Part III: Series Notes
The small vertical arrows ( ) on this page link back to the top of the "Contents" page. The link on each series and subseries title leads to the appropriate series or subseries title on the "Volume/Folder List" page. Those titles, as well as the titles of the individual volumes and folders, are linked to their appropriate editorial descriptions ("targets"). The small horizontal arrows ( ) next to the series and subseries titles on the "Volume/Folder List" pages lead back to the appropriate series or subseries on the "Contents" page. Because the "Volume/Folder List" pages for Parts II-V are quite large, they are each divided into sets of three. The boxes at the top and bottom of each "Volume/Folder List" page enable users to easily move from one page to another.
Contents:
- NOTEBOOKS BY EDISON
- These standard-size (6" x 9") books contain notes, drawings,
and calculations relating to
phonographs, kinetoscopes, electric lighting and power, electric railways, ore milling, and other
subjects. There are also drafts of patent caveats, items regarding Edison's plans for the West
Orange laboratory, and theoretical notes on physics, electricity, and other subjects. Although
most of the entries are by Edison, there are also a few entries by associates such as Arthur E.
Kennelly and William K. L. Dickson.
- NOTEBOOKS BY OTHER EXPERIMENTERS
- These standard-size (6" x 9") books were used primarily at the
West Orange laboratory, although
some contain work performed at other locations such as the Edison Lamp Works in Harrison,
N.J.; the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Concentrating Works in Ogden, N.J.; and the Edison
Machine Works in Schenectady, N.Y. The books contain notes, drawings, tables, and
calculations similar to those in the Edison notebooks. In addition, there are records of chemical
experiments and tests of electrical instruments. Among the individuals whose work appears in
these books are Jonas W. Aylsworth, Charles Batchelor, William K. L. Dickson, Reginald A.
Fessenden, James W. Gladstone, H. De Coursey Hamilton, Joseph W. Harris, John F. Ott, Arthur
C. Payne, Franz Schulze-Berge, and Erwin Von Wilmowsky. There are also numerous notebooks
generated by Arthur E. Kennelly and his assistants in the Galvanometer Room. A few books
contain scattered entries by Edison.
- ARTHUR E. KENNELLY NOTEBOOKS
- These notebooks contain transcriptions of material from the
rough record books used by the
experimenters in the Galvanometer Room. Included are notes, drawings, tables, and calculations
regarding a variety of electrical experiments.
- POCKET NOTEBOOKS
- These books generally measure 3" or 4" in one direction and 6"
or 7" in the other. They contain
notes, drawings, and calculations by Edison and other experimenters relating to phonographs and
phonograph cylinders, electric lighting, meters, batteries, ore milling, x-ray tubes and apparatus,
metals and alloys, chemical experiments, and other subjects.
- Notebooks by Edison
- Notebooks by Other Experimenters
- MISCELLANEOUS NOTEBOOKS
- These books contain notes and drawings relating to
phonographs, electric lighting and power,
ore milling, and x-rays. Among the individuals whose work appears in these books are Edison,
Mina Miller Edison, William K. L. Dickson, Clarence B. Fargo, and H. M. Phillips.
- UNBOUND NOTES AND DRAWINGS
- These loose items relate to a variety of subjects, including
phonographs, electric lighting and
power, ore milling, batteries, kinetoscopes, telegraphy, and telephony. Many of the items are by
Edison. There is also material by Charles Batchelor, Arthur E. Kennelly, John F. Ott, and other
associates. In addition, there are notes by various laboratory experimenters, including Jonas W.
Aylsworth, John Joseph Force, H. De Coursey Hamilton, and Joseph W. Harris.
The West Orange Laboratory Records Series consists of bound
volumes, loose correspondence,
and account books that deal mainly with administrative operations at the laboratory complex.
Certain items, such as the Arthur E. Kennelly Letterbooks, also pertain to experimental projects.
- BOUND VOLUMES
- These books contain notes, drawings, and draft
correspondence, relating to the construction of
the laboratory, the ordering of equipment and supplies, and the administration of experimental
projects. Also included are labor records, notes regarding technical books and journals in
Edison's library, and other administrative items. Among the individuals whose work appears in
these books are Edison, Charles Batchelor, John F. Ott, and Franz Schulze-Berge. Much of the
material is by unidentified storekeepers and office personnel.
- ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS
- These drawings by Joseph J. Taft relate to outbuildings at the
laboratory complex. Included are
plans and elevations of the metallurgical and galvanometer buildings, the chemistry laboratory,
and the carpentry shop.
- LABORATORY LETTERBOOKS
- These letterbooks deal mainly with routine orders of equipment
and supplies. Also included is
material by William K. L. Dickson pertaining to the experimental development of the
kinetoscope.
