Landmarks of Human Thought I - Catalog - Page 18
Thomas
Alva
Edison
T
homas A. Edison’s “Phonograph” U.S. Patent No.
227,679 dated May 18, 1880:
The Key tells us, when looking at the patent date, that the
lithographer is “Norris Peters Co.”. The exact wording and appearance must be “N. PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER,
WASHINGTON. D. C.“ (see the Key).
This exactly matches Thomas A. Edison’s “Phonograph” U.S.
Patent No. 227,679 from the William J. Hammer Collection
of the Smithsonian Libraries (1869 – 1884, Volume 2 [9]) and
also from our collection (see “The Thomas Alva Edison Collection – A Short Preview”) which can therefore be considered
a 昀椀rst edition print (see 昀椀gure 5).
The imprint from Thomas A. Edison’s “Phonograph” U.S. Patent No. 227,679 from the National Archives [10] reads “THE
NORRIS PETERS CO., PHOTO-LITHO, WASHINGTON. D.
C.“ (see 昀椀gure 5). It is therefore a later reprint made between
1890 and 1904 (see the Key).
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