At present he is working at the 'Kinetograph,' a combination of the
phonograph and the instantaneous photograph as exhibited in the
zoetrope, by which he expects to produce an animated picture or
simulacrum of a scene in real life or the drama, with its appropriate
words and sounds.
Edison now resides at Llewellyn Park, Orange, a picturesque suburb of
New York. His laboratory there is a glorified edition of Menlo Park,
and realises the inventor's dream. The main building is of brick, in
three stories; but there are several annexes. Each workshop and testing
room is devoted to a particular purpose. The machine shops and dynamo
rooms are equipped with the best engines and tools, the laboratories
with the finest instruments that money can procure. There are drawing,
photographic, and photometric chambers, physical, chemical, and
metallurgical laboratories. There is a fine lecture-hall, and a
splendid library and reading-room. He employs several hundred workmen
and assistants, all chosen for their intelligence and skill. In this
retreat Edison is surrounded with everything that his heart desires. In
the words of a reporter, the place is equally capable of turning out a
'chronometer or a Cunard steamer.' It is probably the finest laboratory
in the world.
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