- ARTHUR E. KENNELLY LETTERBOOKS
- These letterbooks contain material relating to the experimental
work in the Galvanometer Room,
as well as to Kennelly's professional activities.
- ACCOUNTS
- These books contain records detailing experimental and
operating costs, Edison's royalties and
investments, and various other personal and business accounts.
- CAVEAT FILES
- The caveat files (preliminary patent applications) cover the
period 1887–1896. Included are draft
caveats in Edison's hand and typed copies retained by Richard N. Dyer, Edison's patent attorney.
The individual caveats frequently deal with several technologies, including the phonograph, the
kinetograph, ore milling, and fluorescent lamps. The caveats bear a close relationship to the
notes and drawings in the Notebook Series, many of which carry inscriptions indicating that they
were used in the preparation of caveats or patent applications.
- PATENT APPLICATION FILES
- These files consist of formal applications, notes and drawings
relating to patent applications, and
correspondence between Edison's attorneys and the U.S. Patent office. Many of the applications
pertain to improvements in Edison's phonograph. There is also material dealing with electric
lighting and power, ore milling, motion pictures, and various other technologies. A related set of
application files for Edison's successful U.S. patents can be found in the National Archives
(Record Group 241, Records of the Patent Office) and is available on microfilm.
The Litigation Series contains records relating to civil court litigation,
along with records of
Patent Office interferences, which are similar in many respects to litigation.
- ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER CASES
- Two cases containing Edison-related testimony and exhibits
have been selected: (1) Electric
Railway Company of the U.S. v. The Jamaica and Brooklyn Road Company,
which includes
material concerning Edison's work on electric railways; and (2) William Kemmler v.
Charles F.
Durston, which contains information regarding Edison's electrocution experiments.
- MOTION PICTURE CASES
- Thomas A. Edison v. American Mutoscope
Company and Benjamin F. Keith, a patent
infringement suit filed in 1898, details the early work on motion pictures undertaken at the West
Orange laboratory. The testimony and exhibits from this case were subsequently entered into
evidence in several infringement cases brought by Edison and his companies on his U.S. Patent
No. 589,168 and its reissue, No. 12,192. Additional items from two cases involving the reissued
patent have also been included, along with a set of letters to and from William K. L. Dickson,
which were entered into evidence in Armat Moving Picture Company v.
American Mutoscope
Company and Benjamin F. Keith.
- PHONOGRAPH CASES
- Several patent infringement suits detail the work by Edison and
his assistants on phonograph and
recording cylinder technology. American Graphophone Company v. The United
States
Phonograph Company, Victor H. Emerson, and George E. Tewksbury contains the record
of an
earlier case, American Graphophone Company v. Edison Phonograph
Works, which concerns
the basic phonograph patents of Edison and his rivals, Chichester A. Bell and Charles S. Tainter.
Several cases involving the patents granted to Edison's chemist, Jonas W. Aylsworth, have also
been selected. Other suits arose from the complicated business arrangements made between Jesse
Lippincott's North American Phonograph Company and various subsidiary companies. The most
important of these cases, New York Phonograph Company v. National
Phonograph Company,
has been included.
- ORE MILLING CASES
- Thomas A. Edison v. Allis Chalmers
Company, Empire Limestone Company and the Casparis
Stone Company details the work of Edison and his assistants in the development of rock
crushing technology at the Ogden mine during the period 1889–1899 and the subsequent
transfer
of that technology to the Edison Portland Cement plant at Stewartsville, N.J.
The Document File is primarily a collection of incoming letters
addressed to Edison. There are
also letters addressed to Charles Batchelor, William E. Gilmore, John F. Randolph, Alfred O.
Tate, and other Edison associates. The letters frequently contain notations by Edison or his
secretaries indicating the nature of the reply. Occasional drafts of outgoing letters can also be
found in this file, along with unbound tissue copies (similar in character to the material in the
General Letterbook Series) and a variety of other documents such as intra-office memoranda,
reports, lists, circulars, and, occasionally, a laboratory sketch on the back of another document.
Many of the letters relate to the manufacture and marketing of
Edison's improved phonograph
and to legal and financial dealings among the various phonograph companies. Much of this
material pertains to the business of the North American Phonograph Company., which
controlled Edison's phonograph patents in the United States and Canada. This company served
as the exclusive marketing agent for the phonograph in North America from its establishment in
1888 until Edison forced it into bankruptcy in 1894. There are also numerous items from the late
1880s and early 1890s regarding the Edison Phonograph Toy Manufacturing Company, which
produced and marketed Edison's talking doll. A substantial portion of the Document File for the
late 1890s consists of documents relating to the activities of the Edison United Phonograph
Company, which handled the phonograph business in Great Britain and Continental Europe.
During most of the period 1887–1898, Edison continued to
maintain an interest in electric
lighting and power, and there are many letters relating to the technical and commercial
development of that technology. Among these are documents pertaining to the business of the
Edison Machine Works, the Edison Lamp Company, and the Edison Electric Light Company,
and to the affairs of various local illuminating companies, particularly the Edison Electric
Illuminating Company of New York and the Edison Electric Light Company of Philadelphia.
There is also material regarding the organization and operations of the Edison General Electric
Company, established in 1889, and its successor, the General Electric Company
Other letters deal with mining and ore milling, the phonoplex
system of telegraphy, electric
traction systems, and the mimeograph. There is also correspondence pertaining to the technical
and commercial development of motion pictures. Among the documents for 1896 are a sizeable
number of letters concerning Edison's x-ray experiments. In addition to the business
correspondence, there are documents relating to Edison's personal finances and to his family
affairs. The "Edison, T.A.—Family" folders for 1897 and 1898 contain numerous letters by
and
about Edison's oldest son, Thomas A. Edison, Jr.
The documents are arranged by year and by subjects within each
year. Documents that deal with
more than one subject or that do not fall under any of the main subject categories are filed in the
"Edison, T.A.—General" folder. Readers interested in a particular topic should always
consult
the various "General" folders in addition to more specific subcategories relating to their
interests. Undated documents that were likely generated within the year of attribution, along
with others that present no compelling evidence of being misfiled, remain within the main run of
dated folders. Undated documents for which no specific year can reasonably be conjectured are
filed in an "Undated Documents" folder at the end of the run of dated folders.
Incoming correspondence and other unbound documents can also
be found in other series. See, particularly, the Company Records Series, Legal Series, Special Collections
Series, and Vouchers and Attached Correspondence Series.
Explanatory targets
for both selected and unselected folders precede the documents for each year.
These letterbooks contain tissue copies of Edison's outgoing
correspondence. Although there are
occasional letters in Edison's hand, most of manuscript correspondence is in the hand of Edison's
secretaries. Similarly, the retained copies of Edison's typewritten letters are frequently signed or
initialed by one of his secretaries.
Many of the letters relate to the manufacture and marketing of
Edison's improved phonograph
and to legal and financial dealings among the various phonograph companies. In addition, there
are numerous documents pertaining to mining and ore milling and to the operations of Edison's
plant in Ogden, N.J. Included also are letters, many addressed to the Edison Machine Works and
the Edison General Electric Company, regarding Edison's work on improved filaments, meters,
and other components of his electric lighting system. Some of the documents relate to the
business of the Edison Manufacturing Company and to the production and promotion of the
Edison-Lalande primary battery. Other letters deal with Edison's phonoplex system of
telegraphy, electric traction systems, the mimeograph, and motion pictures. There are many
letters addressed to the law firm of Dyer & Seely and to Edison's personal lawyer, Sherburne
B.
Eaton, concerning patent applications, interferences and infringements, and various other legal
concerns. In addition to the business correspondence, there are numerous letters relating to
Edison's personal finances and to family affairs.
Copies of outgoing correspondence can also be found in the
Document File Series in folders
such as "Edison, T.A.—Outgoing Correspondence" and "Edison,
T.A.—Employment—Outgoing
Correspondence." Letters similar to those in the General Letterbooks appear in some of the
letterbooks in the Company Records Series.
This series consists of three letterbooks that do not fall within the
main run of General
Letterbooks. The first book contains letters concerning Ezra T. Gilliland's relationship with
Edison and Edison's phonograph business. The second book contains letters written on behalf of
Stephen F. Moriarty regarding the business of the Edison-Bell Consolidated Phonograph
Company, Ltd. and the Edison United Phonograph Company. The third book (not selected)
contains correspondence relating to the personal affairs of Alfred O. Tate.
The Legal Series consists of agreements and other legal documents,
along with related items
such as correspondence, financial documents, and litigation records. The Harry F. Miller File
and the Richard W. Kellow File were maintained by officials in Edison's companies. The
Miscellaneous Legal File contains documents of a similar character, not part of any formal legal
file. Documents of a legal or quasi-legal nature also appear in numerous other series.
Agreements and other legal documents relating to the various Edison companies
appear in the Company Records Series. Memoranda by Edison regarding proposed contracts,
along with drafts in his hand that possibly were never drawn up into formal agreements, are filed
in the Document File. A number of agreements and other legal documents involving Edison and
members of his family appear in the Family Records Series.
- HARRY F. MILLER FILE
- The Harry F. Miller File consists of contracts and agreements,
assignments and licenses, powers
of attorney, deeds, bonds, mortgages, and other legal documents. Often these items are in the
form of drafts or fair copies. Included also are correspondence, often from attorneys; occasional
caveats and other patent-related documents; financial documents such as bank notes, stock
certificates, accounts, bills, and receipts; and various company records, such as minutes of
meetings, reports, and memoranda. In addition, there are occasional affidavits, transcripts of
testimony, and other litigation records.
