With Edison at Schenectady, 1892 [An epochal souvenir album in the history of technology in America, featuring 24 sepia-tinted Aristotype photographs of the Edison General Electric Company’s factory works and employees].

Schenectady & [Jamestown], NY: Edison General Electric Co.,[American Aristotype Co.], 1892. Oblong thick 4to. 12.5 x 9.5 x 2.5 in. [24 leaves (unnumbered).], on thick light gray studio board, each hinged at gutter margin, w/ 24 tinted Aristotype photographs, sized 6.5 x 8.5 in., all w/ identifying text, or information, w/in negative, some collage compositions of several photos, w/ decorative borders w/in the image. Contemporary padded textured calf, decorative gilt lettering stamped on front cover, white silk moire pastedowns, a.e.g. (excellent interior w/ all images in fine condition, expertly rebacked, and padded covers restored at fore-edges preserving their original character), still a VG bright copy, w/ presentation inscription on ffep., “Compliments of John Kruesi” (1843-1899), who at the time was Edison’s General Manager overseeing the Schenectady Edison General Electric Works. First edition, presentation copy, of this lavish souvenir sales album for the Edison General Electric Co.’s works, published when General Electric conglomerate was formed, after merging with the Thomas-Houston Co. The opening photo captures cabinet card images of Thomas Edison, surrounded by his lieutenants, including Peter Weber, A. Weber, Samuel Insull, W.E. Gilmore, John Kruesi, et al. In many ways it proved rather ironic, as the merger of the two electric companies by financier J.P. Morgan -- who at the time controlled the majority of Edison stock, was completed without informing Edison of the move. At the time the inventor was devoting considerable energy to overseeing the development and introduction of the Kinetoscope. Another image shows the tremendous works which had been erected in Schenectady, following the moving of the company to Schenectady, NY from Manhattan to expand with cheaper labor and land. Edison through his agents had secured recently erected buildings in 1885 from the estate of Charles Stanford for $45,000, by offering only $ 37,500, and after a few private citizens agreed to kick in an an extra $ 7500.00. These remarkable images show the engineering department, Edison light bulbs, the power station, generators, foundry, fire engines, boiler room, views of No. 9 and No. 10 shops, and assembling S.C. Motors. Also depicted are the boring mills, core winders, motor testing department, cable testing equipment, mining locomotives, electric street railway cars and equipment, as well as the women working in the Armature Department winding street car armatures, and preparing mica insulators. Kruesi was a Swiss-American mechanical engineer, trained in Zurich, and recruited by Edison as an assistant in 1870 where he constructed the very first phonograph for Thomas Edison, and would later develop the innovative underground tubing system used by Edison and other industrial plants. Initially he was the Engineer in Chief for the Manhattan, New York works for Edison Machine, but later became the Manager of the Schenectady works by 1885. The Aristotype photographs were composed of a three-layer process, comprising paper, baryum sulphate in gelatin, and finally a layer of emulsion containing silver chloride, allowing contact photographs producing excellent sharp images with identical dimensions to the negative. Aristotype photographs and photographic paper largely supplanted albumen through the 1880’s into the early 20th Century. Although attributed in Worldcat, and 4 separate institutional catalogues to William H. Butler as compiler, Butler at the time was a machinist & molder in the Armature Dept. for Edison, so most likely instead would either have been a presenter or recipient of one of these very expensive productions. Worldcat locates 4 copies (Union College, Harvard, Linda Hall, U of O Library).