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Partly-printed DS, signed “Thos. A. Edison” and "Francis R. Upton," one page, 8 x 3.25, October 3, 1888. Handsome promissory note issued by the Edison Lamp Co., in full: "Three months after date, we promise to pay to the order of Ourselves Fifteen hundred fifty Dollars for value received at the German National Bank, Newark, N.J." Neatly signed at the conclusion in ink by Thomas Edison as president, and countersigned by Francis R. Upton as treasurer. Also endorsed on the reverse by Upton The document features a wonderful vignette of an early Edison incandescent lamp. Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 16 x 11.25, with a window in the backing for viewing the reverse. In fine condition.
This Edison Lamp Co. promissory note dates to a defining moment in the commercialization of electric light, when Edison’s incandescent lamp had moved beyond laboratory novelty and into industrial production, financing, and large-scale urban installation. Incorporated in the early 1880s, the Edison Lamp Co. manufactured the bulbs at the heart of Edison’s electric lighting system, supplying the growing network of central stations and wired buildings that helped transform nighttime life in American cities. The presence of Francis R. Upton—Edison’s mathematically trained associate and a key figure in the development and management of the lamp works—adds further significance, while the engraved light bulb vignette makes the document unusually displayable. As both a financial instrument and a piece of corporate ephemera, the note captures Edison at the intersection of invention, manufacturing, and modern electrical enterprise.
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