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Webnotes 3-1 to 3-2 Webnote 3-1 William J. Hammer had worked briefly for Edwin Weston
before he came to Menlo Park in December, 1879, at the age of 22. He
stayed for several years and was especially effective at setting up displays of
the Edison system at various industrial exhibitions. With Edward Johnson
he organized the Holborn Viaduct demonstration in 1882. The electric sign
invention gives some evidence of his interest in exhibits. Hammer went on
to be a consulting engineer, and like many others of his generation became
fascinated with the discovery of x-rays and of natural radiation. He
corresponded with some of the well-known scientists and engineers of his day. These letters, photographs, and other documents are preserved at
the American History Museum's
Archives Center.
Webnote 3-2
The best source of information about the Pearl Street
station is Francis Jehl's Menlo Park Reminiscences, three volumes,
(Dearborn, MI: Edison Institute, 1936, 1938, 1941). However, it should be
used with some caution, since Jehl was writing more than fifty years after the
events and his memory cannot always be trusted. Other sources include the
Edison biographies and the publications of the Edison Papers Project, cited in
webnote 2-1.
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