Mention of Edison's electric pen being the precursor of tattoo artists' instrument brings to mind a new customer, a young man, who came in last week looking for 78s & LPs. He has a Victrola 90 & had an exquisitely tinted & detailed tattoo of a Victrola No. 2 Soundbox on his arm! I'm not at all into tattooing but this was certainly the most beautiful & unusual example I've ever seen.
-----Original Message----- From: phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org [mailto:phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org] On Behalf Of DanKj Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 9:29 AM To: Antique Phonograph List Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Electric pen I still want a cement Edison cylinder phonograph ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edison_phonograph_1912.jpg ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Baron" <a...@popyrus.com> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 11:16 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Electric pen > Hi John ~ > > A friend sent me this link this morning and I watched the video. This may > sound harsh (for me), but I found it to be typically inaccurate media-mill > fodder, with a catchy segment title to attract a big audience. Seems > they're also catering to the contingent that's hungry to pounce on an > Edison failure, perhaps? > > In reality, wasn't the electric pen Edison's first successful > mass-produced product; i.e., mass produced by Edison's own shops and > marketed in America and Europe, keeping his first factory quite occupied > during its brief heyday? While we know that although the apparatus was > hard to maintain by untrained office staff, conceptually the idea was > successful enough to attract lumber man A. B. Dick, who with the much > simplified "Edison's Mimeograph" put himself on the map as a major office > machine and supplies manufacturer. > > Certainly it is true that the motorized pen was the ideal basis for the > tattoo stylus (or whatever the right word might be). > > A more accurate brief account than the tv.yahoo video: > http://edison.rutgers.edu/pen.htm > > NOW FOR ACCURACY IN REPORTING > Edison's "worst invention" in terms of unsuccessful marketing, must have > been his Electric Vote Recorder, his first issued patent unless I got this > from a flawed history book. None were manufactured beyond the prototype. > > Andrew Baron > Santa Fe > > On Aug 16, 2013, at 8:48 PM, john robles wrote: > >> Here is a clip on what was called "Thomas Edison's Worst Invention". Of >> course it is not well researched, but it is an interesting wawtch! >> >> http://tv.yahoo.com/video/playlist/primetime/thomas-edisons-worst-invention- 061926628.html >> >> John Robles >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.org >> > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
