SOLD: Edison Signed Letter - $2500

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Phonomark
Victor II
Posts: 280
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:00 pm
Location: SF Bay Area California

SOLD: Edison Signed Letter - $2500

Post by Phonomark »

Fellow Forum Members-

Today, here is an excellent signed Edison letter. Here's a couple of key observations:
  • The letter is on the official Edison Laboratory letterhead and is dated November 14, 1916 and is addressed to Dr. George F. Kunz. Here's a excerpt from Wikipedia on Dr. Kunz:

    He was the founder and president of the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in 1913, special agent for the US Geological Survey (1883–1909), a research curator at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, and the leading advocate in the establishment of the international carat as a unit of measure for precious gems. He also assembled the Morgan-Tiffany collection of gems in the American Museum of Natural History. Kunz had an active life dedicated to science and public service.

    The "umbrella" stroke of Edison's autograph is an excellent example of this iconic signature.
    The letter includes a nice personal message from Mr. Edison that is also signed with his familiar "E"
    The letters subject matter is somewhat interesting given the person Edison was sending to with the personal message about diamond cleavages, but is not phonograph related.
    The letter shows some minor discoloration and has some faint fold marks.
    Guaranteed to be an original letter and signature.
A great opportunity to get two signatures and a personal note in one document. Very worthy item for your Edison collection. Suitable for framing. Don't miss out on this one.

I moved this to Ebay to garner a larger audience. And I included USPS Priority Express Mail shipping with full insurance coverage.


Mark
Attachments
Edison Letter - 103a.jpg
Last edited by Phonomark on Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:04 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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MTPhono
Victor III
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:58 pm
Location: Hayden, ID

Re: FOR SALE: Edison Signed Letter - $1500

Post by MTPhono »

Amazing offering Mark!

Phonomark
Victor II
Posts: 280
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:00 pm
Location: SF Bay Area California

Re: SOLD: Edison Signed Letter - $2500

Post by Phonomark »

Thanks Scott-

It is a very cool piece of history. Reading about Dr. George F. Kunz, may leave us phonograph collectors to wonder whether there was other correspondence between the two of them since its about the same time period as the Edison Diamond Disk reproducer, stylus, etc. Here's another snippet regarding Dr. Kunz:
By age 14, he allegedly was selling minerals to overseas collectors. When he was 20, Kunz sold 4,000 specimens, weighing over a ton, to the University of Minnesota for $400.
He became a gem expert for Tiffany’s at the age of 23 and stayed there for 53 years. He was Tiffany and Co.’s vice president of gemology from 1879 until his death in 1932.
From 1904 to 1918 he served as research curator of gems and precious stones for the Museum of Natural History, and later was made research associate of gems.
Dr. Kunz was president of the association to introduce the metric system into the United States, and all jewelers owe him a debt of gratitude for his efforts in aiding the establishment of the international carat.
With that, Edison's comment about cleavage planes makes sense. It would look great framed and mounted on your wall along with portraits of both men..!!

Mark
Attachments
George F. Kunz Portrait-opt.png
George F. Kunz Portrait-opt.png (412.28 KiB) Viewed 275 times

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