The following slideshow composed of old newspaper clips on Nikola Tesla are from Iwona Rudinska, Editor of The Tesla Collection.
On March 18, 1885 a group of investors approached Nikola Tesla and asked him to develop an improved arc lighting system. They would in turn finance the Tesla Electric Light Company in Rahway, NJ. Tesla developed a unique design that was aesthetically pleasing as well as efficient. After he did this he eventually was forced out of the company holding some worthless stock. This was, in Tesla’s words, the hardest blow he had ever received. Unfortunately, unlike Thomas Edison, Tesla was not a good businessman.
A view of the Tesla arc lamp. (Image courtesy of the Tesla Collection)
The article states:
The main objects desired to be secured by the inventor, were first of all, simple and reliable apparatus; preventing the vibrations of the movable carbon in consequence of the fluctuations of the current; then to obtain a perfect feed and a steady light. The lamp cuts itself out and in without the aid of any auxiliary apparatus. The action of the magnets of the lamp is so delicate that the feeding is imperceptible. The design of the lamp frame is neat, and the lamp is substantial and reliable.
This system is now in daily use on the streets of Rahway, N.J., where all visitors are privileged to see it at work. The company is now constructing a number of large machines, and is ready to go before the general public with an arc light system that will, no doubt, meet with great favor.
Next: The dynamic Mr. Tesla.