Introduction

In the exhibit that follows we explore the ways in which Edison, during his lifetime, speculated about the technological future and inspired others to imagine how science and technology would change society. The centerpiece of this exhibit is the collaboration between Edison and journalist George Parsons Lathrop on a novel of the future in the style of Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward. It also examines serious and satirical fiction in which Edison appears as a protaganist and dime novels known as Edisonades. It concludes by looking at Edison’s own speculations about the future that appeared in newspaper and journal interviews.