Artifact 23 - This artifact is a lamp stem glass base with lead-in posts made in 1881 by Sir Joseph Swan. One can only guess why this broken lamp artifact was kept with this collection. Was the lamp perhaps intact at first, but was sacrificed in the lab or at court in order to examine, test, and verify the filament material (see also Artifact 16 - Maxim 1880 Socket)? Because this lamp base is open it allows the extraordinary opportunity to physically examine up close the design that fits into the Swan Lamp "Buffet" the wood cylinder sleeve seen on lamp 18 (1881 Swan Lamp) and to examine the very rare Swan long metal lead-in rods fitted with his unique filament "shrink" clamps. A string tag label is attached to the socket, the tag has a hand written note by William H. Meadowcroft (Notary Public), the note states, "Swan Lamp, Buffet, Paris Elec. Exh. 1881, Rec'd fr. H. Edmunds 1881." William Henry Meadowcroft was the New York County Notary who notarized Edison's evidence used in 1883 in the court trial - "Edison v. Maxim v. Swan." Meadowcroft went to work for Edison and became his personal liaison, publicist, and his secretary for half a century. Henry Edmunds was a British engineer and Sir Joseph Swan's partner in the Swan electric lamp business. This Swan electric lamp artifact is from the great 60 lamp Swan Chandelier which illuminated the beautiful Victorian Opera Theatre, the main feature of the 1881 Paris Electrical Exhibition Sent to Edison by Henry Edmunds, Sir Joseph Swan's patent proprietor (read more).
2006 is this artifact's 125 th. Anniversary
