Edison light bulb collection to go under the hammer

A COLLECTION of 23 light bulbs used by Thomas Edison to prove he was the inventor of the ground-breaking technology went on display yesterday ahead of their auction.

The bulbs were used in a trial in 1890 when Mr Edison defended his patent for the light bulb.

They were documented at the time of the trial but were presumed lost until 2002, when they were discovered by chance in a US attic, still in their original wooden case.

The collection is to be offered for sale during a Landmarks of Science and Technology sale at Christie’s in London on December 13 and could fetch up to £300,000 (€444,000).

Mr Edison, who first obtained a US patent in 1880, is often credited with the invention of the light bulb, although Joseph Swan received a British patent for his device in 1878.

Mr Swan and Mr Edison jointly marketed the device on either side of the Atlantic before Edison fought over the legal right to the patent for the invention.