Thomas Edison was one of Americas inventive heroes, and if you search under "Edison" on E-bay you will find an amazing array of Edison paraphenalia. Not bad for a guy that died in 1931! Did he really invent a machine for talking with the dead? It was so rumored that in his latter years he attempted to do so but it seems an impossible quest to find the "patent".

Thomas Edison had only about 3 months of formal education, and the rest was home-schooled by his mother. The educational establishment of higher learning can zero credit for this genius!

I have found it quite fun collecting all things Edison. If you think of perhaps the most volume on E-Bay under "Edison", it would of course be the Edison recordings. They are of several colors folks ,and the brown ones are the priciest. There are the more common blue and black cylinders for those on a budget , and in great quantitiies for less than $5.00 each in most cases. Of course you will need a player which could set you back about as much as you wish to spend from a few hundred dollars to thousands. Dont forget the beautifull ornate morning glory horn to go with it and its associated "crane". (Im still trying to find one thats affordable myself!) As a 1920s radio collector (see my other guide "1920s radios A hobbyists observations") there are also furniture size radios bearing the Edison name in great varieties. Be sure to remember that some are shipped as freight!

LIGHT BULBS

If you collect Edison at all you will want a few turn of the century light bulbs. They were often marked "EDISON MAZDA", and this has nothing to do with a japanese automobile! These are really cool to display and if you buy a working one you can see the large old filamints still light up the room in an ornate fashion. There were carbon and other type filaments for the collector to buy,try and display for a reasonable price. Light them if you will! Shipping anything GLASS is precarious so have your seller wrap well in BUBBLEPACK. I have yet to get a ancient light bulb or radio tube broken in shipment if double cartoned and well surrounded with bubblepack and styrofoam peanuts. All right who was it recently that called stryrofoam peanuts "ghost poop"? Oh well it was funny when I heard it. By the way the Edison recordings are a form of WAX so pack them the same way as the light bulbs. You should get the majority of your "treasures" to your home safely even if the freight guy leaves the package upside down on your porch with the "THIS SIDE UP" arrow upside down! Be advised that there are serious ancient light bulb collectors on E-Bay and you will be surprised by the price of some old Edison bulbs for these specialists.

FT. MYERS FLORIDA

The summer Ft. Myers Florida home of the Edisons was a museuum apparently and generated a lot of Edison items such as photos and things of interest. You will see these listed regularly. My personal favorite that I purchased was a photo card of an elderly Thomas Edison using a telegraph key. By the way, buy a book on Edison on e-bay and read about his life. Its a a fascinating story.

EDISON OIL BOTTLES AND BATTERY JARS

Emblazoned on many small bottles used in railroading is a facsimile of Thomas Edisons signature and "Orange New Jersey" Edison Battery Oil. These were used in railroad batteries for many years,and can even be found still containing the "oil". Im told it was poured on the top of batterys to prevent evaporation of fluids, but thats only what rumors provide. These are fairly cheap and plentifull on E-Bay.

PATENT PARAPHENALIA

Cds are for sale with ALL of his many patents for one to study if one wished at a low price. Some patents are actually already printed for display (light bulb etc) and ready to frame for a slightly higher price.

EDISON PHOTOS

Want a classic photo for the favorite wall? Try one of the historic Edison "Inventor Photos"Watch out though however ,as for some strange reason the shipping of the photo is sometimes 3 times the price of the item. (I dont understand that except for the stuff from England as everything from England seems pricey to ship). For a real kick, get a picture of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford together as they were friends and often travelled together!

THE TALKING MACHINE

It is well known that Edison invented the "talking machine". You will find news clippings etc revealing the details of the event at the time for sale and similar photos of the inventer at work on the machine. His photos as a young man are different from the photos most people are used to seeing. I was fortunate enough to purchase a news account of the final moments of invention when Edison turned the cylinder for the first time and his attending machinist exclaimed in German MEINN GOTT IT TALKS! (my God it talks). What a piece of history for the living room frame. The news clipping is a little yellowed, but that just adds to its displayability.

TECHNICAL BOOKS AND HISTORICAL EDISON ITEMS

As one pursues strange and exotic apparatus there are occasional offerings of the unusual from the turn on the century. Books can be rather expensive.  A typical book told the reader to evacuate a tube of glass , and place inside shavings of a nickel and a dime produced by a medium grade common file in proper proportions and purity. This crude device, if cleanly produced would serve as a morse code type "coherer" when presented by a continuous wave signal and "cohere" to produce an electrical product that could be heard in its simplist form. These kinds of "discoveries" were pure genius. Perhaps we need the same technological leap to produce a "coherer" for the dead. At any rate, I unfortuntely lost the auction for the book in question. What an interesting book it must have been!

A MACHINE TO TALK WITH THE DEAD

I have NOT found a patent listed or anything close to this so I must assume it was a hoax. It is a fact it  was rumored that he was working on such a machine by several news agencies at the time,however all my study of his life has NOT revealed the speculated schematic and/or operating guide if we had it. It was rumored that such a machine was built but that it did not work. In Edisons latter years he consulted with his doctors regularly in a scholarly manner according to the biographies. In the end however, the old mans health failed and not even Edison could "beat the system" with a machine for communication with the beyond. If anyone could do it I think Edison could of succeeded. As a final note it should be mentioned that at the time of his death in 1931 many popular fiqures in America suggested that all electric lights and appliances be turned "OFF" in his memory for one minute. It could not be done for public safety reasons!

