Thomas A. Edison, Inc.

Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated

Company type	Holding company
Industry	Manufacturing, Phonographs, Batteries, Radio
Predecessor	National Phonograph Company
Founded	February 28, 1911 (1911-02-28) in West Orange, New Jersey, United States
Founder	Thomas Edison
Defunct	January 2, 1957 (1957-01-02)
Fate	Merged with McGraw Electric to form McGraw-Edison
Headquarters	West Orange , United States
Key people	Thomas Edison (President until 1926, Chairman thereafter), Charles Edison (President from 1926), Frank L. Dyer (President until 1912), C.H. Wilson (General Manager and Vice President from 1912)
Products	Phonographs, Ediphone dictation devices, Storage batteries, Radio equipment
Number of employees	200 (research laboratory staff)

Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated—initially known as the National Phonograph Company—served as the chief holding company overseeing the industrial ventures founded by the inventor and businessman Thomas Edison. It followed the Edison Manufacturing Company and operated from 1911 until its 1957 consolidation with McGraw Electric, resulting in the creation of McGraw-Edison.

History

The National Phonograph Company was established on 27 January 1896 and later reorganized into Thomas A. Edison, Inc. on 28 February 1911. At that time, the Edison Manufacturing Company was incorporated as a division within the new corporation.

Located in West Orange, New Jersey, the company’s research laboratory employed as many as 200 individuals dedicated to accelerating invention development. Frank L. Dyer held the presidency until December 1912, when Edison himself took over the position. From 1912 onward, C.H. Wilson served as both general manager and vice president. In August 1926, Edison stepped down as president, appointing his son, Charles Edison, to the role while he assumed the chairmanship of the board.

The corporation’s various divisions produced items such as phonographs, Ediphone dictation devices, and storage batteries. Initial products included Blue Amberol cylinders and the Amberola player, succeeded by the Edison Diamond Disc. In 1915, soprano Anna Case and contralto Christine Miller participated in a tone test at West Orange that demonstrated live singing was indistinguishable from Diamond Disc recordings. The company expanded through acquisitions including Edison Phonograph Works (1924), Edison Storage Battery Company (1932), and Emark Battery Corporation (1933).

During the 1920s, Edison’s recording sector fell behind in innovation and struggled to secure leading artists when compared with rivals such as Victor and Columbia. An attempt in 1926 to introduce a long-playing record was unsuccessful; furthermore, electrical recording technology was only adopted in mid-1927—approximately two years after other industry players. In 1928, Edison entered the radio market by acquiring Splitdorf Radio Corp. On 1 November 1929, the company discontinued record production except for dictation records manufactured by its Voicewriter division.

In the late 1920s, Edison developed a premium consumer appliance series known as "Edicraft," produced at its laboratory; however, manufacturing ceased in 1934 due to reduced demand amid the Great Depression.

Merger

Max McGraw, founder and president of McGraw Electric, who greatly admired Thomas Edison, arranged a meeting in 1956 with Edison's son, Charles Edison, former Governor of New Jersey and Secretary of the Navy, to explore a corporate merger. Following discussions held at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado, both parties agreed to combine their companies. The merger officially commenced on 2 January 1957, establishing the McGraw-Edison Company. Max McGraw later remarked on how his name now preceded Edison's on the listings of the New York Stock Exchange.

See also

• Edison Records
• Edison Studios

External links

• Edison Sheet Music Collection, 1830-1958 and online access to the Historic Sheet Music Collection, 1800 to 1922 at the Library of Congress