Accession No
6219
Brief Description
pamphlet of the William J. Hammer collection of incandescent electric light bulbs, by Franklin Institute, U.S.A., 1906
Origin
U.S.A.; Pennsylvania; Philadelphia
Maker
Franklin Institute [publisher]
Class
ephemera; electrical
Earliest Date
1906
Latest Date
1906
Inscription Date
1906
Material
paper
Dimensions
width 150mm; height 229mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Inscription
“THE WILLIAM J. HAMMER [all on front cover]
Collection of Incandescent Electric
Lamps
Being the Report of the Committee on Science and the
Arts on the Historical Collection of Incandescent
Electric Lamps made and Exhibited at the St.
Louis Exposition of 1904, by Mr. William J.
Hammer
THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE
PHILADELPHIA
1906”
Description Notes
Pamphlet of the William J. Hammer collection of incandescent electric light bulbs; American; 1906
Ten page pamphlet with brown cover; a report on the collection of over 1000 incandescent light bulbs put together by Hammer from 1879 to 1904. Report contains quotes from letters received by Hammer, praising the worth of his collection. Contains photograph of the collection on page 1.
Condition good. Fold diagonally across covers, some wear to edges and a tear of approx 7mm on right edge through all pages. Plate bearing photograph is partially detached.
References
Events
Description
This ten page pamphlet is a report by the Franklin Institute on a collection of incandescent light bulbs put together by a William J. Hammer. The collection of over 1000 bulbs was put together by Hammer from 1879 to 1904 and charts the development of light bulb technology from its beginnings with the work of Thomas Edison. Hammer was employed in Edison’s laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, working on the life span and efficiency of light bulbs. He later went on to manage the first Edison light bulb factory, and from there obtained most of the material in his collection.
The report contains quotes from letters received by Hammer, praising the worth of his collection as a historical record of the development of light bulb technology. There is also a photograph of his collection, as it appeared at the 1904 St. Louis Exhibition in the USA; the collection was awarded the ‘Grand Prize’ at the exhibition.
This pamphlet is worthy of study by modern audiences for two important reasons: firstly, because it displays the foresight involved in collecting material that was, in some cases, straight from the factory production line; secondly, the move towards energy efficiency in the 21st century means that the incandescent light bulb, descended from Edison’s design, may soon become obsolete, or even outlawed, technology.
28/05/2008
Created by: Ruth Horry on 28/05/2008
FM:46692
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