The Wizard
Thomas Edison is remembered as America's greatest inventor. This album remembers what he actually did.
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Thomas Edison is remembered as America’s greatest inventor. This album remembers what he actually did.
The Central Thesis: Edison’s decade-long campaign to associate alternating current with death created a cultural template for public electrocution as spectacle. When Luna Park owners needed to dispose of a “dangerous” elephant in 1903, the infrastructure already existed—because of Edison. He didn’t pull the switch. He didn’t give the order. But he spent years normalizing the idea that electricity could be used to kill publicly, dramatically, and as entertainment.
This is a documentary album. Every claim is sourced. No myths, no legends, no internet folklore. Just the documented record of what Edison did—and what it led to.
Critical Research Finding: Edison had no involvement in Topsy’s death. This is historically documented fact (Rutgers Edison Papers). The War of Currents ended in 1892; Topsy died in 1903. Edison wasn’t present. His company filmed it, but that was standard newsreel practice. The album addresses this directly—Topsy is the culmination of Edison’s legacy, not his action.
Structure:
Chronological narrative from Edison’s early exploitation of employees through to Topsy’s death and Edison’s legacy.
Prologue: The Myth (Track 1)
- Build the legend before tearing it down
- The Wizard of Menlo Park as America worshipped him
Act I: The Machine (Tracks 2-4)
- The invention factory system
- How employees created, Edison patented
- The animal killing program begins
Act II: The Campaign (Tracks 5-8)
- Edison’s letter recommending AC for executions
- The smear campaign against Westinghouse
- The botched Kemmler execution
- The conspiracy exposed
Act III: The Empire (Tracks 9-10)
- Patent warfare and the motion picture monopoly
- Hired thugs, filmmakers fleeing to Hollywood
Act IV: The Elephant (Tracks 11-13)
- Coney Island, 1903—10 years after Edison moved on
- Topsy’s story
- Edison’s legacy of public electrocution as spectacle
Themes:
- Credit theft and exploitation of labor
- Corporate propaganda and public manipulation
- The ethics of invention and progress
- Violence as spectacle and entertainment
- Historical myth vs. documented truth
- Legacy and accountability
// Tracklist
The Wizard
In eighteen seventy-seven… a machine captured a human voice. In eighteen seventy-nine… a glass bulb trapped the light.
One thousand patents. A miracle every week. The newspapers called him a magician. The public called him a prophet. America called him…
The Wizard of Menlo Park.
Thomas Edison.
But wizards have secrets. And this one… killed to keep his.
White building stands in the Jersey mud Where the Wizard works on capturing God A needle scratches, a voice comes back The reporters kneel like the room went black
He trapped a soul in a cylinder of tin And America fell to its knees for him The newspapers printed his face like scripture Menlo Park—the future’s religion
They gave him everything Their faith, their money, their minds They never saw the shadows Moving behind his eyes
The Wizard… The Wizard… The Wizard of Menlo Park What did he do in the darkness Before he sold us the spark? The Wizard… The Wizard… A thousand patents deep What’s buried under the factory That America couldn’t see?
Eighteen seventy-nine, October night Forty hours glowing, the future burning bright He banished the darkness from every street But darkness don’t die—it just retreats
A hundred hands in the factory line Building his legacy, working overtime One name on the patent, one face in the light A hundred ghosts working through the night
They gave him everything Their sweat, their ideas, their lives They never saw the bodies Piling up inside
The Wizard… The Wizard… The Wizard of Menlo Park What did he do in the darkness Before he sold us the spark? The Wizard… The Wizard… A thousand patents deep What’s buried under the factory What secrets did he keep?
They called him the greatest American. They put his name on the future. They never asked what it cost. They never counted the dead.
The Wizard of Menlo Park… The Wizard of Menlo Park…
Now you will.
