Signature given when he was in his eighties is almost an exact duplicate of the style of writing he developed and practiced when a young man. In his early twenties he was a railroad telegrapher. It was the practice then for the operator to write down the message as it came over the wire. Sometimes a hasty scribble resulted in what could hardly be read later so Edison devised a style that was part printing and part script. He practiced this style so he could write it rapidly and used it all his life. Most Edison autographs are done in pencil - probably because he always had one behind his ear for ready use in the laboratory where he spent much of his time.

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