13 Jan
2003
13 Jan
'03
9:24 a.m.
No, this is not a put on and was told to me by the person who bought it
(and it went to a VERY good home!!!) Because of its importance, the last
I heard (about a year or two ago) it was still being researched to
verify its authentity. What would make you think the person selling it
would have known what it was :) ??? The person who bought it just
happened to see a description that caught his eye; it is doubtful anyone
else (or at least VERY few people) would have recognized it for what it
was.
Lawrence Walker wrote:
On 13 Jan 2003, , Marvin Johnston wrote:
Ebay is a retail venue; most people don't
expect wholesale
prices at Sears :). And there *have* been some *incredible*
buys on Ebay. Someone I know bought an item on Ebay that
just happened to be one of the two known prototype motors
built by Tesla. I don't recall the pricing but I think it
was less than $100. And for someone who either doesn't have
or who doesn't want to take the time to do their own
treasure hunting, Ebay is an excellent choice. And the
prices are mostly reasonable.
Now THAT is sick and only underlines the skewed
bidding values that are EBay. That one of only 2
prototype Tesla motors could have even appeared on
public auction is at the very least disgraceful and sickens
me. How on earth could a forerunner of all AC motors by
IMHO the greatest engineer of the 20th century even be
released into the public domain. Either a sad comment
on the lack of depth of education, or the success of
Edison and his supporters to erase from history the name
of this remarkable man. I dearly hope he is going to hold
it in trust and eventually turn it over to a caring museum.
To hell with all the Apple 1s, PDP-12s, or Altairs.
Compared to this they are insignificant. I'm just
surprised it didn't make headlines.
This isn't a put-on, is it Marvin ? The more I think
about it, the less believable it becomes.
Lawrence
lgwalker@ mts.net