Menlo Park Machine
Menlo Park, eighteen seventy-six White building in the fields where the Wizard did his tricks But look behind the curtain, past the staged photographs Eighty-one men working, one man signing on their behalf
Batchelor built it, notebooks signed E and B Kruesi machined it, precision Swiss degree Upton did the math that the Wizard couldn’t do But when the patent came back, it only said one name—you knew who
Credit theft machine Every idea they dream Runs through the Wizard’s hands One signature, eleven hundred patents stamped Menlo Park machine Grinding men to steam Edison on top Takes the credit, never stops
Boehm blew the glass, vacuum pumps designed Filed his own claim, patent interference filed Eighteen eighty-one, fought the Wizard in the courts Lost his case but proved the point—Edison’s claims fell short
Dickson made the pictures move, frame by frame he built the art Supreme Court, nineteen oh two, said Edison had no part “Had not invented motion pictures”—that’s the ruling, that’s the law But the Wizard kept the credit, kept the money, kept it all
Credit theft machine Every idea they dream Runs through the Wizard’s hands One signature, eleven hundred patents stamped Menlo Park machine Grinding men to steam Edison on top Takes the credit, never stops
They called it the invention factory Where genius was manufactured on demand But the genius was the system That put everything in one man’s hands
Menlo Park machine Still grinding Still grinding
Fifty-Two Bodies
Neighborhood boys with strays on a leash Twenty-five cents for each one they bring Experiments after dark, SPCA can’t see West Orange laboratory, Edison’s killing spree
Harold Brown on the floor with the wires in his hands Kennelly takes the notes while the current expands Forty-four dogs, one by one they fall Edison pays the bills but he’s not there at all
Fifty-two bodies Forty-four dogs, six calves, two horses Fifty-two bodies To prove that AC kills Fifty-two bodies Edison’s money, Brown’s hands on the dial Fifty-two bodies Stacked up in a pile
Kennelly writes a letter, proud of what they’ve done “Kill a dog now swifter than a rifle or a gun” All to prove that Westinghouse will murder your family AC current is the killer—that’s the publicity
But Edison stays hidden, lets Brown take the stage The Wizard in the background, pulling strings from his cage Funding all the carnage, plausible deny Pay the man to do the dirt, keep your hands dry
Fifty-two bodies Forty-four dogs, six calves, two horses Fifty-two bodies To prove that AC kills Fifty-two bodies Edison’s money, Brown’s hands on the dial Fifty-two bodies Blood on the bill
Twenty-five cents for a life A quarter for the sacrifice All for market share All for patent rights The Wizard doesn’t care
Fifty-two bodies And this is just the start Wait until they try it on a human heart
December Fifth
December fifth, eighteen eighty-eight West Orange lab, the Wizard’s at the gate Not hiding now, not staying in the back Edison’s here to watch the attack
Med-ih-koh Lee-gul Society takes their seats Elbridge Gerry from the death commission meets Reporters with their notebooks, ready for the show Brown and Ken-uh-lee preparing down below
He was there He watched it all He was there When the bodies fall
December fifth The Wizard came to see December fifth What ee-lek-triss-i-tee could be Four calves and a horse Seven hundred seventy volts to the head December fifth Edison watched them fall dead
First calf, hundred twenty-four pounds Between the eyes, the current runs its rounds Stiffens, falls, the smoke begins to rise Edison nods—this is the enterprise
Then he takes the floor, addresses the committee Explains the voltage needed, makes the case look pretty One thousand volts should do it, maybe fifteen hundred more This is what A.C. current is good for
He was there He spoke the words He was there Making sure he’s heard
December fifth The Wizard came to see December fifth What ee-lek-triss-i-tee could be Four calves and a horse Seven hundred seventy volts to the head December fifth Edison watched them fall dead
Can’t blame Brown Can’t blame Ken-uh-lee alone Edison was present In his own killing zone
December fifth He was there December fifth He was there
The Wizard's Letter
December nineteenth, eighteen eighty-seven A year before the dogs would die Edison sits down to write a letter To a man who wants a better way to die
Alfred Southwick, death commission Asking for the Wizard’s expertise “What current kills the quickest, cleanest?” Edison responds with expertise
In his own hand With his own pen The Wizard writes What happens then
The Wizard’s letter Names the man to blame Alternating current From George Westinghouse by name The Wizard’s letter Written proof of the design Link AC to the chair And Westinghouse to crime
“Shortest space of time,” he writes “Least amount of suffering” Says he opposes capital punishment But if the state insists on murdering
Use the current from the competition Alternating, not his own DC Make the execution Westinghouse’s legacy That’s the Wizard’s strategy
In his own hand With his own pen Archived forever Read it again
