The Superintendent of Thomas Edison’s First Phonograph Factory is Relieved of His Duties, But Edison Advises Him to Stay on to Assist With Edison’s Ongoing Experiments

Keller went on to invent the first successful and reliable coin-op phonograph (jukebox) in the United States

A very uncommon letter concerning Edison’s first phonograph factory

Albert Keller was the assistant to Ezra Gilliland, Edison’s best friend, and the two of them joined Edison at his New York and later lamp factory labs in 1885-1887. After Edison began to develop his wax-cylinder phonograph in 1887, Gilliland and Keller set up a factory to manufacture them with Keller as the superintendent. Gilliland became general agent for the phonograph. Gilliland and Edison’s personal attorney, John Tomlinson, then arranged a deal with Jesse Lippincott to purchase the rights to Edison’s phonograph. In the meantime, Edison set up a separate factory for manufacturing phonographs next to his West Orange Lab. Believing that the side deal that Gilliland and Tomlinson negotiated with Lippincott for Gilliland’s agency rights was done behind his back, Edison cut off all relations and sued Gilliland & Tomlinson. The earlier factory was still being managed by Keller, who had also begun to develop on his own a version of what became known as the nickel-in-slot phonograph, an early jukebox. Edison was unwilling to continue to entrust the entire factory to Keller, who was after all Gilliland’s protege, but valued his experimental talents so was not ready to simply fire him.

This was his solution. Autograph letter signed, from the Edison phonograph factory, March 5, 1889, to Keller, relieving him of his duties as factory manager, but offering an opportunity to remain on the Edison team. “My opinion is that you were never intended by the Almighty to run a large machine shop. Hence after Monday next you will cease to be superintendent of the phonograph factory. If you want to come back with me experimenting, will give you $30 per week and I advise you to accept. Edison.” It’s interesting to see the tactic Edison used with Keller, not even mentioning that the Gilliland and Tomlinson matter had even played a part in his decision. We obtained this letter directly from the Keller descendants, and it has never before been offered for sale. The letter is affixed to a light backing.

By the end of 1889, Keller jumped ship and joined Gilliland, and they along with several other people worked independently on nickel-in-slot phonographs, leading to the creation of the Automatic Phonograph Exhibition Company in 1890 that tried to bring together the various patents. Keller continued his work, and the first really successful and reliable coin-op phonograph (jukebox) in the United States was developed and patented by Keller in 1891.

The Edison Papers tell us that trying to figure out what was going on with Keller and the factory, and the development of the nickel-in-slot phonograph, is not easy because so little material about it has survived. They found this letter enlightening and “very interesting”.