The Wizard of Menlo Park (49 page)

The stagy dialogue:
Ford’s first published account of the encounter was in his autobiography, published in 1922. There the account was brief. It was only with the publication of
Edison as I Know Him
eight years later that he filled out details and added the dialogue.

Edison did not resume:
The second conversation between Edison and Ford adds verisimilitude to Ford’s account of the first precisely because it does not follow his earlier inspirational theme.

“My Dear Mr. Edison”:
Henry Ford to TAE, 18 February 1907,
TAEPM,
191:71.

had recently been contacted:
Extant correspondence does not make clear if Will Edison had contacted Ford by February 1907. Later that year, he told his father about his spark plug when he asked him for a loan, and Edison turned him down. See William Edison to TAE, 13 November 1907,
TAEPM,
191: 383–385. Will wrote that he had shown the prototype of his plug to Ford and other manufacturers and had received “nothing but praise and not one word against it.” He also said that “Ford alone will take 16,000,” but no order materialized. Three years earlier, Will headed the W. L. Edison Automobile Station and Laboratory, which manufactured spark plugs, plug testers, and spark coils. The manufacturing business apparently had to be supplemented because he also offered services such as brokerage services and car inspections for prospective purchasers of used cars. See William Edison to John Randolph, 12 February 1904,
TAEPM,
189:190.

spasm of competitiveness:
This is the theory suggested by an earlier Edison biographer, Robert Conot. See Conot,
Streak of Luck,
382.

In April 1911:
W. G. Bee to Henry Ford, 6 April 1911, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–18,

At the same time:
W. G. Bee to W. C. Anderson, 6 April 1911, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–18.

Ford accepted:
Henry Ford to TAE, 27 June 1911, cited in Conot,
Streak of Luck,
382.

Finally, after Bee had arranged:
TAE reply in margin of William Anderson to TAE, 29 December 1911, cited in Conot,
Streak of Luck,
382.

Would Ford be interested:
TAE to Henry Ford, 29 October 1912, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–28.

If Jews “are as wise”:
Henry Ford, in collaboration with Samuel Crowther,
My Life and Work
(Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page, 1922),251.

“Please read this”:
TAE to Henry Ford, [November 1916], HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–43.

Edison could expect sales:
Agreement between Ford and Edison, 29 November 1912, HFM & GVRC, Folder 159 A, Box 4, cited in Conot,
Streak of Luck,
382.

the first slice:
Stephen Mambert to Henry Ford, 23 January 1918, HFM & GVRC, Box 16, Folder 52.

he simply made Henry Ford:
“Edison Batteries for New Ford Cars,”
NYT,
11 January 1914.

The New York newspapers:
“Henry Ford Seeks Mr. Edison’s Aid,”
NYH,
10 January 1914.

mutual interest in gardening:
Martha Coman and Hugh Weir, “The Most Difficult Husband in America,”
Collier’s,
18 July 1925.

Edison is said to have complained:
Henry Ford and the Florida Everglades, typescript, n.d., HFM & GVRC, Vertical File: Edison/Ford Everglades.

“Mr. Edison has few friends”:
“Why Edison Chooses to Be Deaf,”
Literary Digest,
8 August 1925. Mina Edison also noted that Edison’s friendship with Ford had meant much to him.

Ford became his neighbor:
The adjoining parcel of land owned by Gilliland had gone through several changes of ownership and eventually had been purchased by Edison in 1906 and absorbed into his property. In 1916, Ford purchased another plot, so did not occupy the exact spot as Gilliland had. Personal correspondence with Bonnie Newburg, Curatorial Department, Edison & Ford Winter Estates, 9 December 2005.

One exception:
Henry Ford to TAE, 31 March 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–42.

He did not pause:
E. G. Liebold to W. G. Bee, 17 April 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–37.

Edison complied:
Ibid.

The injurious agent in Cigarettes:
TAE to Friend Ford, 26 April 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–37.

hurriedly had signs posted:
“Edison Bans Cigarettes,”
NYT,
11 May 1914. Edison’s managers would vainly attempt to enforce the ban for years. A. C. Frost, the manager of the company’s insurance department, expressed concern that lax enforcement created a fire hazard and possibly risked the loss of fire insurance coverage. He told line managers that “in order to enforce this rule it may be necessary to make an example of one or two employees.” See A. C. Frost, memorandum, 6 July 1920, ENHS, Stephen Mambert, Incoming Correspondence—1920—Edison Companies, Mambert, S. B.