The Wizard’s letter Names the man to blame Alternating current From George Westinghouse by name The Wizard’s letter Written proof of the design Link AC to the chair And Westinghouse to crime
Before the dogs Before the calves Before the horse fell down Edison had already planned To burn his rival to the ground
December nineteenth Eighteen eighty-seven The Wizard wrote his sin And signed his name
The letter’s still there Rutgers has it filed The Wizard’s own handwriting Exposed and reviled
Westinghoused
February eighty-eight, the pamphlet hits the press Eighty-four pages of fear, nothing less “A Warning from Edison Electric Light” AC current kills, DC’s the only right
But the Wizard wants more than pamphlets can do He wants to rename death with a point of view Dynamort, ampermort, electromort too But his lawyer says he’s got a better word for you
Westinghoused That’s what they’ll call it when you die Westinghoused Edison’s competitor electrified Westinghoused Every execution is an ad Westinghoused Make the competition look bad
Brown takes the stage with his dogs on the wire Edison in the background, stoking the fire “This man will be Westinghoused,” the Wizard declares Kemmler in the chair, the whole nation stares
Next day’s papers print the word in bold “KEMMLER WESTINGHOUSED” - the story’s told Turn your rival’s name into a death machine Most vicious marketing the world has seen
Westinghoused That’s what they’ll call it when you die Westinghoused Edison’s competitor electrified Westinghoused Every execution is an ad Westinghoused Make the competition look bad
But the word didn’t stick The public didn’t buy Electrocution took its place The branding didn’t fly
Edison’s propaganda Failed to seal the deal But not for lack of trying To make murder a brand appeal
Westinghoused - they tried Westinghoused - denied The word died But the bodies didn’t lie
Eight Minutes
August sixth, eighteen ninety Auburn Prison, six thirty-eight William Kemmler strapped into the chair Edison promised a painless fate
“One thousand volts,” the Wizard testified “Instant death, no suffering inside” Seventeen witnesses watch it begin Thirteen hundred volts and the current kicks in
Seventeen seconds The switch goes off Kemmler’s still breathing It wasn’t enough
Eight minutes Eight minutes to die Edison said it would be instant Edison lied Eight minutes The body caught fire Eight minutes The Wizard’s a liar
He groans, he’s still alive Witnesses scream, “Turn on the current!” Two thousand volts, they try again Four minutes more, the smell is abhorrent
Blood vessels rupture beneath the skin Smoke rising from where the electrodes been Two men faint, they can’t take anymore This is what Edison’s science was for
Eight minutes Eight minutes to die Edison said it would be instant Edison lied Eight minutes The body caught fire Eight minutes The Wizard’s a liar
Westinghouse heard the news and said “They would have done better with an axe” But Southwick smiled and declared that day “Higher civilization” - can you believe he said that?
Eight minutes The first of many more Eight minutes What was the science for? Eight minutes Edison never saw Eight minutes But he wrote the law
The Sun Knows
August twenty-fifth, eighteen eighty-nine New York Sun about to drop the paradigm Forty-five letters from a locked desk drawer Brown thought his secrets were behind closed doors
But somebody got in, somebody got proof Somebody’s about to blow off the roof The headlines are set, the presses roll Time to expose the Wizard’s control
The Sun knows What Edison hides The Sun knows The truth inside
For shame, Brown! The headline screams For shame, Brown! Exposing schemes Five thousand dollars from Edison’s hand Brown was never independent, understand? The Sun knows everything
“No connection with Thomas Edison” That’s what Brown swore on the stand But the letters prove the opposite Frank Hastings giving commands
Secretary-treasurer of Edison Electric Light Telling Brown which legislators to write Funding the pamphlets, funding the show The whole campaign—now everybody knows
The Sun knows The perjury The Sun knows The conspiracy
For shame, Brown! The headline screams For shame, Brown! Exposing schemes Five thousand dollars from Edison’s hand Brown was never independent, understand? The Sun knows everything
Even Brown’s own father wrote “I thought you were connected” When your daddy knows you lied Can’t stay protected
Forty-five letters Exposed to the light The Wizard’s fingerprints Finally in sight
The Sun knows The Sun knows Can’t hide from the press When the truth shows The Sun knows
Patent Wars
A thousand ‘93 patents in the Wizard’s name But invention wasn’t the point—litigation was the game December nineteen oh eight, the Trust is formed Ten companies together, industry transformed
Motion Picture Patents Company, they called it clean But it was Edison’s monopoly machine Control the cameras, control the film stock too Eastman Kodak on the inside, blocking you
Patent wars Two eighty-nine lawsuits against one man Patent wars Laemmle fought back and Edison ran Patent wars Lost every case but kept filing more Patent wars What was the litigation for?
