Scope and Content Note
The records of the Edison Electric Light Company consist of three bound volumes spanning the period 1879-1894. Two of the volumes contain verified copies of patents granted by the Canadian government to Thomas A. Edison and other employees of his New York firm. The patents relate to improvements in such areas as incandescent lamps and methods of manufacture, fittings and fixtures, electric dynamo machines, electric railroads, and systems of electrical generation and distribution. The third volume documents the codification of regional codes in the United States by insurance underwriters to create national standards for electrical construction and operation. Edison founded the Edison Electric Light Company, the world's first central generating plant, in 1882.