Thomas Edison Cut Signature

In as new condition, the card is encased in heavy plastic, with the original packaging unopened. Stamped 1/1 in gold on back, along with serialized authentication sticker.

The 2005 Topps Series 2 Baseball Collection featured the enormously popular 48-card World Treasures collection with a lineup of historical heavy hitters such as Pope John Paul II, Napoleon Bonaparte and Winston Churchill; as well as the 51-card Power Brokers series ranging from John Paul Getty and P.T. Barnum to Martin Luther King Jr. and Helen Keller.

 

Currently for sale from the Power Brokers selections is a signature cut from scientist and prolific inventor Thomas Edison (PWC-TE), who holds an astonishing number of patents for his inventions and discoveries. Included in his list of accomplishments are the creation of the light bulb, phonograph, and the first movie camera. His contributions to the technological world greatly impacted many industries until the present, including telecommunication and electric power generation.

 

This rich signature cut is evidently taken from a check from the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, which Edison founded in 1927 together with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone to find a source of rubber that could be grown and produced in the United States. Signed with his classic “umbrella” flourish, the autograph reads, “Thos A Edison” (Edison refrained from signing his complete first name), with the middle initial linked to the “E” of his last name, characteristic of his later years. Underneath his name is the signature of J. Miller, Edison’s brother-in-law and personal secretary who co-signed on all the company’s checks.

 

With expected cancellation holes running through signature, as well as a very faint line drawn after the amount on the check crossing the “umbrella,” the striking autograph is clearly legible and represents a fascinating personality with an important legacy.