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A case of light bulbs used by lighting pioneer Thomas Edison was sold for a staggering £95,000 at auction at Christie's in London on Wednesday 13 December. The rediscovered collection of 22 light bulbs was used as evicence in the famous trial of 1890 which saw Edison defend his patent.
Edison's first experimental light bulbs glowed for around 40 hours, and needed to be heated to temperatures of over 2000°C to create light. The patent was upheld at the trial, and Edison's holdings became part of the newly-formed General Electric Company.
In contrast to Edison's first light bulbs, the new T2 CFL amp from GE measures just 8cm and lasts up to 6,000 hours, beating its 1890 counterpart by 5,960 hours. In addition, rather than running at over 2000°C, the new T2 bulb only needs to be heated to 100°C to produce the same amount of light.
One of the most interesting bulbs in the collection offers material proof that Edison unwittingly invented a working diode 21 years before John Ambrose Fleming. Known as The Edison Effect Lamp, it was used by the great inventor during his experiments for 1883 in which he attempted to attract soot deposits originating from the filament. The box of 22 bulbs also includes 7 tar-putty lamps made by Howell to Edison's design, two bulbs from the 1881 Paris Electrical Exhibition, one bulb and socket made by the British Electric Light Company, two bulbs, a socket and a glass stem made by Sir Joseph Swan and six bulbs and sockets made by Hiram Maxim.
GE continue to pioneer innovative technologies, and in January 2007 they will launch the revolutionary 'T2' in the UK - an innovative bulb that uses the latest CFL technology. And while the T2 bulbs will cost just £3.49, the antique Edison bulbs reached £95,000 in Wednesday's bid for history.
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