^#188 ^Lot 199 Thomas Edison

Two ANSs, in pencil, one signed “Edison,” the other signed “E,” on the first page of a two-page TLS to Edison from Frank Dyer, 8.5 x 11, Legal Department letterhead, dated March 23, 1908, Dyer’s letter pertains to a proposal by Lincoln Reality Company to build experimental affordable cement houses in accord with Edison’s idea. Dyer writes, in part: “Personally, I do not like the looks of these men, and I have some literature of the Lincoln Reality Company, which impressed me as being objectionable and somewhat misleading. My own impression is that they are not desirable people to affiliate with…I feel convinced that their purpose is to get some sort of concession from you, which they could use in an advertising way.” At the top of the first page Edison writes, “Nothing doing—won’t give them exclusive right, Edison,” and writing underneath the first note, “Dyer do nothing till I return E.” In very good condition, with intersecting folds, a uniform shade of mild toning to both pages, staple holes to top, a few creases and wrinkles, and an office stamp to right edge of first page. Edison patented a plan for pre-fabricated concrete housing in 1908. Over 500 molds were needed to create a single dwelling, and costs soon skyrocketed making the houses unaffordable and impractical to most.