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Original ThomasEdison/Edison & Unger 3-A Stock Ticker Tape Machine. Edison manufactured his own version of the stock ticker and in 1871, teamed up with anelectrical engineernamed Unger to form the Edison & Unger Company. Between September of 1871 & Sept of 1872, they produced 1200 Edison & Unger Universal Stock Printers and delivered them to the Gold & Stock Telegraph Company.
Later in 1872, Edison & Unger dissolved their partnership. Edison revised the Edison & Unger Ticker, udated the design and it became the Model 3-A. For a short while, Edison made approx. 1800 of these tickers at his factory before leaving the ticker business to pursue greater interests.
The later Universal 3-A's, which are the ones that we see mostly offered for sale, were not manufactured by Edison himself, but by third parties such as Bunnell, Electrical Industries & D & H Precision Tool Co. These manufacturers stamped their name on the left side brass plate of the ticker machine.
The 3-A tickers that Edison made himself after the Edison & Unger partnership dissolved had no such manufacturers stamp as they werefabricated by Edison in his own factory.
Most of the original 1871-1872 Edison & Unger tickers were destroyed. After acquiring the Gold & Stock Telegraph Co., W.U. salvaged some of the original Edison & Unger cast iron stock ticker bases and mated them to the later Edison 3-A brass ticker mechanisms. These Edison & Unger ticker bases were a bit lower in profile and had additional holes in them to accommodate the more elaborate Edison & Unger brass mechanisms.
This particular ticker for sale, from a private collection, is one of the original Edison & Unger cast iron bases mated to a very early production 3-A brass mechanism. It bears no manufacturer's stamp on the left side plate as it was made by Edison himself. Thus this instrument along withits Edison & Unger base, passed through both Unger's & Edison's hands between the years of 1871-1872.
When put into service, W.U. soldered "plugs" to fill in the additonal holes in the base left from the Edison & Unger mechanism. This modification can be seen in this ticker both behind the binding posts as well as underneath the W.U. logo on the front of the base.
This stock printer is in its original, unrestored condition as it would have been found in use in 1871-1873. The brass mechanism still retains its original yellow shellac protective coating and the ink roller contains the purple ticker ink used in the day.
There are several printed quotations on a section of original ticker tape from the 1920's New York Stock Exchange companies such as AFI(Atlantic Refining),DG(Associated Dry Goods)& PAY(Pitts, Y & A).
The stock ticker sits under its original glass globe upon a wood pedestal. An unused roll of ticker tape is found inside.
Unlike other Universal Tickers for sale, with which Edison no longer had any input with, this piece is extraordinarily rare and oneof only several Edison & Unger cast iron ticker bases that remain in existance. For the serious buyer who is interested in possessing a very significant piece of historic,scientific American history. If the reserve should be met, the actual shipping costs will be determined by location of buyer.
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