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