There is also a "fantasy" novel written by Tim Powers where a boy is
possessed by the ghost of Edison after inhaling the contents of the vile...

It's a very entertaining book, by the way.

Jim

>Actually not just a "jar of air," but a test-tube like vial in the
>collections of the Henry Ford Museum in
>Dearborn, MI. The history of this vial is intriguing, as far as I remember
>it. Supposedly Thomas Edison's son,
>Charles Edison, who was heading up his father's company at the time of the
>inventor's death in 1931, actually
>captured some of his father's breath as he lay dying in his home,
>Glenmont, in West Orange, NJ. Strange thing
>for any son to do, but the story may have some truth. Thomas Edison was a
>hugely popular hero throughout his
>life and as he got older was much revered. The vial survives and can be
>seen, so labeled. ???? A hoax? I
>wouldn't put that tag on it. An unusual historic item that triggers lots
>of new ways of thinking about the
>social/historical/cultural image of Thomas Edison, yes.
>
>I was curator at Edison's lab and home in West Orange for the National
>Park Service from 1981-1987.
>
>--
>Edward Jay Pershey
>Task Force Director
>Crawford Museum of Transportation & Industry
>Western Reserve Historical Society
>Cleveland, OH  441106
>216 721-5722 x228
>
>"Building a New Future for the Past" on Cleveland's Lake Front

Jim Angus
New Media
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA  90007

http://www.nhm.org

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When they told me I was average, they were just being mean.