Carl Laemmle wouldn’t bend, wouldn’t break, wouldn’t fold Independent Moving Pictures, story bold Edison sued him two hundred eighty-nine times Laemmle won every case—every single time
The Wizard himself admitted the truth “Cost more than they returned”—there’s the proof Wasn’t about innovation, wasn’t about art Just control and money tearing the industry apart
Patent wars Two eighty-nine lawsuits against one man Patent wars Laemmle fought back and Edison ran Patent wars Lost every case but kept filing more Patent wars Monopoly to the core
October first, nineteen fifteen The courts come down, the ruling’s clean “Ill-ee-gul restraint of trade,” they say The Edison Trust dies that day
Antitrust hammer Finally fell The Wizard’s empire Sent to hell
Patent wars He lost Patent wars The cost A thousand ‘93 patents And nothing but loss
Hollywood Exodus
Thugs in the streets of New Jersey Smashing cameras, breaking dreams Edison’s enforcers everywhere Nothing’s ever what it seems
You can’t make a picture in the East Without the Wizard’s approval stamp So pack your equipment, grab your reels Time to break out of his camp
Five days on the train Heading for the coast Five days to escape What threatens you the most
Hollywood exodus Running from the Wizard’s hand Hollywood exodus Building a new promised land California sun Mexico border near If Edison comes calling We disappear
Laemmle led the way out west Universal rising from the sand DeMille kept a wolf and guns Ready for Edison’s band
The Ninth Circuit didn’t love the Trust Like the Eastern courts back home Out here in the orange groves We finally make our own
Five days on the train Left the Wizard behind Five days to freedom New industry to find
Hollywood exodus Running from the Wizard’s hand Hollywood exodus Building a new promised land California sun Mexico border near If Edison comes calling We disappear
Fox, Warner, Paramount Universal too Every studio you know Was built by those who flew
Edison’s monopoly Created his own doom The exiles built an empire While his Trust met its tomb
Hollywood exodus We made it out alive Hollywood exodus The independents thrive The Wizard couldn’t follow Three thousand miles away The film industry was born From those who got away
Coney Island, 1903
Coney Island, nineteen oh three Ten years since the current war Edison’s moved on to other things But his template’s still keeping score
Luna Park rising from the sand Thompson and Dundy need a show Got an elephant they can’t control Put on a spectacle before they go
The Wizard isn’t here Hasn’t been for years But look at what remains Look at what he engineered
Coney Island, nineteen oh three Edison’s ghost in the machine He didn’t pull the switch But he built the scene The war ten years done But the current still flows Edison’s legacy That’s how it goes
Whitey Alt stabbed her with a pitchfork Blood streaming down her side Rode her drunk to the police station Got arrested, lost his pride
Thompson and Dundy saw their chance “Can’t control her,” that’s the claim Twenty-five cents admission planned Public execution, entertainment game
The Wizard isn’t here Didn’t give the order But who taught them That death could cross the border?
Coney Island, nineteen oh three Edison’s ghost in the machine He didn’t pull the switch But he built the scene The war ten years done But the current still flows Edison’s legacy That’s how it goes
They’ll say Edison killed her That’s the myth that spreads But the war was ten years done While they planned her death
The truth is worse somehow He didn’t need to be there He’d already shown the world That killing was a public affair
Coney Island, nineteen oh three The Wizard’s shadow stretches long He didn’t kill the elephant But he wrote the song
The Elephant Remembers
Twenty-eight years I walked this land Taken from forests I’ll never see again Forepaugh called me American-born A lie from the start, but I couldn’t speak
Circus after circus, city after city Chains on my legs, crowds wanting pretty They never saw me, just the trick I could do Never knew I remembered everything too
The elephant remembers Every chain, every blow The elephant remembers Every place we had to go The elephant remembers The man who burned my skin The elephant remembers When the current pulls me in
They say I killed three men But there was only one He burned my trunk with a cigar I did what anyone would have done
Self-defense they’d call it If I could speak their tongue But elephants don’t get a trial Elephants just get hung—or worse
The elephant remembers Every chain, every blow The elephant remembers Every place we had to go The elephant remembers The pitchfork in my side The elephant remembers And now I’m going to die
Sixty-six hundred volts Ten seconds is all Fifteen hundred watching As I fall
They fed me poison carrots Strapped copper to my feet I remember everything And now my heart won’t beat
The elephant remembers But soon I won’t remember anything The elephant remembers But no one remembers me Just another show Just another death The elephant remembers With her final breath
Legacy Current
Nineteen thirty-one, the Wizard dies America mourns the man behind the light But the current kept flowing after he was gone AC won the war—Westinghouse was right
Hollywood thrived on the bones of his Trust The independents he tried to crush Every studio, every film you’ve seen Built by the exiles from his machine
They say history remembers The winners and the saints But what about the bodies In the Wizard’s wake?
Legacy current Still running through the wire Legacy current Built on stolen work and fire Fifty-two animals One man on the chair An elephant in Coney Island And the Wizard wasn’t there
The internet says Edison killed Topsy The myth is easier to believe One villain, one victim, one clear story But the truth won’t let you leave
The war was ten years done when she died But he’d already shown the way Public death as entertainment That template’s still in play
They say history remembers The inventors and their fame But what about the system That keeps running just the same?
Legacy current Still running through the wire Legacy current Built on stolen work and fire Fifty-two animals One man on the chair An elephant in Coney Island And the Wizard wasn’t there
You wanted a simple story The Wizard kills the beast But the truth indicts us all For attending the feast
Edison built the template For death as a show Then left it running When he had to go
The worst part isn’t what he did It’s that it kept going Long after he was dead The current kept flowing
Legacy current Edison’s ghost Legacy current What survives him most Not the lightbulb Not the phonograph The spectacle of death Is his real epitaph
Topsy remembered everything Edison remembered nothing But we remember both And that’s something
// Sources & Research
View Sources
Topsy - Research & Source Documentation
This document provides citations and verification for all factual claims made in the album “Topsy.” Every name, quote, date, and event referenced in the lyrics is documented here with authoritative sources.
