ALS signed “Thos. A. Edison,” one lightly-lined page, 8 x 9.5, September 3, 1887. Letter to F. W. Gesswein. In full: “List received—on some articles you are high as compared to others, some of these I shall cut out of order: Will notify you when to complete it, expect my building will be ready 20 Oct.” Letter is affixed to a 9.5 x 12.5 off-white heavy stock scrapbook page and is in fine condition, with light clerical pencil mark through text and portion of signature, intersecting folds (one through a single letter of signature), and some mild toning from adhesive.
In 1886, Edison started building a new facility in West Orange, New Jersey, and by the following year had relocated his California laboratory to the larger East Coast facility. It was undoubtedly right around this time that Edison was hurriedly stocking the shelves and work benches of his new building, contracting with Gesswein, a Brooklyn-based tool manufacturer. However, the savvy inventor was not in such a rush that he would not shop around for a better deal on some items, informing his vendor of his plan to trim his order as a cost-cutting measure, or perhaps to secure a better price.
Edison called New Jersey home for the rest of his life, where he later focused his attention on the photograph—establishing the Edison Phonograph Company just a month after sending this letter. Sadly, the recipient of this message was killed two years after completing this transaction, following a patent dispute. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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