Electrostatic Generator:
Note the date on this advertisement for the 1884 International Electrical Exhibition. The electrostatic generator shown in the lower left corner of this image would have fascinated scientists in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but by 1884 direct current power systems were in use in New York city and other large urban centers. Thomas Edison's Pearl Street power station, for instance, was operating in late 1881, and by 1888 Westinghouse was testing alternating current technology.
To learn more click here: Thomas A. Edison Papers

Lighthouse:
The figure in the upper left section of this image depicts a lighthouse. Note the types of ships represented in this image and their rigging. Also notice the dramatic depiction of rough seas and the modern design of this lighthouse. You might also notice the way in which the beam of light actually illuminates the ship, rather than simply signaling a navigational hazard.

Railroad:
The upper right section of this image depicts a railroad locomotive with its headlight piercing the darkness.Consider the dark wilderness used as the background for this image. The date is 1884. In 1890 the U.S. Census Bureau will announce that the frontier has closed and in 1893 Frederick Jackson Turner, a University of Wisconsin historian, will propound his "frontier thesis" of American history. The locomotive, here equipped with an electric running light, served as an important instrument of western settlement beginning in the mid nineteenth century. To many Americans it embodied values of strength, speed, and progress.

Central Circle:
The most complex element of this image is the central circle. Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson performed their telephone experiments in 1875, and this segment of the image celebrates this relatively new technology. In the background one finds an industrial scene that suggests how electricity is beginning to be used in manufacturing. The woman in the center of the image is seated on a winged wheel and is dressed in clothing from the ancient world.