[The following note describes a series of company records and has no document records attached to it. To see the document records in the volumes and folders described here, use the "Which Series Notes?" button to enter the Series Notes or use the "Next Text" button to move to the first item in the series.]

Begun in December 1889 as Edison's personal business, the Edison Manufacturing Co. was incorporated in the State of New Jersey in May 1900. Howard W. Hayes was the first corporate president, but Edison succeeded him within the year. After incorporation the company manufactured and marketed electrical devices, including primary batteries, phonoplex circuits, dental and medical apparatus, and motion picture equipment. It was also responsible for the production of Edison motion picture films. The company had a factory at Silver Lake (later Bloomfield), New Jersey, a sales office in New York City, and agencies in other cities. In 1905 motion picture production operations moved from Manhattan to a new studio in the Bronx. In February 1911 the company's assets and property rights were assigned to Thomas A. Edison, Inc. It was officially dissolved in November 1926.

The records cover the years 1889-1911, with a few additional items from 1917 and 1926. Correspondence, letterbooks, and financial records for the period 1889-1898 can be found in Thomas A. Edison Papers, Part III (1887-1898). Correspondence pertaining to the business of the company from 1899 through 1910 can be found in the Document File Series and in the Motion Picture Patents Company Records (Company Records Series). A finding aid for the archival record group is available at the Edison National Historical Park.

The selected records are arranged in the following order: (1) Ledger (1900-1926); (2) Journal (1900-1926); (3) State and Federal Filings (1902-1910); and (4) Profit and Loss Statements (1899-1911). The items not selected include two investment ledgers (1900-1913); a payroll book (1906-1911); eleven cash books (1898-1911); a monthly digest of general and sales ledger accounts (1910-1911); and a check book (1902-1908).

Records not selected

Investment Ledger #2 (1900- 1907)

This investment ledger covers the period May 1900-February 1907. A single-entry account book, it details expenditures of the Edison Manufacturing Co. within four capital accounts brought forward from the unincorporated "Old Edison Manufacturing Co." The four accounts are "Machinery & Tools," "Furniture & Fixtures," "Real Estate and Buildings," and "Film Plant." Most entries involve the purchase of labor and materials. The "Machinery & Tools" account is itemized according to product, including x-ray equipment, primary batteries, and a variety of film apparatus. The other three accounts are itemized according to location, including the company's motion picture studio in the Bronx and its offices, plants, and buildings in Manhattan, West Orange, and Chicago. An index has been written on the first page.

Investment Ledger #3 (1907- 1913)

This investment ledger covers the period March 1907-February 1913. A single-entry account book, it details expenditures of the Edison Manufacturing Co. within seven capital accounts. Four accounts are brought forward from the previous investment ledger and the following accounts are added: "Automobile," "Sales Wagons," and "Musical Record Plants." The "Musical Records Plants" account is itemized according to product and location, including disc record plant, Berlin record plant, indestructible cylinders, and plant "#24" in West Orange. Most entries involve the purchase of labor and materials. Some of the entries for 1911-1913 indicate that this ledger continues National Phonograph Co. investment accounts as well as Edison Manufacturing Co. accounts after the organization of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., in February 1911. The accounts in this ledger are continued in the investment ledger of the Control Division of Thomas A. Edison, Inc. An index has been written on the front flyleaf.

Payroll Book (1906-1911)

This payroll book covers the period December 1906-February 1911. The entries are for individual employees and indicate their weekly pay. Separate groups of entries itemize the payroll for employees stationed in the Manhattan office, Bronx studio, and 43rd Street studio, as well as at the West Orange and Chicago offices.