Jun 12 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2708 -
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Sale 2708 - Lot 173

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
(SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY.) The Edison Mimeograph, Invented by Thomas A. Edison. [16] pages, plus errata slip tipped to page [14]. 8vo, 7¾ x 5 inches, staple-bound; horizontal folds, tear in upper margin of final leaf. Chicago: A.B. Dick Company, circa 1890
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Additional Details

This device for quick reproduction of stencils was based on Thomas Edison's "electric pen" patents of 1876 and 1880. The patents were licensed by manufacturer Albert Blake Dick in 1887; he coined the trademark "Mimeograph" for the device. The term later became a generic term for all similar mass duplicating devices.

This promotional catalogue includes several engraved illustrations, explanation of the mimeograph's function and applications, a price list, and two pages of endorsements.

The errata slip is dated 15 November 1890, and explains that "the new Tariff Bill . . . increased the duties on this paper to such an extent that, with the advances above referred to, we are compelled to increase our list prices."

We find 3 examples of similar Edison Mimeograph catalogues in OCLC, but none meeting these exact specifications.

Laid in are three sample sheets printed with the Mimeograph, each 5½ x 8½ inches: a blank sales account form, an illustrated handbill headed "Any One Can Scoop Up Success by Using the Edison Mimeograph"; and another headed "Edison Mimeograph Specimen Mimeographs Sold by C.I. Comfort" of Wilmington, NC. C.I. Comfort ran ads for the Edison Mimeograph in the Wilmington Messenger from January to November 1891.

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