Howell Edison Trial Judge

Historic Edison Collection

Most Famous Lamps in the World

Famous Edison Lamp Collection DISCOVERED After Century in Darkness

After nearly a decade of litigation fought contentiously over the rights to the electric incandescent lamp (light bulb), Edison was losing the fight. The lawyers against Edison believed they'd found a defense that would beat him. They attacked the validity of Edison's key lamp patent, U.S. Patent 223,898. This same strategy was the one used earlier by Sir Joseph Swan that brought him victory in the British court. According to the law, a patent is "not" valid if a person "schooled in the art" can not make a working example of the invention according to the description in the patent. The Defense in England asked several lamp makers to make a working lamp with a carbonized Tar-putty filament as described in Edison's key patent. The lamp makers failed and Edison lost. Shortly after that defeat, the lawyers against Edison in the United States followed suit. Again, each lamp maker failed. It looked like Edison's opponents had won again. Edison's own lamp makers were asked to make the lamp. They also failed. It looked like Edison was beat. With the odds against him, where a dozen lamp makers had failed, John W. Howell stepped up to the challenge during the months of March and April of 1890. On Tuesday, July 8, 1890, at 11:00 AM , John W. Howell walked into the courtroom, sat down, was sworn in, and began to give his testimony. He showed the court his small wooden box of lamps and stated for the court and the world to hear, "I hereby produce the lamps." And the gavel came down, the judge's decision sustained Edison's lamp patent and denied the defense's claim that Edison's patent was invalid. Edison was finally victorious.

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