In the 1950s the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan had a display of lamps from the collection of William J. Hammer. The collection is no longer on display but is in storage. The Hammer Collection represented the state of the art at the time Thomas Edison was developing his incandescent lamps. During a visit to the museum in the 1950s the writer took some notes regarding lamps on display. In what follows, brief comments refer to displayed lamps:

An Adams-Bagnall (A.-B.) lamp, made in Cleveland in 1896.

A Seel lamp, made in 1890, had a base like Mather but evidently with a pin in the base center.

In 1890 Schaefer had a small series lamp with a Maltese Cross glass support for the leads.

An 1890 Bernstein lamp had a flat inside stem seal and a hard rubber base.

The first carbon filament lamp was made by Thomson-Houston in 1886.

Edison had a zinc screw base in 1894.

A "Thomas A. Edison, Jr." lamp was made about 1899 by Shelby Electric.

The first ground glass Edison lamp was made by Mr. John W. Lawson at Menlo Park. The lamp was taken from the first lot dipped in hydrofluoric acid. This was labelled "Hammer #68".

A Hopfelt lamp was secured in Germany in May 1907. The lamp contained a bulb within a bulb. It was designed for 120 volts, had a carbon filament and the inner bulb contained mercury.

Eight lamps were displayed that were made by Philip Diehl in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1885. One lamp contained an induction coil and a secondary coil connected to the filament. A second Diehl induction lamp had one coil placed inside the globe and connected to the filament and another coil wound outside the globe, alternating current being applied.

An Edison oxide of zirconium lamp of 1878 was displayed.

Hammer obtained a Sawyer lamp from William Wallace of Ansonia, Connecticut. It was made in 1880 and consisted of a carbon rod with carbon black and carbon roller supports in nitrogen. The lamp contained a spiral radiating resistance coil.

An elaborate Bernstein lamp of 1882 had two hollow carbon filaments in series, with a heavy carbon paste cross piece at the top, clamps, copper wire and German glass supports. It also had platinum leads. The lamp was about 3-4 inches in diameter. The carbon filaments were very light gray in color, similar to the appearance of pyrolytic graphite. The glass stem near the base was light blue in color.

An Austrian lamp of 1883, developed by Müller, was about four inches in diameter. The filament consisted of a double twist spiral with a hydrocarbon treatment. It had a tipless bulb. The filament was very light gray, characteristic of pyrolytic graphite.

In 1887 Edison manufactured a nickel-plated screw base.

An 1882 Edison lamp was the first colored incandescent lamp ever made. It was made and used at the Crystal Palace Electrical Exhibition in London, England. The bulb was painted a "blood" red on the outside.

An Edison lamp was displayed that was one of the first (Holzer) pressed inside seal lamps, early bamboo filament, early bulbous globe and platinum vise clamps.

Hammer No 337 was a Greiner lamp of 1887. It consisted of a straight carbon filament, egg shaped globe, copper and magnesia clamps, tubing around leads and clamps. Made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A Stanley-Thompson lamp of 1884 had a pin through the base - perpendicular to the lamp axis. Hammer lamp No. 501.