[D8844AAC], Letter from Philip Seubel to Alfred Ord Tate, April 14th, 1888
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Title
[D8844AAC], Letter from Philip Seubel to Alfred Ord Tate, April 14th, 1888
Editor's Notes
"I have carefully read the letter of Noll Bros. dated April 7th, addressed to Mr. Edison, in regard to wiring at his house. ### Some time in January last I made a detailed report on this subject, which no doubt was communicated to Mr. Augustus Noll at that time. ### Mr. Noll is mistaken when he believes that the sole trouble with the wiring at Mr. Edison's house was that it could not be used for three wire system. The wiring was so faulty in insulation that it was not safe for any system, and the material used for mains and for the unfinished room back of the Dining Room, in the Stable and Greenhouse was Underwriter's wire. Mr. Noll states that this wire is generally used for this purpose. This is not so. It has been discarded long ago for concealed work and by first class wiring firms is not considered to be an insulated wire. ### The class of work done at Mr. Edison's house by the Noll Brothers is one of the worst jobs of 'skin' work I ever experienced. The switches furnished are unreliable, but I do not see how Mr. Noll wants to shield himself behind the Standardizing Bureau, which was not created until a year after he did the work at Mr. Edison's house. ### If the wiring had been done in good style in the first place, using good insulated wire and wires run separate instead of bunching them together, the house could have been lighted on the three wire system without any material changes, and I take this opportunity to state that all the work done by the Edison Wiring Co. and recently by the ir successors, the Edison United M'f'g. Co., at Mr. Edison's house, was soley and exclusively due to the employment of improper material and defective methods of wiring by the Noll Brothers." Very truly yours, P. Seubel
Author
Recipient
Mentioned
Date
1888-04-14
Type
Folder/Volume ID
D8844-F
Microfilm ID
123:855
Document ID
D8844AAC
Publisher
Thomas A. Edison Papers, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University