Purpose: Legal defensibility. This album depicts real events and real people. All claims are either:
- Matters of public record (court documents, government releases, Edison Papers archives)
- Documented in investigative journalism or academic histories
- Verified against primary sources (contemporary newspapers, laboratory records, testimony)
Critical Research Finding: The popular narrative connecting Thomas Edison to Topsy the elephant’s execution is a complete myth. This album addresses that directly—Topsy’s death was the culmination of Edison’s legacy, not his action.
Table of Contents
- Primary Sources
- The Edison-Topsy Myth: Debunked
- Timeline of Events
- Key People
- Key Events
- Track-by-Track Source Documentation
- What Cannot Be Claimed
- Areas of Creative License
Primary Sources
Official Archives
| Source | URL | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas A. Edison Papers (Rutgers) | https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/ | 150,000+ documents, laboratory notebooks, correspondence |
| Edison-Southwick Letter (Dec 19, 1887) | https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/LB026116 | Edison recommends AC for executions, names Westinghouse |
| The Henry Ford Museum | https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/409856/ | “A Warning” pamphlet (1887) |
| Library of Congress | https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/ | Edison film collection |
Academic Sources
| Source | Publication | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| “Edison and the Electric Chair” | Mark Essig (book) | https://erenow.org/common/edison-and-the-electric-chair/15.php |
| “Topsy: The Startling Story…” | Michael Daly, Grove Atlantic (2013) | ISBN: 978-0802146052 |
| Edison Papers Myth Buster | Rutgers University | https://edison.rutgers.edu/life-of-edison/essaying-edison/essay/myth-buster-topsy-the-elephant |
| “Harold P. Brown and the Executioner’s Current” | Business History Review, Cambridge | https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-history-review |
| “Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age” | W. Bernard Carlson, Princeton UP (2013) | Sally Hacker Prize winner |
Contemporary Newspapers (1888-1903)
| Newspaper | Date | Headline/Topic |
|---|---|---|
| New York Sun | August 25, 1889 | “For Shame, Brown!” - Stolen letters exposé |
| New York Times | August 7, 1890 | Kemmler execution coverage |
| Brooklyn Daily Eagle | May 28, 1902 | Topsy kills James Fielding Blount |
| New York Times | January 5, 1903 | “CONEY ELEPHANT KILLED” |
Court Documents
| Case | Court | Year | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| In re Kemmler, 136 U.S. 436 | U.S. Supreme Court | 1890 | Electric chair constitutionality |
| United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co. | E.D. Pennsylvania | 1915 | MPPC antitrust ruling |
| Edison v. American Mutoscope | Federal Court | 1902 | Edison “had not invented motion picture” |
The Edison-Topsy Myth: Debunked
The Myth
Thomas Edison personally electrocuted Topsy the elephant as an anti-AC propaganda demonstration during the War of Currents.
The Facts
| Claim | Reality | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Edison was present at Topsy’s execution | FALSE - Edison was never at Luna Park | Rutgers Edison Papers |
| War of Currents connection | FALSE - War ended 1892, Topsy died 1903 (10 years later) | Historical timeline |
| Edison ordered the execution | FALSE - Thompson & Dundy (Luna Park owners) ordered it | Contemporary newspapers |
| Edison correspondence mentions Topsy | FALSE - Zero mentions in Edison’s correspondence | Rutgers Edison Papers |
| Edison filmed it for propaganda | MISLEADING - Edison Manufacturing Co. filmed it (standard newsreel practice), Edison not involved | Rutgers Edison Papers |
Why the Myth Persists
“Edison Company” electricians - Contemporary newspapers said execution was done by “electricians of the Edison Company,” referring to Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Brooklyn (a local utility using the Edison name under license, not connected to Edison personally)
Film credited to Edison - The 74-second film “Electrocuting an Elephant” was credited onscreen to “Thomas A. Edison” (standard practice for all Edison Manufacturing Company films)
The Album’s Approach
This album reframes the narrative honestly: Edison didn’t kill Topsy, but his decade-long campaign to associate AC current with death created the cultural template for public electrocution as spectacle. When Luna Park needed to dispose of an elephant in 1903, the infrastructure already existed—because of Edison.
