Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.1237
- Creators:
-
- Dates:
-
1936
- Languages:
-
- Physical Description:
-
- Repository:
-
The collection consists of newspaper clippings, a guidebook titled Edison Wonder House, and photographs documenting the Edison Wonder House, a demonstration home created by the Brooklyn Edison Company in 1936 to showcase the wonders of electricity.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of newspaper clippings, a guidebook titled Edison Wonder House, and photographs documenting the Edison Wonder House, a demonstration home created by the Brooklyn Edison Company in 1936 to showcase the wonders of electricity.
There are ten 8" x 10" black-and-white photographs that depict the interior of the Wonder House. All of the photographs were taken by the Brooklyn Edison Company, Inc., with the exception of one which was taken by the General Electric Company. There is one 11" x 17" photograph that depicts the hostesses/guides/ who conducted tours explaining the features of the home. The photograph is annotated with the names of all sixteen women.
The guide titled The Edison Wonder House, details by home section (entrance, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and so on) the comforts of electricity. Included is a supplemental insert listing the cooperating firms that provided the building materials and accessories. The stick figure Reddy Kilowatt features prominently in the guide. Reddy Kilowatt was a cartoon figure trademark created in 1926 by Ashton B. Collins, Sr. More than 150 investor-owned electric utilities in the United States and at least twelve foreign countries licensed the use of the Reddy Kilowatt trademark.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is arranged topically.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Brooklyn was founded in 1887 to provide electricity to the homes and businesses of Brooklyn. it merged in 1919 with Kings County Electric Light and Power Company to form Brooklyn Edison. Brooklyn Edison merged with Consolidated Edison and other companies between 1936 and 1960.
In the early 1930s, the Brooklyn Edison Company created a 10 room house called the Edison Wonder House in the lobby of its showroom at Pearl Street in Brooklyn, New York. The house demonstrated the possibilities of electricity in the home. The demonstration home was not intended to be copied, but to provide future homeowners with ideas. Some special features of the house included lighting that was a sight saver, unusual clocks, a built-in aquarium, and a magic door that opened through the operation of an electrical eye.
The architect of the Wonder House was Albert Hart Hopkins of Buffalo, New York. Hopkins practiced architecture with Edward B. Green and Sons in Buffalo.
Administration
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Gretchen T. Hall in 2011.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, July, 2011.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Brooklyn Edison Company Collection, 1936-1937, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Related Materials
Materials in the Archives Center
Reddy Kilowatt Records (AC0913)
Louisan E. Mamer Rural Electrification Administration Papers (AC0862)
Materials in the National Museum of American History, Division of Work and Industry
Brooklyn Edison Company Collection, 1926-1935
Collection contains annual reports of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Brooklyn Edison Company, photographs, drawings, and graphs; and a 1926 pamphlet on the Hell Gate and Sherman Creek Generating Stations of the United Electric Light and Power Company.
Keywords
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu
