Edison - Now That's Old School!

Two great sites for Edison museums are sharing early recording collections online. The Edison National Historic Site even has a radio show on the magnificent WFMU hosted by the museum's curator. The show, Thomas Edison's Attic, alternates weekly with Antique Phonograph Music Program. Both present early recordings played on early machines. These hosts drag in their equipment every week just to share the rare gems that might otherwise never be heard.

1. Edison National Historic Site
http://www.nps.gov/edis/
audio collection: http://www.nps.gov/edis/sounds.htm

"For more than forty years, the laboratory created by Thomas Alva Edison in West Orange, New Jersey, had enormous impact on the lives of millions of people worldwide. Out of the West Orange laboratories came the motion picture camera, vastly improved phonographs, sound recordings, silent and sound movies and the nickel-iron alkaline electric storage battery.

"Edison National Historic Site provides a unique opportunity to interpret and experience important aspects of America's industrial, social and economic past, and to learn from the legacy of the world's best known inventor."


2. Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Menlo Park Museum
http://www.edisonnj.org/menlopark/
audio collection: http://www.edisonnj.org/menlopark/vintage/

The Thomas A. Edison Memorial Tower and Menlo Park Museum were built in 1937 and dedicated February 11, 1938 to commemorate Thomas Edison's 91st birthday.

The tower is located at 37 Christie Street in the Menlo Park section of Edison, "the exact spot where Thomas Edison had his laboratory, the first modern Research and Development center in the world."