Comment Re: Create backups for history (Score 1) 97
Heck, I'll go for that. Send one my way! John W. Howell, the Edison engineer who built those 23 bulbs in court, is my great grandfather. I've got his rolltop desk and Edison Medal -- and yes, one old light bulb. I'd love to see a photo of the 23 that they tried to auction -- wonder if I already have one from that batch (J. Howell actually made 30-40 for the trial) I doubt it. I think mine is of newer vintage.
I was delighted to read the news of these bulbs being found. Making those 23 bulbs was probably John's finest hour in his 50 year career w/Edison. Wondering now that they didn't sell, how I might chance into them... jes dreamin', man. :)
- John
FWIW, this from John Howell's 1930 memoir "stories for my children":
In 1890 the Edison patent covering his high-resistance lamp was being litigated in a suit brought by the Edison Electric Light Company against the United States Electric Light Company. A similar English patent had previously been litigated in England. The patent law requires that the patent specification must describe the article so well that a man skilled in the art can make the article using only the information which is in the specification. In the English case the court appointed three men, supposed to be skilled in the art, to make the lamps following the specifications. These three men were unable to make the lamps. The lawyers who were against the patent in this country knew of this and they put good experts on. These testified that the lamps could not possibly be made by following the instructions contained in the specifications, and they gave good scientific reasons why, but these reasons were based on a wrong assumption.
The Edison lawyers asked Mr. Edison to have men in his laboratory make the lamps. He put two of his men on the job, and, after working some time, they said they could not make them. Knowing all this, I undertook to make them. I got tar from the gas works. I made lampblack by letting kerosene lamps smoke their chimneys. I mixed these, kneading them until they made a very thick mixture, like thick putty. This I rolled on a glass plate with a stick about 1 inch wide, and I rolled out threads of the mixture which were 14 inches long and six thousandths of an inch thick. I coiled these and carbonized them as the patent directed, and thus made filaments for the lamps. Everything came out just as the patent described, and I made 30 or 40 lamps with no trouble at all. A number of these lamps were burned on life test for 600 hours and were good lamps. Our lawyers were immensely pleased and I got a raise.
Then I testified about making the lamps and stood my cross-examination well, and I got another raise. During the argument my testimony was bitterly but unsuccessfully attacked. The court sustained the patent, and the judge said in his decision that my testimony had completely refuted the claims that the patent did not give sufficient information to enable a man skilled in the art to make the lamps. Then I got another raise. Three raises for this work! I also received many congratulations for this work, some from lawyers and officers of the defeated company. This patent decision helped bring about the consolidation of the Edison Company and the Thomson-Houston Company to form the General Electric Company, for the Thomson-Houston Company was infringing the Edison patent in making incandescent lamps.
During subsequent years there has been a great deal of litigation of patents on incandescent lamps and in many of these I have given testimony which has been of considerable importance."
I was delighted to read the news of these bulbs being found. Making those 23 bulbs was probably John's finest hour in his 50 year career w/Edison. Wondering now that they didn't sell, how I might chance into them... jes dreamin', man.
- John
FWIW, this from John Howell's 1930 memoir "stories for my children":
In 1890 the Edison patent covering his high-resistance lamp was being litigated in a suit brought by the Edison Electric Light Company against the United States Electric Light Company. A similar English patent had previously been litigated in England. The patent law requires that the patent specification must describe the article so well that a man skilled in the art can make the article using only the information which is in the specification. In the English case the court appointed three men, supposed to be skilled in the art, to make the lamps following the specifications. These three men were unable to make the lamps. The lawyers who were against the patent in this country knew of this and they put good experts on. These testified that the lamps could not possibly be made by following the instructions contained in the specifications, and they gave good scientific reasons why, but these reasons were based on a wrong assumption.
The Edison lawyers asked Mr. Edison to have men in his laboratory make the lamps. He put two of his men on the job, and, after working some time, they said they could not make them. Knowing all this, I undertook to make them. I got tar from the gas works. I made lampblack by letting kerosene lamps smoke their chimneys. I mixed these, kneading them until they made a very thick mixture, like thick putty. This I rolled on a glass plate with a stick about 1 inch wide, and I rolled out threads of the mixture which were 14 inches long and six thousandths of an inch thick. I coiled these and carbonized them as the patent directed, and thus made filaments for the lamps. Everything came out just as the patent described, and I made 30 or 40 lamps with no trouble at all. A number of these lamps were burned on life test for 600 hours and were good lamps. Our lawyers were immensely pleased and I got a raise.
Then I testified about making the lamps and stood my cross-examination well, and I got another raise. During the argument my testimony was bitterly but unsuccessfully attacked. The court sustained the patent, and the judge said in his decision that my testimony had completely refuted the claims that the patent did not give sufficient information to enable a man skilled in the art to make the lamps. Then I got another raise. Three raises for this work! I also received many congratulations for this work, some from lawyers and officers of the defeated company. This patent decision helped bring about the consolidation of the Edison Company and the Thomson-Houston Company to form the General Electric Company, for the Thomson-Houston Company was infringing the Edison patent in making incandescent lamps.
During subsequent years there has been a great deal of litigation of patents on incandescent lamps and in many of these I have given testimony which has been of considerable importance."
