Early "Edison" Dynamo

Early "Edison" dynamo, L No.61, 150 amps 100 volts

American inventor Thomas Edison made some of the earliest generators to be used for bulk power supply. This Edison design was familiarly known as the ‘long-waisted Mary Anne’ from the length of the narrow vertical cylinder poles. It was first made in 1881 and twelve similar machines were used in 1882 to supply power at the Electricity Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in Sydenham. This particular example delivered 100 volts DC and was used to power machinery at the Anchor Thread Mills, Paisley, from 1886 to 1913. Very few dynamos from this early period survive anywhere in the world.