The Inventions, Researches and Writings of Nikola Tesla: A Rare Window into Genius.

In the final years of the 19th century, Nikola Tesla was reshaping the modern world. His revolutionary experiments with alternating-current power, high-potential lighting, and polyphase systems laid the foundation for the electrical age—transforming electricity from a laboratory curiosity into the backbone of modern infrastructure.

Much of that groundbreaking work is preserved in a remarkable 1894 volume: The Inventions, Researches and Writings of Nikola Tesla, compiled by Thomas Commerford Martin. More than a scientific record, the book stands as the closest contemporary portrait of Tesla at the height of his creative powers.

A Contemporary Portrait of Innovation

Published during Tesla’s lifetime and amid his most fertile period of discovery, this work gathers his lectures, demonstrations, and technical breakthroughs into a single, authoritative source. Within its pages are detailed diagrams and illustrations that reveal the inner workings of the machines and ideas that would electrify cities, power industries, and redefine the modern world.

Readers encounter Tesla not as legend, but as working scientist and visionary thinker—explaining in precise yet imaginative language the principles behind alternating current systems, transformers, wireless illumination, and more. It captures the immediacy of innovation as it was happening.

An Extraordinary Association Copy

What elevates this particular first edition into the realm of the extraordinary is its inscription.

Signed by Tesla to Daniel Butterfield—Civil War general, Assistant U.S. Treasurer, and a figure of national prominence—the volume carries a personal connection rarely encountered in Tesla material. Association copies of this caliber offer a tangible link between two prominent figures of American history: one a pioneer of modern electrical science, the other a distinguished public servant.

Exceptionally rare in any condition, this title seldom appears on the market. Even more remarkable, no other copy inscribed by Tesla has appeared in auction records, making this example a singular artifact within the surviving literature of electrical science.

A Landmark of Science and Collecting

For collectors, historians, and admirers of innovation, this volume represents far more than a book. It embodies:

• Tesla’s pioneering vision at its zenith

• A distinguished historical association

• A level of rarity unmatched among Tesla’s published works

It is both a cornerstone of scientific history and a museum-worthy collectible—bridging the worlds of technology, politics, and culture at the dawn of the electrical age.

This exceptional signed first edition is available to view and purchase in our Worth Avenue gallery and online at RaptisRareBooks.com.