Building 1
The laboratory Building was one the best equipped, not the best
equipped, electrical laboratory the United States.79 Newman Holland and his staff worked here until they joined the
other product engineers the third floor Building around 1916.78
After 1914 this building became the center experiments the business
phonograph. addition perfecting film projectors and
designing machines develop film, wanted develop talking films and a
method making films color.) MRH’s caption in
figure dated February 1915, Photograph Album 10, catalog 5209: "The ‘dictating machine' department
moved into galvanometer room 1914. During the 1890s the number workers this
building dwindled. was the pride Edison
and the centerpiece his impressive laboratory.
Dyer and Martin’s account Edison’s career states that 1910 Building 1
housed mainly photographic and motion picture experiments and that much the
electrical equipment that was still this building was unused. His staff carried out thorough
investigation primary and secondary batteries which might used with the
battery powered phonograph then under development the laboratory. 1915
35
."
In addition measurement and basic experiments electricity, this laboratory
also played important part Edison’s campaign develop commercial
phonograph. this building Arthur Kennelly tested several types electric
motors under consideration for the phonograph. David Trumbull Marshall was
sometimes given the task showing visitors around the facility. claimed that
"the star exhibit was the galvanometer room.
79 Holland moved here because was too noisy and crowded building (See 106.
78 Dyer, Martin, and Meadowcroft, Edison: His Life and Inventions, 653.’’77 This impressive facility suffered
a major setback 1892 when the Newark Electrical Passenger Railway laid its
tracks right next the laboratory, rendering its sensitive testing equipment
useless.
The decrease electrical experiments undertaken the West Orange laboratory
caused corresponding decrease the staff the electrical laboratory shortly
after the laboratory opened.
The success the motion picture product increased the amount experiments
devoted and after 1899, Edison began set rooms Building carry
out basic research into photography.
77 Marshall, Recollections ofEdison, 67. New experimenters moved into Building became the
site numerous projects that were overflowing from the main laboratory building
