Behind the Scenes at Edison at Work

When examining records of the reconstruction, you may be surprised to find contradictory evidence on whether or not the replica is truly built to scale. As Henry Ford wrote, “We have throughout this work run down every detail with Mr. Edison and his associates and I believe that the reproduction is exact.”

However, Ford’s use of the word “exact” is, well, not quite exact. When asked if the reconstruction is perfectly identical to the original, Marc Greuther, Chief Curator at The Henry Ford, responded, “No, it isn’t — things are very outsized here.” Standing inside the laboratory, he pointed to a lamp. “[This] would be as big as a dynamo — six feet tall. It never got to that scale with Edison. So, no, this is a diagrammatic expression that scales up certain things for legibility, if you will.”

However, as Greuther noted, Ford did in fact pay very close attention to detail, explaining that he even had “New Jersey soil transported to Dearborn and spread over the building’s new site.”

So then why did Ford neglect to build the recreation to perfect scale? Did he stretch the truth to preserve his dear friend’s legacy?

Ford implied he took great care in ensuring that the laboratory looked as it had in 1886 before Edison moved — even if that meant sacrificing accuracy for clarity. He wrote, “I want the imaginations of those who see history thus concretely presented to start with the thing itself and not to be wasted trying to supply missing parts of the scene.”

From this quote we see that Ford’s intentions were to preserve the order of the laboratory, to ensure that every beaker and test tube is as it would have been in Edison’s time. He aimed for the reproduction to serve as an educational and inspirational tool, even if he had to oversize some objects for greater transparency.

Greuther confirmed that the organization — the orientation of the various buildings — was crucial to Ford. “It was,” he explained, “oriented in a similar manner to the original structures in New Jersey and incorporated as much original material as could be found in the late 1920s.” Ford intended the laboratory and other structures to serve as an homage to the great American innovator that will inspire future generations. In Greuther’s words, “The installation continues to affirm Ford’s faith in the power of places that could, as he put it, ‘teach more than books can teach.’”