Phrenological bust of Thomas Alva Edison
date: label: Date made
content: 1878
label: Date made
content: 1878
name: label: associated person
content: Edison, Thomas Alva
label: maker
content: S. R. Wells & Co.
notes: label: Description
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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.
label: Description
content: The bust was made by J. Beer, Jr.
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York
topic: label: Subject
content: Phrenology
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
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content: Energy & Power
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content: Science & Mathematics
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content: Art
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content: Measuring & Mapping
label: Exhibition
content: Lighting a Revolution
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from Frank A. Wardlaw, Jr., and Frank A. Wardlaw
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.310582
label: catalog number
content: 310582
label: accession number
content: 123470
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Bust
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 24 in x 17 in x 11 in; 60.96 cm x 43.18 cm x 27.94 cm