Picture Book Uncovers Corning Mystery from 1880 - Spectrum News

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Most people think of glass when they think of the Crystal City, and one new picture book written by a local author and illustrator describes the mystery behind the first glass bubble blown for Edison's light bulb.

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What You Need To Know

• A new picture book is out now, written by a Corning author and illustrated by a Syracuse artist


• The book explores the mystery behind who a the young boy was in 1880 that inspired the glass light bulb's shape


• The author and illustrator say it took lots of research to make a historically accurate book

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It takes hours of research to discover a true mystery. That's what Lafayette Wattles did in Corning's Rakow Research Library. They have the world's largest collection on the history of glass. He discovered that in 1880, Thomas Edison was searching for the perfect glass container for his light bulb filament.

"He noticed a shop boy actually kinda swinging a pipe and blowing a bubble and he said, 'that's what we need,'" said author Lafayette Wattles. "So the interesting thing is that years later, three different people claim to be that boy. So there's little sense of mystery there."

That's how the story was born of a little girl Jack and her dog discovering the lights in Corning. 

"We worked with an illustrator out of the Syracuse area, Erin Nowak," said Wattles.

Miles away in Syracuse, Erin was working on making the words of the story come to life through her illustrations on her tablet. Working over and over, sketching what she imagined life would be like in the 1880's.

"Usually the illustrator's job is to provide 50% of the story," said Nowak.

But she couldn't dive right in with the pen, it took historical research like period clothing, what the inside of houses looked like, and what Thomas Edison looked like before that crazy white hair we all remember.

"Especially as the author, to have something that you come up with - a story, in your head - and see someone else interpret it in a visual way is pretty awesome," said Wattles.

The book is called "The Legend of the Gathers: Protectors of the Light," and is out now.

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Picture Book Uncovers Corning Mystery from 1880 - Spectrum News
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