[SB5OS14X-F]

https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/folder/SB5OS14X-F

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Part Of: Scrapbook Series

[SB5OS14X-F] Cat. 44,454

[Because of the large number of clippings in this scrapbook, it has been indexed in two parts. This note covers both parts. There are numerous repetitive clippings that have not been indexed.]

This scrapbook, which is a continuation of Cat. 44,452 and Cat. 44,453, covers the period October 1915-May 1916, with a few additional clippings from June. At the beginning of the book are several pages of clippings from October and November concerning Edison's visit to California, the celebration of "Electrical Prosperity Week," and other topics. Subsequent clippings include articles about fires and labor strikes at Edison's manufacturing works in West Orange and nearby Silver Lake; the implementation of a new efficiency plan in March 1916; changes in senior management such as the departure of Ernest J. Berggren and Harry T. Leeming and the appointment of Stephen B. Mambert as financial executive; the suicide of William C. Andrews of the Edison Storage Battery Co.; and a successful lawsuit against Thomas A. Edison, Inc., for polluting a stream with chemical effluents.

There are many items pertaining to World War I, including the explosion aboard the E-2 submarine in the Brooklyn Navy Yard that was attributed to gases from Edison storage batteries; Henry Ford's peace mission to Europe and Edison's reported rejection of a $1,000,000 offer to accompany him; Edison's testimony before the House Naval Affairs Committee in favor of a Naval Research Laboratory and the rapid production of submarines and airplanes; his support for Marjorie Sterrett's Battleship America Fund; his participation in a Preparedness Parade in downtown Manhattan; and a denial by chief engineer Miller Reese Hutchison that he gave away "Navy secrets" in a publication about the Edison storage battery.

Also included are clippings about a motion picture produced for the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis (now the American Lung Association), "tone tests" of the Diamond Disc phonograph conducted in various cities; Edison's endorsement of the presidential candidacy of Theodore Roosevelt; and his views on women's suffrage, temperance, and other issues. Toward the end of the book is a 5-page article about Edison's motion picture business by Alan Crosland, an employee who a decade later would direct Al Jolsen in The Jazz Singer.

In addition, there are articles regarding the celebration of Edison's sixty-ninth birthday; the birth of his first grandchild, Thomas Edison Sloane; the marriage of his sister-in-law Grace Miller to Halbert K. Hitchcock; and the family's spring vacation in Florida. Among the many clippings pertaining to the opinions and social activities of Mina Miller Edison are reports of her opposition to low-cut dresses and other immodest women's fashions; her participation in the dedication of the statue of Joan of Arc in Central Park; her attendance at the annual convention of the General Federation of Women's Clubs; and an encounter with the West Orange police involving an expired automobile tag. There are multiple versions from numerous newspapers of most of these stories. The front cover is inscribed "Clippings re Thos. A. Edison"; similar markings appear on the spine. The pages are unnumbered; approximately 250 pages have been used.

Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

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