Early bank check, 8 x 3, filled out in another hand and signed by Edison, “Thos. A. Edison,” payable to T. F. Carman for $8.00, May 23, 1876. In very good condition, with vertical folds, small tears along edges, cancellation cut to center, and a creased upper right corner.
Edison’s connection to T. F. Carman, a Menlo Park geologist who studied iron ore, is unique in that it’s associated with the inventor’s greatest failure. In the late 1880s and into the early 1890s, Edison worked on mining methods to supply the Pennsylvania steel mills' demand for iron ore. In order to finance this work, he sold all his stock in General Electric, but he was never able to create a separator to extract iron from unusable, low-grade ores. Eventually, he abandoned the idea, after having lost all the money he had invested. A very early Edison signature from a year before he developed the phonograph! Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$75.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
