The process of invention changed dramatically in the late 1870s. Responding to improved modes of communication and transportation, American inventors designed new products for rapidly expanding national and international markets rather than for traditional local markets. This presentation demonstrates how Thomas A. Edison adapted his inventive activities to the new demands imposed by expanding markets. Particular attention will be paid to his development of the Edison electric pen and duplicating press, the little-known predecessor of the twentieth century mimeograph.

Jill E. (Klinger) Cooper received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Bucknell University in 1990. After serving as an admissions counselor at Bucknell for two years, she enrolled in a doctoral program in the history of science and technology at Rutgers University. As a graduate student, she worked as a research specialist for the IEEE Center for the History of Electrical Engineering and for AT&T's department of health affairs. She earned a National Science Foundation doctoral dissertation grant in 1997 and defended her dissertation, "Of Microbes and Men: A Scientific Biography of Rene Jules Dubos," in October of 1998. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research in New Brunswick, New Jersey.