The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

These clippings cover the year 1914. Most of the items are taken from newspapers, but there are several longer magazine articles as well. Included are articles pertaining to Edison's kinetophone (talking motion pictures); his new dictation-related inventions, the transophone and the telescribe; and his rapid production of carbolic acid (phenol) at Silver Lake, New Jersey, to compensate for supplies cut off by the war. Also included are clippings about Edison's vacation in Florida with Henry Ford and John Burroughs; his opinions about the deleterious effect of cigarettes, which were vigorously contested by Percival S. Hill of the American Tobacco Co.; the wedding of his daughter Madeleine to John Eyre Sloane; and his comments on the role of German Jews in the outbreak of the war. A few clippings refer to the fire of December 9 that destroyed much of the West Orange manufacturing works.

In addition, there are articles about the dissolution of the Mexican National Phonograph Co. and the long dormant Edison Phonograph Co. Other clippings report the deaths of Glenmont gardener Michael Doyle, longtime Edison associates Richard N. Dyer and Francis W. Jones, and rival electric light inventor Joseph Swan. There are also clippings about the accidental deaths of employees William F. Benedict and Henry K. Fass, as well as former associate William McMahon, whose body was found floating in the Hudson River.

Approximately 50 percent of the clippings have been selected. In addition to numerous duplicate versions of most of the stories, the unselected items include articles about the health effects of tobacco; a new anti-tuberculosis film; and the promotion of the Diamond Disc phonograph.

Additional clippings about the wedding of Madeleine Edison can be found in Cat. 44,450 in the Scrapbook Series. Most of the news stories about the fire of December 1914 can be found in Cat. 44,509 and Cat. 44,510 in the Scrapbook Series.