[Because of the large number of clippings in this scrapbook, it has been indexed in two parts. This note covers both parts. There are numerous repetitive clippings that have not been indexed.]
This scrapbook contains clippings from October-December 1915. Included are numerous articles relating to Edison's trip to California with Henry Ford to visit the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the events of the "Edison Day" celebrations there, and their meeting with horticulturalist Luther Burbank. Also included are accounts of Edison's visit to San Jose, Los Angles, San Diego, Stanford University, and the Lick Observatory; his stopovers in Chicago, Omaha, and Ogden on his way to the West Coast and in Colorado Springs, Denver, Omaha, and Indianapolis on the trip home; and his meetings with poet James Whitcomb Riley in Indianapolis and evangelist Billy Sunday in Omaha. Other topics include Edison's opinions about the war, military preparedness, women's suffrage, and other issues; his diet and sleeping habits; Ford's unsuccessful attempt to enlist his participation in his "Peace Ship" mission to Europe; his involvement in a fund-raising campaign for the Actors' Fund; and the activities, opinions, and spousal role of Mina Miller Edison.
In addition, there are clippings regarding the origins of the word "hello," the implementation of a "social welfare" plan for Edison employees, and false reports that Edison and Nikola Tesla had won the Nobel Prize for physics, along with descriptions of "Edison Day" and "Edison Week" celebrations in towns throughout the country. There are multiple versions from numerous newspapers of most of the stories, and there is considerable overlap between the clippings in this book and those in Scrapbook, Cat. 44,452. The front cover is inscribed "Clippings re Thos. A. Edison"; similar markings appear on the spine. The pages are unnumbered; approximately 250 pages have been used. Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.