Edison was accustomed:
“Edison Wants a Good Chew,”
NYT,
6 April 1914.

He did not have to:
“Edison Bans Cigarettes.”

A
New York Times
editorial:
“An Inventor out of His Field,”
NYT,
12 May 1914.

Percival Hill:
“T. A. Edison Begins to Wince,”
New York Commercial,
18 May 1914.

James Zobian:
“It Was Mr. Edison’s Mistake,”
Pittsburgh Leader,
9 July 1914.

furniture made of concrete:
“Joy for Newlyweds Promised by Edison,”
Boston Evening American,
10 December 1911.

Some commentators were not even certain:
Untitled,
Albany Evening Journal,
14 December 1911; “Concrete Furniture? No!”
Kansas City Times,
16 December 1911.

Cartoonists had no difficulty:
“A Concrete Example of the Triumph of Mind over Matter,” cartoon,
Minneapolis Journal,
9 December 1911. Also see “Mr. Edison’s Concrete Furniture,”
Topeka Daily Capital,
n.d. Another humorous treatment is found in “Will Concrete Furniture Be Used? Never,”
Davenport Times,
21 December 1911. All clippings at ENHS, Newspaper Clippings, January–December 1911.

Edison would receive:
Henry Ford to TAE, telegram, 11 February 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–34.

Mina, a birdhouse:
W. G. Bee to E. G. Liebold, 25 April 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–3.

a Model T engine:
E. G. Liebold to TAE Jr, 19 February 1914; TAE Jr. to W. G. Bee, 4 June 1914; E. G. Liebold to TAE Jr., 11 June 1914. All three letters in HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 8–17.

followed by a new car:
W. G. Bee to E. G. Liebold, 1 July 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–4.

Charles Edison received:
E. G. Liebold to Charles Edison, 10 December 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–6.

Theodore Edison:
W. G. Bee to Henry Ford, 30 November 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–5; “Ford Gives Auto to Young Edison,”
NYT,
26 December 1914. The Edisons were not the only recipients of Ford’s generosity. Later, between 1921 and 1942, Ford gave away what one scholar estimated to be about 200 cars, 23 trucks, and 15 tractors, whose recipients included John D. Rockefeller and Randolph A. Hearst. See Reynold M. Wik,
Henry Ford and Grass-Roots America
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1971), 217. In 1920, the four members of the Edison family who lived at Glenmont—Tom, Mina, Charles, and Theodore—had nine cars: four Fords; two Detroit Electrics; a Cadillac; a Simplex; and a Locomobile limousine. See A. C. Frost to R. W. Kellow, 16 June 1920, ENHS, Stephen Mambert, Incoming Correspondence—1920—Edison Companies, Mambert, S. B.

On one occasion:
J. W. Hill to Henry Ford, 1 April 1916, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–49.

When Ford first visited:
W. G. Bee to TAE, 1 April 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 2, Folder 2–41.

Movies made with Edison equipment:
“Edison Batteries for New Ford Cars,”
NYT,
11 January 1914.

Edison dictating machines:
E. G. Liebold to W. G. Bee, 20 January 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–2.

Cement made by the Edison Portland Cement Company:
Walter S. Mallory to John Graham, 1 August 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–4.

Ford Motor’s chief architect:
E. G. Liebold to W. G. Bee, 10 August 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–4.

Ford happened to be in New York:
W. G. Bee to E. G. Liebold, 11 December 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4–5.

Another $100,000 loan:
Stephen Mambert to Henry Ford, 23 January 1918, HFM & GVRC, Box 16, Folder 52.

when Edison was finalizing plans:
TAE to E. G. Liebold, 23 February 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-6.

It turned out that there was no such thing:
E. G. Liebold to W. H. Meadowcroft, 25 February 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-6.

Edison would have none:
W. H. Meadowcroft to E. G. Liebold, 27 February 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-6.

he was “at a loss”:
E. G. Liebold to W. H. Meadowcroft, 1 March 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-6.

Never mind:
TAE to E. G. Liebold, telegram, 18 March 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-6. This was not the end of the tale. Ford then offered the services of one of his senior executives who was in New York, who did call Edison and pay a visit. See E. G. Liebold to W. H. Meadowcroft, 18 March 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-6.

In October 1915:
W. H. Meadowcroft to T. Commerford Martin, 5 October 1915, ENHS.

accompanied by a police officer:
“Edison’s Life Threatened,”
NYT,
27 October 1915. The year before, Edison publicly had disavowed any plans to work on weapons: “Making things which kill men is against my fibre.” See “Edison Won’t Invent Man-Killing Devices,”
NYT,
26 October 1914.

could not avoid being surrounded:
“Noted Pair Keep Walking Eight Hours,”
San Francisco Chronicle,
20 October 1915.

Edison and Ford also were feted:
“Edison Laughs at Plight of Friend Ford,”
San Francisco Chronicle,
21 October 1915.

Edison had his secretary:
W. H. Meadowcroft to Alice Verlet, 22 March 1916, ENHS.

“I would not trouble”:
L. C. Curlin to TAE, 8 March 1919, and TAE marginal note in HFM & GVRC, Box 5, Folder 5-4.

When Meadowcroft dispatched:
W. H. Meadowcroft to E. G. Liebold, 20 March 1919, HFM & GVRC, Box 5, Folder 5-4.

Liebold received the request favorably:
E. G. Liebold to W. H. Meadowcroft, 24 March 1919, HFM & GVRC, Box 5, Folder 5-4.

no deal was arranged:
Telephone interview with Jack Curlin, Lemuel Calvert Curlin’s grandson, 22 June 2006.

In June 1914:
TAE Jr. to E. G. Liebold, 3 July 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 17. For Madeleine Edison’s wedding, see “Bridal Party Dines on Eagle Rock,”
NYT,
16 June 1914 and “Madeleine Edison a Bride,”
NYT,
18 June 1914. Madeleine’s new husband, John Sloane, apparently wasted no time trying to use his marital tie to Edison to advance his own business interests as an airplane manufacturer. He arranged a deal to sell planes to the Russian government to be financed by Japan’s Mitsui Company and personally secured by funds he expected to obtain from his father-in-law. “Sloane found himself unable to get the financial aid he expected from his relatives,” the
New York Times
later reported, when the deal unraveled and Sloane sued Mitsui. See “Edison’s Son-in-Law Sues,”
NYT,
1 May 1917.

When it finally was shipped:
E. G. Liebold to W. G. Bee, 3 July 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-4.

sent a thank-you letter:
TAE Jr. to E. G. Liebold, 3 July 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 17.

The company took possession:
E. G. Liebold to Ford Motor Company, Long Island City, 11 June 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 8-17.

Tom Jr. did make a good case:
TAE Jr. to Billy [W. G. Bee], 7 July 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-4.

Bee served as his advocate:
W. G. Bee to E. G. Liebold, 1 July 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-4.

appears to have embarrassed Liebold:
E. G. Liebold to W. G. Bee, 11 July 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-4.

When Liebold agreed:
Ibid.

In January 1915, he wrote:
TAE Jr. to Henry Ford, 15 January 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 16.

Later in the year, he addressed:
TAE Jr. to Henry Ford, 14 November 1915, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 16.

In 1917, after visiting Detroit:
TAE Jr. to Henry Ford, 16 February 1917, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 16. For other thank-you notes in this time frame, see TAE Jr. to Henry Ford, 10 June 1917, and TAE Jr. to Henry Ford, 7 July 1917, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 16.

The work on his gadget:
Beatrice Edison to E. G. Liebold, 6 October 1919, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 17.

His Ecometer attached:
The Ecometer,
pamphlet, n.d. [May 1921 conjectured], HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 8-17.

Ford’s engineers:
Tom Jr. told Liebold that he was not discouraged by the test results because the tests at Ford must not have been conducted according to his instructions. He also said that “my head does bother me more than any living being knows and all I can say is that these dreadful pains are indeed one great big handicap to me.” TAE Jr. to E. G. Liebold, 7 May 1921; TAE Jr., and Beatrice Edison to E. G. Liebold, 8 June 1921; E. J. Farkas to E. G. Liebold, 28 July 1921, HFM & GVRC, Box 8, Folder 8-17. Junior’s company went into receivership in 1924. See “Receiver Gets Inventions,”
NYT,
22 June 1924.

In late 1913:
W. G. Bee to E. G. Liebold, telegram, 20 November 1913, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-1.

Liebold installed:
E. G. Liebold to W. G. Bee, 10 April 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-3.

As the sales manager:
W. G. Bee to E. G. Liebold, 16 April 1914, HFM & GVRC, Box 4, Folder 4-3.