Timeline of Events
Edison’s Career & Sins
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1876-1882 | Menlo Park “invention factory” - 81 employees, Edison takes sole patent credit | Edison Papers, Rutgers |
| 1881 | Boehm v. Edison patent interference case | Patent Office Records |
| December 19, 1887 | Edison writes to Southwick recommending AC for executions, naming Westinghouse | Edison Digital LB026116 |
| February 1888 | “A Warning” pamphlet published (84 pages) | Henry Ford Museum |
| June 1888 | Harold Brown begins anti-AC campaign, Edison provides lab | Multiple sources |
| July-December 1888 | 52 animals killed at Edison’s lab (44 dogs, 6 calves, 2 horses) | Discover Magazine |
| December 5, 1888 | Edison attends demonstration at his lab | Edison and the Electric Chair |
| August 25, 1889 | NY Sun exposé - stolen letters reveal $5,000 payment to Brown | NY Sun archives |
| August 6, 1890 | Kemmler execution botched (8 minutes to die) | NY Times |
| 1893 | Westinghouse wins Chicago World’s Fair - AC wins | Historical record |
| 1902 | Supreme Court rules Edison “had not invented motion picture” | Court records |
| 1908-1915 | MPPC “Edison Trust” - 289 lawsuits against Laemmle | Multiple sources |
| October 1, 1915 | MPPC ruled illegal monopoly | U.S. v. Motion Picture Patents Co. |
Topsy’s Story
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1875 | Topsy born in Southeast Asia | Multiple sources |
| 1875-1902 | Forepaugh Circus (25+ years) | Historical records |
| May 27, 1902 | Topsy kills James Fielding Blount (lit cigar abuse) | Brooklyn Daily Eagle |
| October 1902 | Handler Whitey Alt stabs Topsy with pitchfork, arrested | Contemporary accounts |
| December 1902 | Alt rides drunk Topsy to police station, fired | Contemporary accounts |
| January 1, 1903 | Thompson & Dundy announce public hanging with 25-cent admission | NY Tribune |
| January 4, 1903 | Topsy executed (cyanide + 6,600V electrocution), 1,500 spectators | Multiple newspapers |
| January 17, 1903 | “Electrocuting an Elephant” film released | Edison catalog |
Key People
Edison’s Circle
| Person | Role | Documented Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Edison | Inventor, smear campaign architect | Wrote Dec 1887 letter recommending AC for executions; funded Brown; attended Dec 5, 1888 demo; testified at Kemmler hearings |
| Harold P. Brown | Electrical engineer, Edison’s front man | Performed animal killings; designed electric chair; received $5,000 from Edison Electric; lied under oath |
| Arthur Kennelly | Edison’s chief electrician | Supervised animal experiments; wrote “can kill a dog now more swiftly than a rifle bullet” |
| Edward Johnson | Edison Electric president | Published “A Warning” pamphlet (Feb 1888) |
| William Dickson | Invented Kinetoscope/Kinetograph | Supreme Court (1902) ruled Edison “had not invented the motion picture” |
The Victims
| Victim | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 52 animals | 44 dogs, 6 calves, 2 horses killed at Edison’s lab | Discover Magazine |
| William Kemmler | First electric chair victim, August 6, 1890, 8 minutes to die | Multiple sources |
| Topsy | Elephant killed at Luna Park, January 4, 1903 | Contemporary newspapers |
Topsy’s Executioners
| Person | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Frederick Thompson & Elmer Dundy | Luna Park owners, ordered execution | Contemporary accounts |
| William “Whitey” Alt | Abusive handler - stabbed Topsy with pitchfork | Brooklyn Daily Eagle |
| P.D. Sharkey | Chief electrician, supervised execution | Contemporary newspapers |
| John Peter Haines | ASPCA president, negotiated “humane” method | ASPCA records |
Key Events
The Invention Factory (1876-1882)
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employee count | ~81 workers at Menlo Park | Edison Papers |
| Patent system | Notebooks “frequently dated, signed, and witnessed” | Edison Papers |
| Boehm case | Patent interference filed 1881 | Patent Office Records |
| Dickson case | Supreme Court ruled Edison “had not invented” motion pictures | Court records |
The War of Currents Animal Program
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total killed | 52 animals (44 dogs, 6 calves, 2 horses) | Discover Magazine |
| First public demo | July 30, 1888, Columbia College, 76-pound Newfoundland | Discover Magazine |
| Edison’s attendance | December 5, 1888 demonstration | Edison and the Electric Chair |
| Funding | Edison Electric paid $315.46 through June 1890 | Lab billbooks |
| Brown exposed | NY Sun August 25, 1889 - “For Shame, Brown!” | NY Sun archives |
The Electric Chair
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Edison’s letter | Dec 19, 1887 - recommends AC, names Westinghouse | Edison Digital LB026116 |
| Edison testimony | July 23, 1889 - claimed 1,000V AC would kill instantly | Court transcripts |
| Kemmler execution | August 6, 1890 - botched, 8 minutes to die | Multiple newspapers |
