"The Problem of Increasing Human Energy"

TESLA, Nikola (1856 –1943). “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy with Special Reference to the Harnessing of the Sun’s Energy”. In: The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine , vol. 60, no. 2; pp. 175–211. June 1900. [ With: ] Thomas Commerford MARTIN (1856–1924). “Tesla’s Oscillator and Other Inventions”. In: The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine , vo. 49, no. 5; pp. 916–33. April 1895. Rare first edition of Tesla’s popular essay on renewable energy. This essay was an important opportunity for Tesla to make an impact on a wider public audience with his ideas for a better future. Largely focusing on the potential for solar energy, Tesla also discusses reducing societal “friction”, defining war, poverty and inefficiency as wasted human energy. With the 1900 journal issue of Century Magazine is another issue from five years earlier containing an article by electrical engineer Thomas Commerford Martin. Valuable for illustrating much of Tesla’s work at his laboratory, the article also includes two photographic portraits of Samuel L. Clemens’ visit to Tesla laboratory. Two volumes, quarto (250 × 170mm). Many photographic plates (occasional light creases, few chips at edges). Original pictorial wrappers (vol. 1 tears in backstrip, bottom wrapper corner torn; vol. 2 spine cracked before final quire of advertisements with losses at staples, toned and lightly soiled, losses to backstrip, edges chipped); black cloth box. Provenance: “Tesliana Collection” label on first page of the 1895 issue.

Estimate:$3,000

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