HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
In 1859, a 12-year-old Thomas Alva Edison convinced the managers of the Detroit-Port Huron route on the Grand Trunk Railway to let him sell candies and newspapers aboard one of their trains. The ambitious young lad even set up a small printing press in the baggage car and used it to publish The Grand Trunk Herald—the first newspaper ever printed on a moving train—wherein he would share stories and news about the comings and goings on the line. He funneled his earnings from these sales into supplies he would use for his experiments, allegedly setting the baggage car ablaze one day when a container of phosphorous was left unattended.*
In 1862, 15-year-old Thomas did something which would utterly reshape his life: he saved a 3-year-old boy from being struck by a train. The boy’s father, one J.U. MacKenzie, took Thomas under his wing in appreciation and taught him the art and science of telegraphy, igniting a lifelong passion for electrical mechanisms and setting in motion a legend which would revolutionize the world.
Edison’s later life is the stuff of history books, of course. His was a life of entrepreneurialism, innovation, and, yes, scandal. It was a full life, complete with victory and defeat, success, failure, and no shortage of error. From the very earliest days of his life, Edison was helping to enshrine a simple truth in the pages of history: trial necessitates error. Trying again—with greater wisdom—is often the worthiest path forward.
CREOSOTE BROWN
Switchman’s Creosote Brown was inspired by roiling plumes of many-colored smoke. At its lightest, it is a pale tan color; through layers, it deepens to a rich auburn and into the depths of brown-black. It is our hope that, as you write with Creosote Brown, you’ll remember that a life well lived is not monotonous, but an exploration filled with stumbling blocks and unexpected results. Don’t be afraid of a few failed experiments.
“Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I have found several thousand things that won’t work.”
Thomas Alva Edison – 1921 Interview with B.C. Forbes
*: There IS some debate over whether the fire actually happened—or how bad it was—but it’s a charming enough story to have captured our imaginations when designing this ink’s label and color. We hope you’ll forgive an historical liberty or two.
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