Edison Artifacts Find New Home Near Detroit CHICAGO, IL - In 1884, Thomas Edison and Albert Blake Dick forever changed the course of the printing world by their collaboration and invention of the mimeograph machine. The Information Age has modernized dramatically over their advancement and today, people can learn much more about this and other eras at the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, near Detroit. A.B.Dick Company is proud to have made a significant equipment contribution to the museum, with a gift of several unique pieces of vintage printing equipment. A.B.Dick memorabilia totaling 25 pieces in all were donated to the Ford museum last month. Three Edison mimeographs dating circa 1887 and 1894, and three Edison Dick mimeographs, built between 1913 and 1932, were included in the shipment. Two small mimeograph machines, which were specifically commissioned in 1920 for the printing of New York City Police Department identification cards, were donated, as well as two, 1894 Edison mimeograph typewriters, an 1890 planetary pencil pointer, and a 1950’s era A.B.Dick Spirit duplicator. A special edition book, Office Duplicating, written by George Miller and reproduced on the mimeograph duplicator, was also part of the collection. “The equipment we sent is a slice of Americana, and there is no better place to showcase the spirit of American ingenuity than the Ford Museum & Greenfield Village,” said Brian Longe, President and CEO of A.B.Dick Company. “We are proud as an organization to be able to donate these treasured artifacts and share our company’s contribution to American history. I’m sure this equipment and the other items we have sent in the past will serve an historical purpose and enrich public understanding of the timeline and significant advancements to the communication industry’s production methods of the last 118 years.” Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village attracts more than 1.5 million visitors a year. Located in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, the largest indoor/outdoor history museum recognizes and preserves American innovation and resourcefulness. Throughout October, five items from the A.B.Dick collection will be featured on its web site at www.hfmgv.org/collections/acquisitions. The world-class Ford museum is open year-round. However, the 73-year-old Greenfield Village located next door closed recently for upgrades to its infrastructure. The Village, which captures 300 years of America’s past with more than 70 structures built on a set of streets, will complete a $15 million project in time to reopen in June, 2003. “We welcome the donation made by A.B.Dick and look to preserve it as part of our efforts to showcase the best and brightest stories of how our country was built,” said Bill Pretzer, the museum’s Curator of Communications.