A TRATISE ON THE "MACHINE"

There is  no  proof that the machine exists, or that Edison ever worked to produce one. His usual method of "invention" involved a group of specialists that worked closely with him. Such an approach would have undoubtedly left a witness to its existance. Here are some interesting rumors.

It is rumored that a very wealthy individual made a large contribution to the Menlo Park establishment with the one condition of absolute complete access to ALL of its archives. Once accomplished, it was rumored that such information was selectively removed. There are of course,no specifics such as a name date etc.

B.C. FORBES: THE INTERVIEW

What did Edison actually say in the presence of witnesses?

Oct 2, 1910 New York Times " There is no more reason to believe that any human brain will be immortal than there is to think that one of my phonograph cylinders will be immortal. No, my brain is a meat mechanism - nothing more than a wonderful meat mechanism"

He was attacked by religious zealots over that particular quotation afterward.

October 1920 American Magazine    B. C. Forbes (founder of Forbes magazine) produced an interview with Edison titled "Edison Working on How to Communicate with the Next World".In the inteview he revealed that Edison had not only come to believe in the afterlife, but was working on the electrical device to do so. Keep in mind that Edison died in 1931 so that leaves 11 years to invent such a device.

October 30 1920  Scientific American Magazine Another article "Edisons Views on Life After Death" by Austin Lescarbouras. Edison is reported to have said: "If our personality survives,then it is strictly logical and scientific to assume that it retains memory,intellect,and faculties and knowledge that we acquire on this earth. Therefore, if personality exists after what we call death,its reasonable to conclude that those who leave this earth would like to communicate with those they have left here. I am inclined to believe that our personality hereafter will be able to effect matter. If this reasonaing be correct, then,if we can evolve an instrument so delicate as to be affected,or moved,or manipulated by our personality as it survives in the next life, such an instrument,when made available, ought to record something"

A HOAX?

Menlo Park claims that in its thousands of documents no such document exists substantiating the invention of any machine to communicate with the dead by Edison.  They clearly state in their online FAQs that it was a hoax by Edison. Clearly absent, is the document or documents supporting their claim. In the ten years or so after his initial interview with Forbes and others,at no time to the knowledge of many people did he admit to such a hoax as known in any public forum. Edison was not known as a jokester, but as an inventor. It seems very out of character. The reader must  make his or her own decision upon the examination of the facts as known.

He went on to downplay crude,childish and unscientific apparatus that he felt would not produce anything but failed contraptions.  Perhaps caller ID might be in order so we know for sure who is "calling" from the other side? We certainly wouldnt want to mis-id whom we are communicating with at any time!

OTHER INVENTORS

There were other scientists that were interested. Oliver Joseph Lodge was a good example. He is known in electronics for inventing the "coherer" to detect signals that have been produced. He was knighted for his work and well respected.  He was a professor of experimental physics at Liverpool. He discovered that a lightning stroke was alternating current. Upon the death of his son he devoted the rest of his life to communicating with "Raymond". From what I read of it however, Lodge used mediums and did not depend on a machine. See his book "Raymond or Life and Death:Evidence for Survival and affection after death" Perhaps some of this is desperation to contact loved ones who have passed. Whom would Edison most have sought to communicate with? If he could communicate its construction from the afterlife would he do so and how? He was a considerably apt telegrapher.  It was rumored that Edison had made contact from beyond with certain well known mediums with instructions to contact specific individuals but there is no proof .Morse code anyone?

THE ELECTRIC CHAIR

Today I noticed on E-bay an item I occasionally see for sale. Books dealing with Edison and the electric chair. Edison was a strong proponent of DC current distribution systems as opposed to our modern AC systems.  He argued the safety of one form of power over the other publicly. In some strange sort of way he became embroiled in a debate over the electric chair. From all accounts the electric chair tortured sevaral poor souls to death when it was brought into use. Edison may not have had a hand in after death communication devices, but he certainly had a hand in some of the poor souls arriving there by electrical means.

OTHER MACHINES

If one believes that a machine is possible then other inventors efforts are worth consideration. Who says they have to be electrical? Remember the Ouija board? It is a "device" after all. Just for fun consider visiting the museumoftalkingboards online.

The proprieters will provide you a history of the "talking boards" with pictures as well! I found their observations quite comical under the FAQ section where the reader is asked the question "Are the dead incapable of lying"? In my opinion people certainly lie in life so I personally see no reason why they would not lie after death (no play on words intended!) There are no rules of evidence after death apparently and everything is hopefully "hear say"

AS a final note I would ask any interested reader with any knowledge of a Edison drawing or design  for afterlife communication to contact this author with such information.  If its only a rumor thats ok too.  Lets put them all together here! Collectors have amazing access to amazing and unusual things. Keep me informed if you have seen references to this as well because if nothing else its an amazing modern day quest in itself!

2008 Note: Received interesting reference to Haunted Times Magazine and a Chris Moon which pictures him operating a "machine" which communicates with the dead. He said it was built by a "Frank". Further info at Edisonsite.com

Best Regards, Phil Holtam (philtechltd)

All Rights Reserved 2008