| Westinghouse quote | “They would have done better with an axe” | Contemporary accounts |
Patent Warfare
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Laemmle lawsuits | 289 lawsuits - Edison lost all | Multiple sources |
| MPPC tactics | “Hired thugs and mob connections” to smash cameras | Contemporary accounts |
| Antitrust ruling | October 1, 1915 - MPPC ruled illegal monopoly | U.S. v. MPPC |
| Hollywood exodus | Filmmakers fled to escape Edison’s enforcers | Multiple sources |
Topsy’s Execution
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Date/time | January 4, 1903, 2:45 PM | Contemporary newspapers |
| Spectators | ~1,500 people, 100 photographers | Multiple sources |
| Method | 460g potassium cyanide + 6,600V AC for 10 seconds | Contemporary accounts |
| Film length | 74 seconds | Edison catalog |
| Edison involvement | NONE | Rutgers Edison Papers |
Track-by-Track Source Documentation
Track 01: Menlo Park Machine
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Team-based invention | 81 employees at Menlo Park | Edison Papers |
| Edison takes patent credit | Notebooks signed “E&B” but patents in Edison’s name | Edison Papers |
| Supreme Court finding | “Had not invented the motion picture” | 1902 ruling |
| Boehm case | Patent interference 1881 | Patent Office Records |
Track 03: Fifty-Two Bodies
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 44 dogs | Documented count | Discover Magazine |
| 6 calves | Documented count | Discover Magazine |
| 2 horses | Documented count | Discover Magazine |
| Brown/Kennelly performed | Edison did not personally kill animals | Multiple sources |
| Edison funded | Edison Electric paid expenses | Lab billbooks |
Track 03: December Fifth
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| December 5, 1888 | Large animal demonstration at Edison’s lab | Edison and the Electric Chair |
| Edison attended | “Edison personally attended and addressed the committee” | Multiple sources |
| Calves and horse killed | 4 calves, 1 horse killed that day | Edison and the Electric Chair |
| Witnesses | Medico-Legal Society, reporters, Elbridge Gerry | Contemporary accounts |
Track 04: The Wizard’s Letter
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| December 19, 1887 | Exact date of Edison’s letter | Edison Digital LB026116 |
| Recommended AC | “best appliance… the use of Electricity” | Edison letter |
| Named Westinghouse | “alternating machines, manufactured principally… by Geo. Westinghouse” | Edison letter |
| Death penalty commission | Southwick, Gerry, Hale | Historical record |
Track 05: Westinghoused
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Edison proposed terms | dynamort, ampermort, electromort | Contemporary accounts |
| “Westinghoused” pushed | Edison lawyer suggested, Edison promoted | Multiple sources |
| Headlines used it | “Kemmler Westinghoused” appeared | NY newspapers |
| Didn’t stick | “Electrocution” became standard | Etymology records |
Track 06: Eight Minutes
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| August 6, 1890 | Kemmler execution date | Multiple sources |
| First shock failed | 17 seconds, Kemmler still alive | NY Times |
| Second shock | 2-4 minutes, body caught fire | Contemporary accounts |
| Total time | 8 minutes to die | Multiple sources |
| Westinghouse quote | “They would have done better with an axe” | Contemporary accounts |
Track 07: The Sun Knows
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| August 25, 1889 | NY Sun exposé date | NY Sun archives |
| 45 letters stolen | From Brown’s locked desk | NY Sun |
| $5,000 payment | From Edison Electric to Brown | Stolen letters |
| Brown’s perjury | Testified “no connection with Thomas Edison” | Court records |
Track 08: Patent Wars
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 289 lawsuits | Against Carl Laemmle | Multiple sources |
| Lost all | Laemmle won every case | Historical record |
| MPPC formed | December 1908 | Historical record |
| 10 companies | Edison, Biograph, Vitagraph, etc. | MPPC records |
Track 09: Hollywood Exodus
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hired thugs | “to violently disrupt productions” | Contemporary accounts |
| Smashed cameras | Documented enforcement tactic | Multiple sources |
| Fled west | Laemmle led exodus to California | Historical record |
| 5-day train ride | From NY to LA | Geographic fact |
| Mexico escape | Close enough to hide equipment | Contemporary accounts |
Track 10: Coney Island, 1903
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10 years after | War of Currents ended 1892/93 | Historical timeline |
| Thompson & Dundy | Luna Park owners, ordered execution | Contemporary accounts |
| Whitey Alt abuse | Stabbed Topsy with pitchfork | Brooklyn Daily Eagle |
| 25-cent admission | Originally planned, ASPCA forbade | Contemporary accounts |
Track 11: The Elephant Remembers
