Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor, sitting beside his improved machine Size:L: 100 x 80cm Plate 49 from the paper

Plate 49 from the paper 'Observations on the genus planaria'

Petherton Road now occupies the site

Fire at the Alhambra Theatre

Interior ascent of a pyramid

In the centre Gilpin's wife

Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor, sitting beside his improved machine Size:L: 100 x 80cm Plate 49 from the paperThomas Alva Edison, American inventor, sitting beside his improved machine, 1889. Dubbed The Wizard of Menlo Park by a newspaper reporter, Edison (1847 1931) was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1093 US patents in his