Important Sci/Tech History Up For Auction In UK

mikey_man380 writes "Reuters reports that some original Edison light bulbs and extremely important scientific documents will be auctioned off in the UK. The box of original light bulbs used in court by Edison to defend his patent rights will be up for auction in the United Kingdom. Other important historical items to be included in the auction are Albert Einstein's first scientific essay, a first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" and an alchemical manuscript by Isaac Newton."

Comments

Antique Christmas Lights Museum

[xmas2003]

On a related note, if you happen to be interested in the history of Christmas Lights, check out this site. George Nelson has a very detailed history of Christmas Lights per his table of contents.

While my Controllable Christmas Lights for Celiac Disease are a bit high-tech & over-the-top, George's site is a nice trip back in time of the last 100+ years when even electricity itself was a novelty - one interesting tidbit - "The world's first practical light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879, and a mere three years later in 1882 an associate of his, one Edward Johnson, electrically lit a Christmas tree for the first time. The tree was in the parlor of Johnson's New York City home, located in the first section of that city to be wired for electricity. The display created quite a stir"

Should be in a museum

[kisanth88]

These things should be in a museum and on display for all people to see.

All of the above are some of the foundations of the modern world.

They are some of the building blocks for the technological revolution of the 20th century.

It would be a shame for these to be in some private collection out of view of the world.

-John

Re:Should be in a museum

[Cadallin]

Why? The Edison lightbulbs are just junk, the 1st edition "Origin of Species" is interesting only as a novelty for librarians. The alchemical manuscript by Newton is possibly interesting, but only if the text is not preserved elsewhere, and even if its not the text is really only of interest to Biographers. The text itself almost certainly is of no scientific worth.

Better that they be in some private collection, so that at least then SOMEBODY could enjoy them. Very few people go to museums, University or Otherwise, and while many Museums and University Anthropology Departments house some fascinating treasures, nobody gets any enjoyment out of them. The sit around mouldering in drawers, boxes and crates. Most of the interesting stuff is never, ever put on display, and often nobody even knows it exists (Anthropologists being notoriously piss-poor at actually publishing anything).

I'm not just pulling this out of my ass either. If you know anybody who works at a major University with a Significant Anthro dept. see if you can talk to them. I am personally aware that the University of TN has literally metric TONS of artifacts scattered in crates throughout the campus. What's in them? Who knows? They aren't even really of any archaeological value any more, having been completely removed from their context.

Re:Should be in a museum

[0-9a-f]

I've often felt that as the rift between Science and Religion appears to become more divisive, the closer the two become in most people's minds.

There seems to be an awful lot of attention paid to the artefacts of science today - a nostalgic yearning to touch something of the vitality of the process of discovery. It's as though "science" and "discovery" are unattainable, except through contact with the objects of the past.

There is likewise a lot of effort put into seeking out the artefacts of religion - whether through archeology, or by personal pilgrimage. Spiritual growth is quickly lost or forgotten in the desire to simply encounter an object of the past, as though the modern world provides no access to the joy of spirit.

But what can we expect, when people "believe" the "miracles" of medical science, and at the same time "know" that science proves the power of prayer. Even scientific discussions in popular media can easily turn into acts of faith - obesity, global warming, cigarettes, and evolution are all fuelled by emotion instead of logic. For most people, science is religion and scientists are the High Priests.

Auctions such as this only increase the desirability of owning a piece of the past. To what end? Well, it certainly serves little scientific purpose - as has already been pointed out.

Brush Electric Company Headquarters - built 1872

[EaglemanBSA]

The light bulb may be up for auction, but the original manufacturing plant, equipment and all, is still here in Cleveland - I'd know, I work there. Came across prints today dating back to 1895. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&z =19&ll=41.508798,-81.655616&spn=0.001426,0.002511& t=h&om=1 Unfortunately, significant artifacts of this type get not only auctioned off, but junked and lost all together. It's a tragedy at times, really.

Re:Hmm...

[MikeWasHere05]

I don't think the RIAA got that memo...

Create backups for history

[JavaManJim]

I worry about the occasional fire disaster overtaking museums and their irreplaceable contents. This happens more often than we think. For example the Library at Alexandria Egypt fire, the 1988 Leningrad Library Fire, the Duchess Anna Amalia library fire, and many many more.

So imagine the 23 bulbs be divided up into several batches and distributed to have a couple on each continent. Taking the large view we should create two Smithsonian type museums with approximately duplicate contents.

Biblical fragments (i.e papyri, uncial fragments, and minuscules) have been distributed thusly. There are more than 600 fragments that compose modern bibles and those fragments are all over the world.

It never hurts to have backups. Even outside of IT.

Thanks,
Jim Burke

Re:Create backups for history

[Kamineko]

Three Bulbs for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows no longer lie.
One Bulb to rule them all, One Bulb to find them,
One Bulb to bring them all and in the light bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows no longer lie.

The Missing Link.

[ahoehn]

The entire catalog of the items being auctioned is here. If I had an extra 4 to 6 thousand pounds I think I'd go for the particularly beautiful An Account of the Foxglove, and Some of its Medical Uses .

I've never really understood paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for pieces of art, but I could imagine buying things from this action had I the means.
Maybe I'm more of a boorish nerd than I previously imagined.