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Notebook Series -- Notebooks by Edison and Other Experimenters -- Tube Books:
[NA178A]

[The following note describes a series of notebooks and has no documents attached to it. For that reason, a "no Documents found" message will appear if the "List Documents" button at the bottom of the note is used. To see the notebooks 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.]

The thirty-five extant notebooks in this group (Nos. 1-36; Book 31 has not been located) cover the period July 1905-February 1914. Most entries in the first twelve books are by Edison. The remaining books show a rapid decline in the number of Edison entries. By Book 16, there are only occasional calculations and brief notes by him. Most entries in the later books are by unidentified experimenters. The books contain records of experiments relating to the nickel tubes used in Edison's storage batteries. The tests are numbered from 90 through 9950. Tests 1- 89 can be found in N-03-06-19 (see "Notebooks by Edison"), which contains other experimental work and is not included in this numbered group of tube books. A new series of enumerated tests begins in Book 16, with numbers from 1A through 13657 (the "A" is dropped after test 10569). The first page of Book 1 contains the following notation by Edison: "Experiments with perforated tubes & flake metal with various sticky sub[stances] & proportions & manipulations." The tests involved varying the compounds used to hold the nickel flake in the tubes, as well as altering the process by which the flake was tamped down in the tubes. Labels on the front covers of some of the books contain notations by Edison regarding the importance of the data contained therein.

Only the first twelve books, which are primarily by Edison, have been selected.

Book #N-NumberLabel on Front Cover
[additional information supplied by the editors appears in brackets]
Selected Books
105-07-08"Mix Book #1  #90 to 269  Not wanted *"
205-08-30"Mix Book #2  #269  to 349  Not wanted *"; "Not very important"
306-02-19"Mix Book #3  Nickel tubes  #350 to 569  Glucose"
406-06-18"Mix Book #4 #570 to 1177"
5 06-07-09"Book #5  1178 to 1674"
605-00-00.1"Book #6  1675 to 2249"
707-01-31"Book #7  2250 to 5099"; "Somewhat Important"
807-02-23.1 "Book #8  5100 to 5701";  "Battery  Not Important"
907-02-23.2"Book #9  5702 to 6342"
1007-06-19"Book #10  6343 to 6988"; "Storage Battery  Important Data"
1107-08-06"Tube Book #11  6989 to 7570"
1210-12-00.2"Tube Book #12  7571 to 8142"; "Not Very Important"
Books Not Selected
1307-10-31"Tube Book 13 [8143] to 8700"; "Important Data"
1410-03-00"Tube Book 14  8701 to 9156"; "Battery  Not very Important"
1507-08-07"Tube Book 15  9157 to 9667"
1607-08-08"Tube Book 16  9668 to 9950 & #1-A to 211A"
1707-08-09"Tube Book #17  #212A to 670A"
1809-01-01.1"Tube Book #18  671A to 1025A"; "Storage Battery Important Data"
1909-03-10"Tube Book #19 - 1026A To 1599A"; "Battery  Not Important"
2009-04-10"Tube Book #20 - 1600A To 2037A"; "Storage Battery Important Data"
2109-09-17"Tube Book #21 - 2038A. To 2486A."; "Battery  Not very important"
2207-08-10"Tube Book #22. 2487A. To 2894A"
2310-03-05"Tube Book #23  2895A To 3700A  Short tubes"; "Not Important  Cell"
2410-04-22"Tube Book #24  3701A to 4499A  Short Tubes"; "Not very Important"
2510-08-24.1"Tube Book #25  4500 to 5280A  Short tubes to Aug.27, 10"; "Not very Important"
2610-08-27"Short Tubes #26  Aug. 27, 10 to Dec.   10  5281A to6073A"
2710-12-27"Short Tubes #27  Dec.   10 to Apr.  11  6074 to6915A"; "Not very Important"
2811-04-26"Short Tubes #28  April 26, 1911 To July 28, 1911. 6916A To 7782A"
2911-07-28"Short Tubes #29  July 28, 11. to Nov. 10, 11. 7783A to8572A"
3011-11-10.1"Short Tubes #30  Nov 10, 11 to Apr 17, [12]  8573A to9366A"
31---[missing]
3212-08-23"Short Tubes #32  From 10174A to 10961A  Aug 23, 12to Dec 17 1912"
3312-12-17.1"Short Tubes #33  From 10962 to 11757  Dec 17 1912to Apr 4, 13"
3413-04-04.1"Short Tubes #34 From 11758 to 12553  From Apr. 4,13 To July 21, 13"
3513-07-21"Short Tubes #35 From 12554 To 13349  Jul 21 1913 toDec 3, 13"
3613-12-04"Short Tubes #36 From 13350 To 13657  Dec 4 1913 Feb 6  14"


Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.