Object Details
- associated person
- Edison, Thomas Alva
- S. R. Wells & Co.
- Description
- In 1878 Thomas Edison had achieved international renown due to his invention of a machine that could talk: the phonograph. His inventive activities in the field of telegraphy were well known in that important industry. Although his most prolific days as an inventor lay ahead, people understood that "the Wizard of Menlo Park" was someone to be taken seriously.
- This bust of Edison was made in 1878 for the Phrenological Institute of New York. Phrenology (today dismissed as false science) involved the study of the shape and size of people's heads. Phrenologists believed that one could measure and rank factors like intellegence, honesty and creativity through a close study of the external features of the head. An accurate record of Edison's head would preserve a record of someone perceived as quite creative and intellegent, allowing comparisions to be made to a known standard.
- The bust was made by J. Beer, Jr.
- Credit Line
- from Frank A. Wardlaw, Jr., and Frank A. Wardlaw
- 1878
- 1878
- ID Number
- EM.310582
- catalog number
- 310582
- accession number
- 123470
- Object Name
- Bust
- Measurements
- overall: 24 in x 17 in x 11 in; 60.96 cm x 43.18 cm x 27.94 cm
- place made
- United States: New York
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Electricity
- Energy & Power
- Science & Mathematics
- Art
- Measuring & Mapping
- Exhibition
- Lighting a Revolution
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Phrenology
- Record ID
- nmah_713118
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-616b-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
