"Mr. Edison declared to be the inventor of incandescent electric lighting"

Bradley, Justice Joseph P .

The Westinghouse-Edison case : Sawyer and Man vs. Edison : full text of Justice Bradley's opinion in the case of the Consolidated Co. against the McKeesport Co., filed in the U.S. Circuit Court at Pittsburgh, October 5th, 1889 : Mr. Edison declared to be the inventor of incandescent electric lighting. [ cover title ]

New York City: Edison Electric Light Company October 17, 1889. First Edition. 20 pages. 5 7/8 x 9 3/16 inches. Publisher's tan printed wrappers. Creased vertically, some chipping to the extremities of the wrapper. Several penciled notes on the front wrapper. Good. Wraps. [28706]


For many years Sawyer and Man fought Edison through the patent office legal apparatus for control of the incandescent lamp, at each step seeming to win the day. More than one judge commented that there was essentially no difference between the Sawyer and Man light and the one Edison claimed - and since Sawyer and Man preceded the winner was clear. However Edison (and his interests) continued to fight in every way conceivable to turn the tide in their favor. While we don't understand the details of what finally turned the tide in Edison's favor, this pamphlet, issued by the Edison Electric Light Company declares Mr. Edison "to be the Inventor of Incandescent Electric Lighting" and includes a copy of the ruling.

The fight for patent control was important economically - Pope in his chronology of the modern incandescent lamp notes that the first announcement of Edison's Proposed Electric Light was on Sept 11, 1878. On Oct 11, there was a panic in gas shares on the London stock exchange caused by his announcement. The new technology was perceived as a sea change with major implications. Patent control was important in the arsenal of business tools. Pope's book gives a blow by blow that is far to extensive to quote here and finishes showing Sawyer and Man victorious. But shortly after the book was published this court decision changed history. It is interesting to note that more than half the patent protection period had passed before the process was finally put to rest limiting the financial upside to some degree.

Uncommon, with OCLC #83990002 showing four copies (NY Public, Yale, Hagley, Univ Wisconsin Madison).

Literature:
Pope's "Evolution of the Electric Incandescent Lamp", Henry Cook: 1889

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