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 28 years | Topsy born c. 1875, died 1903 | Historical record |
| Blount incident | Burned trunk with lit cigar, May 27, 1902 | Brooklyn Daily Eagle |
| ONE confirmed death | Only Blount verified, not “three men” | Michael Daly research |
| 6,600 volts | Voltage used in execution | Contemporary accounts |
| 10 seconds | Duration of current | Contemporary accounts |
Track 12: Legacy Current
| Lyric Claim | Verified Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Edison died 1931 | October 18, 1931 | Historical record |
| AC won | Became standard power by 1896 | Historical record |
| MPPC dissolved | 1915 antitrust ruling | Court records |
| Hollywood born | From independent producers fleeing Edison | Historical record |
What Cannot Be Claimed
Edison-Tesla Relationship
| Common Myth | Reality | Source |
|---|---|---|
| “Edison stole Tesla’s ideas” | No documented cases | W. Bernard Carlson |
| “Personal bitter feud” | Met only “a couple of times” | W. Bernard Carlson |
| “$50,000 Edison promise” | Tesla said a MANAGER promised, not Edison | Tesla autobiography |
| “Poet of science” quote | No primary source found | Research confirmed |
Edison-Topsy Connection
| Common Myth | Reality | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Edison electrocuted Topsy | Not present, not involved | Rutgers Edison Papers |
| War of Currents demo | War ended 10 years before | Historical timeline |
| Edison ordered it | Thompson & Dundy ordered it | Contemporary newspapers |
Child Labor
| Common Myth | Reality | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Child labor at Edison facilities | NO DOCUMENTATION FOUND | Research investigation |
| Lewis Hine photographs | Did NOT photograph Edison facilities | Historical record |
Areas of Creative License
The following elements are interpretation or dramatization:
| Element | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Internal thoughts of Edison | Dramatization | No documented internal monologue |
| Dialogue in demonstrations | Dramatization | General events documented, specific words not always recorded |
| Topsy’s perspective (Track 11) | Artistic license | Anthropomorphization for narrative |
| Emotional framing | Interpretation | “Accusatory narrator” is artistic choice |
What Is NOT Creative License
- All dates, names, and numbers are documented
- All court rulings are from official records
- All quotes attributed to real people are sourced
- The Edison-Topsy debunking is based on Rutgers Edison Papers research
Legal Notes
- Public Figures: All subjects are historical public figures, deceased 70+ years
- Truth Defense: All factual claims supported by primary or authoritative sources
- Fair Comment: Album constitutes commentary on matters of historical public interest
- No Private Facts: All information from public historical record
- Myth Correction: Album explicitly corrects the Edison-Topsy myth, adding documentary credibility
Sources Master List
Primary Source Collections
- Thomas A. Edison Papers, Rutgers University
- The Henry Ford Museum
- Library of Congress Edison Collection
- Brooklyn Daily Eagle Archives
Books
- Essig, Mark. Edison and the Electric Chair
- Daly, Michael. Topsy: The Startling Story of the Crooked-Tailed Elephant, P.T. Barnum, and the American Wizard, Thomas Edison (Grove Atlantic, 2013)
- Carlson, W. Bernard. Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age (Princeton UP, 2013)
Academic Articles
- “Harold P. Brown and the Executioner’s Current: An Incident in the AC-DC Controversy” - Business History Review
- Rutgers Edison Papers Project - Essays
Court Cases
- In re Kemmler, 136 U.S. 436 (1890)
- United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co. (1915)
- Edison v. American Mutoscope Co. (1902)
Contemporary Newspapers (1888-1903)
- New York Sun Archives (August 25, 1889 exposé)
- New York Times Historical Archives (multiple dates)
- Brooklyn Daily Eagle Archives (multiple dates)
- Chronicling America - Historic Newspapers (New York Tribune, New York Herald)
Staging Research Files
Located in /research/:
edison-menlo-park-primary-sources.mdwar-of-currents-primary-sources.mdedison-electric-chair-primary-sources.mdedison-patent-litigation-primary-sources.mdtopsy-elephant-primary-sources.mdedison-tesla-primary-sources.md
Human Verification Checklist
Before production, verify:
- All URLs accessible (or archive.org backup exists)
- Key quotes match actual sources verbatim
- Dates, names, and figures accurate
- No AI hallucinations in lyrics
- Edison-Topsy myth properly addressed (not perpetuated)
- Edison-Tesla claims properly qualified (not overblown)
- Child labor claims removed (no evidence)
Research compiled: December 19, 2025
This research was compiled from publicly available academic sources, museum collections, and legal records. All claims are cited to specific sources. The Edison-Topsy myth debunking is based on research from the Rutgers Thomas A. Edison Papers Project.