The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by inventor and entrepreneur

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

and incorporated in New York City in May 1889. It succeeded the Edison United Manufacturing Company, founded in 1886 as a sales agency for the Edison Lamp Company,

Edison Machine Works The Edison Machine Works was a manufacturing company set up to produce dynamos, large electric motors, and other components of the electrical illumination system being built in the 1880s by Thomas A. Edison in New York City. History The need fo ...

, and Bergmann & Company, which made electric lighting fixtures, sockets, and other accessories. In April 1894, the Edison laboratory's

Kinetoscope The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic approach that woul ...

operation, which was about to be commercialized, was brought under the Edison Company umbrella. In 1900, the United Edison Manufacturing Company was evidently succeeded by the New Jersey–incorporated Edison Manufacturing Company. The company's assets and operations were transferred to

Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated (originally the National Phonograph Company) was the main holding company for the various manufacturing companies established by the inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison. It was a successor to Edison Manufacturin ...

in 1911.

History

The Edison United Manufacturing Company was incorporated in July 1886 to consolidate the sales operations of the various Edison manufacturing concerns. The company went into liquidation—finalized October 31, 1889—and was succeeded by the United Edison Manufacturing Company, incorporated in New York City under New York State law in May 1889. On May 4, 1900, the Edison Manufacturing Company—evidently the successor to the United Edison Manufacturing Company—was incorporated in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, with its headquarters located in West Orange. From April 1894 to June 1908, William E. Gilmore was vice-president and general manager of the Edison Manufacturing Company. He took over from Alfred O. Tate and was succeeded by patent lawyer Frank Dyer. The passing mention in the introduction (p. 13) of Gilmore having been hired in April 1895 is clearly an error. See also Edison's films were made by the Kinetograph Department of the Edison Manufacturing Company. Edison's first moviemaking studio—and the world's first—was the Black Maria in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

, where production of Kinetoscope films began in early 1893. The

Edison Studios Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then T ...

productions moved to a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

facility after the turn of the century, and a few years later to a studio in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Filming locations around the United States and abroad were used. The company had the same senior executives as the more profitable National Phonograph Company, to which Edison paid more attention. Edison was also distracted by other enterprises including storage batteries, iron ore and cement, which competed for finance and led to loss of focus. In February 1911 the company's assets were assigned to

The Edison Manufacturing Company was formally dissolved on 9 November 1926.

Gallery

The Lighthouse by the Sea - Edwin S. Porter - 1911, Edison Manufacturing Company - EYE FLM38670 - OB 685482.webm, Silent movie with tinting ''Lighthouse by the Sea'' (1911) directed by Edwin S. Porter for Edison Manufacturing Company. Running time: 14:46. Lord and the Peasant - Die Heimkehr des Reisenden - J. Searle Dawley, 1912, Edison Manufacturing Company.webm, Silent movie with ''Lord and the Peasant'' (1912) directed by

J. Searle Dawley James Searle Dawley (October 4, 1877 – March 30, 1949) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, stage actor, and playwright. Between 1907 and the mid-1920s, while working for Edison, Rex Motion Picture Company, Famous Playe ...

for Edison Manufacturing Company. Running time: 8:52 Mr. Toots' Tooth - Charles M. Seay - 1913, Edison Manufacturing Company - EYE FLM44279 - OB 685538.webm, Silent comedy movie ''Mr. Toots' Tooth'' (1913) directed by Charles M. Seay for Edison Manufacturing Company. Running time: 06:35. Mr. Toots miraculously loses his tooth.

References

{{Authority control Manufacturing companies established in 1889 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1926 Edison Manufacturing Company Articles containing video clips 1889 establishments in New Jersey 1926 disestablishments in New York (state) American companies established in 1889 American companies disestablished in 1926 Defunct manufacturing companies based in New Jersey Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York City