Patent assignments were generally forwarded to the U.S. Patent Office, where they were copied into the Libers of Patent Assignments. A summary was entered into the Digest of Patent Assignments, and the original document was then returned to the assignee. These assignments, which cover the years 1868-1873, pertain primarily to inventions in telegraphy. Most of the patents relating to printing telegraphs were assigned to the Gold and Stock Telegraph Co., while automatic telegraph patents were assigned to Edison and his business partner George Harrington.

Entries that contain substantive information regarding an assignment have been selected, except in cases where more complete information can be found in the Libers of Patent Assignments or elsewhere in the digital edition. The entries selected from the Digest of Patent Assignments are indicated by an asterisk next to the page number on the list below and can be viewed by clicking on the links. The other linked entries on the list are primarily from the Libers of Patent Assignments. A list of items selected from the Digest can also be obtained by using the "List Documents" button at the bottom of this page.

The following headings appear at the top of each page of the Digest (headings do not appear on alll images): Inventor; Assignors; Assignees; Date of Assignment; Date of Record; Invention; Territory Assigned; Liber; Page; When Sent; Address. In most cases, the name of patent attorney Lemuel W. Serrell is in the Address column.