Edison Manufacturing Company

Edison Manufacturing Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Manufacturing, Motion pictures, Electric lighting
Predecessor	Edison United Manufacturing Company, United Edison Manufacturing Company
Founded	May 1, 1889 (1889-05-01) in New York City, New York, U.S.
Founder	Thomas A. Edison
Defunct	November 9, 1926 (1926-11-09)
Fate	Assets transferred to Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
Headquarters	West Orange , United States
Key people	William E. Gilmore (VP and General Manager 1894–1908), Alfred O. Tate, Frank Dyer
Products	Electric lighting fixtures, Kinetoscope motion picture system, Films

The Edison Manufacturing Company, initially established as the United Edison Manufacturing Company and commonly referred to as the Edison Company, was created by inventor and businessman Thomas A. Edison (1847–1931) and officially incorporated in New York City in May 1889. It followed the earlier entity, the Edison United Manufacturing Company (1886), which functioned as a sales organization for the Edison Lamp Company (a forerunner of General Electric), Edison Machine Works, and Bergmann & Company, all involved in producing electric lighting fixtures and related components. In April 1894, the company incorporated the Kinetoscope motion picture system, an invention from Edison’s laboratory. By 1900, the organization was restructured as the Edison Manufacturing Company, incorporated in New Jersey. In 1911, its holdings were transferred to Thomas A. Edison, Inc..

History

In July 1886, the Edison United Manufacturing Company was formed to unify sales efforts across Edison's manufacturing enterprises but was dissolved by October 1889. It was replaced by the United Edison Manufacturing Company, which was incorporated in New York City in May 1889. Subsequently, on May 4, 1900, the Edison Manufacturing Company was incorporated in Newark, New Jersey, with its main office located at West Orange, NJ—the site of Edison’s laboratories and production facilities.

Between April 1894 and June 1908, William E. Gilmore held the positions of vice-president and general manager; he took over from Alfred O. Tate and was later succeeded by patent attorney Frank Dyer. The company's film production activities were managed through its Kinetograph Department.

Edison’s pioneering film studio—the first of its kind globally—was the Black Maria, situated in West Orange, where Kinetoscope films began being produced in early 1893. The studio later relocated to Manhattan and subsequently to the Bronx, broadening its filming operations both across the United States and internationally to meet expanding market demands.

Although innovative, the Edison Manufacturing Company shared leadership with the more lucrative National Phonograph Company, founded in 1896 and reorganized in 1911. Edison’s focus was divided among several other ventures such as storage batteries, iron ore mining, and cement production, which influenced the company's strategic direction.

In February 1911, assets of Edison’s company were transferred to Thomas A. Edison, Inc., and the Edison Manufacturing Company was officially liquidated on November 9, 1926—five years prior to Edison's passing.