Light-bulb, filament carbon E.S. cap, Edison


Light-bulb, filament carbon E.S. cap, Edison. Label on glass says 'Edisons Patent'.
Filaments made from paper were not entirely satisfactory. Filaments made from bamboo proved to be much better and were used in all Edison lamps for a number of years.
Edison tried many different materials for his filaments. The first sample of bamboo reputedly came from a palm-leaf fan found in the laboratory. Edison sent explorers all over the world to look for the best type of bamboo, but a supply of a suitable type was easily arranged from Japan. It was probably in the spring of 1880 that Edison first tried bamboo, though in June 1880 he was still trying new materials.
Cite this page
Rights
We encourage the use and reuse of our collection data.
Data in the title, made, maker and details fields are released under Creative Commons Zero
Descriptions and all other text content are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
Download
Download catalogue entry as json
View manifest in IIIF viewer
Add to Animal Crossing Art Generator
Download manifest IIIF
Our records are constantly being enhanced and improved, but please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information shown on this website.