Edison Electric Pen, circa 1877 - The Henry Ford

Thomas Edison's electric pen, an ancestor of both the mimeograph and the tattoo needle, was a successful product in the mid-1870s. Users would write normally with the pen, which, instead of a nib, had a needle powered by an electric motor. The needle poked holes into a stencil, which was then used to copy the document. Many businesses found document duplication an attractive possibility.

Photos Show 19 Incredible Things You Never Knew Thomas Edison Invented

Photos Show 19 Incredible Things You Never Knew Thomas Edison Invented

Edison's hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy

Kinetoscope edison hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy

Edison Electric Pen, circa 1877 - The Henry Ford

Soundtrack to history: 1878 Edison audio unveiled

Edison Water Motor Phonograph, circa 1890 - The Henry Ford

Thomas edison hi-res stock photography and images - Page 3 - Alamy

Edisons hi-res stock photography and images - Page 2 - Alamy

Thomas Edison's Electric Pen Invention The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation

An education in Thomas Edison's early life, at his birthplace home in Milan, Ohio

Edison's Electric Pen

Edison's Electric Pen

The Henry Ford Magazine January-May 2014 by The Henry Ford Magazine - Issuu

Edison Electric Pen, circa 1877 - The Henry Ford