooden box holds the greatest courtroom evidence ever proffered. Still inside are the truly extraordinary artifacts, the key evidence, that lifted the greatest inventor of all times over his biggest legal hurdle. These are the historic artifacts that finally won VICTORY for Edison.

During the 1880's, the light bulb, the icon of electricity, became the focus of the world's greatest technology infringement trial. The court trial transcripts present a small wooden box as Exhibit # 1, the key evidence in the trial. Exhibit #1 contained what would become the most important light bulbs in history, the lamps used as evidence to defend U.S. Patent 223,898 (Edison's electric lamp). The small box of lamps was presented by John W. Howell, Edison's key witness. John Howell's famous testimony, "I hereby produce the lamps," changed history and won the long awaited victory for Edison.

This victory was so important that it prompted two of the world's wealthiest financiers, J. P. Morgan and Henry Villard, to organize the mega merger of Edison's holdings with the Thompson-Houston Company to form General Electric, soon to be the world's largest electric product manufacturing company. With the fanfare of their legal victory behind them and the ongoing bustle of the great new merger, time marched ahead and opened its doors to the new generation. And, as often happens, the mementos of the old guard simply faded into obscurity. One such memento was the small wooden victory box filled with cornerstones of the art from the days of Edison's Pioneers. These milestone lamps, the lamps that allowed Edison to prevail, slipped into the shadows, lost forever.

Eureka! As history sometimes reveals its long lost secrets, this small wooden box has been found. This box, sitting in darkness in a dusty attic still filled with the world's most famous electric lights, untouched for a century, was the personal collection of one of Edison's Pioneers, his key witness, John W. Howell.

Still inside are the truly extraordinary Tar-putty lamps, the key evidence that lifted Edison over his greatest legal hurdle. These are the lamps that finally won VICTORY for the Menlo Park Wizard. This amazing collection includes: the courtroom Tar-putty lamps made by John W. Howell, two lamps from the 1881 Paris Electrical Exhibition, one lamp and socket made by the British Electric Light Company, two lamps, a socket, and a glass stem made by Sir Joseph Swan, six lamps and a socket made by Sir Hiram Maxim, four lamps made by Edison at Menlo Park, Edison's Graphite Horseshoe lamp, and more. Several of the earliest lamps are tagged with handwritten notation by William H. Meadowcroft, the New York Court Notary that became Edison's publicist and life long secretary. Two lamps were received from Henry Edmunds, Edison's contact in London. One lamp made by Hiram Maxim is signed by Francis Upton, Edison's Menlo Park Engineer. The greatest feature of the collection is the EDISON EFFECT lamp used by Edison himself in his famous 1883 experiments. This lamp is Edison's Holy Grail of electronics.

This wooden box truly holds the most famous electric lamps in the world.

to be Auctioned at Christie's in December 2006

Go To: the Historic Edison Lamp Collection Exhibits

"I hereby produce the lamps" - Edison Court Victory - Note of Provenance - Contact Us

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