Light switch for Edison installation
Light switch for Edison installation
Usage conditions apply
- Description (Brief)
- Original switch key by which current was turned on lamps in the building. #499 and 451 Water Street, New York City, on the evening of January 15, 1881. A wooden pivot switch mounted on a wooden base. Four binding posts. Used in the Hinds-Ketchum printing plant as part of the first commercial installation of the Edison lighting system.
- Object Name
- Switch
- electrical switch
- Other Terms
- Switch; Components; Power and Lighting; Power and Lighting
- Date made
- 1881
- place made
- United States: New Jersey, Edison, Menlo Park
- Measurements
- overall: 4 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in; 11.43 cm x 13.97 cm x 6.35 cm
- ID Number
- EM.180942
- catalog number
- 180942
- accession number
- 24315
- Credit Line
- from Joseph E. Hinds
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Electricity
- Energy & Power
- Industry & Manufacturing
- Exhibition
- Lighting a Revolution
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
