Displayed is a terrific, circa 1920s Thomas Edison Type I photograph of America's premier inventor. Edison was born in 1847 and displayed an interest in science and mechanics from an early age but had limited formal schooling. He read a great deal on his own, and as a young man he became a telegraph operator and many of his inventions traced back to ideas he gleaned while working with the telegraph. Edison was the first inventor to have an industrial research laboratory. Much of his research utilized a team approach and was conducted in Newark, New Jersey, and then at Menlo Park, also in New Jersey. Edison held 1,093 U.S. patents, the most prolific U.S. inventor in history. He was instrumental in the development of the phonograph, motion pictures, and early versions of the electric, incandescent light bulb. In the offered photograph, Edison appears to be holding an incandescent light bulb in his left hand and touching a much larger version of the incandescent light bulb with his right hand. There is an International News Photo stamp on back. The stirring, dignified photo has been encapsulated and PSA Certified as Type I AUTHENTIC.