Superb vintage glossy 10 x 8 photograph of Edison, Ford, Herbert Hoover, and other dignitaries at the 1929 dedication of Ford’s Greenfield Village complex, signed in fountain pen, “Thos. A. Edison,” “Henry Ford,” and “Mrs. Henry Ford.” In the first decade of the twentieth century, Ford began a collection of relics, everyday objects intended to preserve the memory of his upbringing in nineteenth-century Michigan. Over the next few decades, his interest blossomed into an ambitious plan for a then-unique museum complex: not only could visitors look upon the artifacts of the past, but they could also observe firsthand the skills, trades, and handicrafts that were quickly vanishing in the wake of “progress.” A key element of the plan was the preservation of entire buildings, both those with a direct historic association (such as homes of the famous) and “typical” anonymous examples representing a range of periods and architectural styles. Ford’s agents scoured the country for likely candidates, which were purchased, dismantled, sent by rail to Dearborn, Michigan, and painstakingly reassembled in what was to become known as Greenfield Village (now simply The Henry Ford). The centerpiece was the Menlo Park laboratory of Thomas Edison—the laboratory where, decades earlier, the inventor carried out the work that resulted in the incandescent light. Ford’s attention to detail and veracity was nothing short of obsessive: in addition to moving the entire Menlo Park complex, including the laboratory proper and all of the outbuildings, he went to the trouble to retrieve building timber that had been reused elsewhere, scooped up and transported the laboratory’s trash pit (the contents of which were later displayed in a huge glass enclosure), and even “collected” several boxcars of the red New Jersey clay upon which the original laboratory was built. This singular tribute to Edison’s genius culminated in the dedication of Greenfield Village on October 21, 1929. In a ceremony broadcast over nationwide radio, Edison, in the presence of such dignitaries as President Herbert Hoover, “recreated” the original light bulb in his newly relocated laboratory. After the inventor rose from his chair, Ford had it nailed down where it sat—where it remains today, a remarkable symbol of both Edison’s fecund imagination and Ford’s touching dedication to the legacy of his best friend. The lower margin of the photo bears the handwritten notation (possibly, though not conclusively, in Mrs. Ford’s hand) 12/4/1930, evidently the date of signing. In fine condition, with a few trivial dings, a faint suggestion of rippling to top edge, and very subtle irregularity to ink adhesion, the signatures nonetheless remaining clear and distinct. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