The documents relate primarily to electric lighting, the
phonograph, ore milling, electric
traction, and telegraphy. There are many items pertaining to the Edison Ore Milling Company,
the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Concentrating Works, the Edison United Phonograph
Company, the North American Phonograph Company, the Edison General Electric Company,
and other Edison companies. Among the documents for 1889 are testimony and other litigation
records relating to Edison's controversy with Ezra T. Gilliland and John C. Tomlinson.
Family-related legal items, especially regarding Thomas A. Edison, Jr., are also included.
- RICHARD W. KELLOW FILE
- The Richard W. Kellow File consists of deeds, releases,
correspondence, and other material
relating to the purchase and sale of property belonging to Edison, Mina Miller Edison, and Mary
Stilwell Edison in Menlo Park; patent assignments from Thomas J. Handford and William K. L.
Dickson to Edison; correspondence associated with the elimination of expired patents; and
agreements and correspondence concerning dynamo improvements made by Justus B. Entz of
Schenectady. In addition, there are agreements and correspondence regarding the New Jersey
and Pennsylvania Concentrating Works and the Spurr Iron Mining Company in Michigan and
letters pertaining to the financial affairs of Osgood S. Wiley, one of Edison's ore milling agents
in Britain.
- MISCELLANEOUS LEGAL FILE
- This file contains contracts, agreements, assignments,
depositions, deeds, related
correspondence, and other documents similar to the material found in the Miller and Kellow
files. Many of the items pertain to the legal affairs of the various Edison phonograph companies,
including the Edison Phonograph Works, the North American Phonograph Company, the Edison
Phonograph Toy Manufacturing Company, the Edison United Phonograph Company, and the
Automatic Phonograph Exhibition Company. Among the documents for 1888 are lengthy
depositions by Edison and by Jesse Lippincott concerning Edison's dispute with Ezra T. Gilliland
and John C. Tomlinson. Included also are items pertaining to electric lighting, ore milling, and
motion pictures and material regarding the estate of Mary Stilwell Edison and other family
matters.
This series consists of articles, letters to the editor, and other items published in technical and scientific journals, popular magazines, and newspapers during the period 1862–1898. A comprehensive bibliography contains links to the works previously published in Parts I-III of the microfilm edition. Images of the original articles transcribed for the book edition will eventually be added. Included are nine articles describing Edison's x-ray experiments of 1896, as well as other articles dealing with a variety of electrical technologies and general topics. In addition to the published works, there is a lengthy manuscript in Edison's hand regarding American monetary policy and the federal regulation of business, which was probably composed in reaction to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
These scrapbooks contain clippings from newspapers, popular
magazines, and technical journals
regarding Edison's attempt to determine the etiology and control the spread of yellow fever, the
controversy surrounding his dispute with Ezra T. Gilliland and John C. Tomlinson, and the
introduction of the kinetoscope in Great Britain.
These clippings contain articles, interviews, and other material
pertaining to the commercial and
technical development of Edison's inventions and the personal affairs of Edison and his family.
Included are items relating to Edison's return to phonograph experimentation in the late 1880s,
his dispute with Ezra T. Gilliland and John C. Tomlinson, the development of the talking doll,
the Paris Exposition of 1889, the controversy over alternating and direct current, and the
formation of the Edison General Electric Company and its subsequent merger with
Thomson-Houston. There are also items concerning motion pictures, x-rays, and Edison's gold
separation experiments at the Ortiz mine in New Mexico.
The Primary Printed Series contains printed documents that were
issued by the various Edison
companies. Included are official reports, instruction manuals, lists of equipment and devices,
price lists, reprints of scholarly papers, and promotional brochures. In addition to the unbound
materials, there are two bound volumes of pamphlets and a sample issue of the
Phonogram, a
serial publication that offered news, feature stories, and promotional material about Edison and
his products.
- J. H. VAIL PAPERS
- These papers relate primarily to Vail's work as general
superintendent of the Edison Electric
Light Company, in which position he oversaw the design and construction of central stations.
- WALTER S. MALLORY PAPERS
- These papers relate primarily to Mallory's personal business, his
family and friends, and his
private affairs. Some material pertains to his work for the Edison Iron Concentrating Company,
the Edison Portland Cement Company, the Edison Storage Battery Company, the New Jersey
and Pennsylvania Concentrating Works, and other companies associated with Edison.
- ALEXANDER ELLIOTT, JR., PAPERS
- These papers relate primarily to Elliott's administration of the
real estate interests of the New
Jersey and Pennsylvania Concentrating Works. There are also documents pertaining to Elliott's
work as counsel for the Edison Portland Cement Company and other companies associated with
Edison, as well as items concerning his private law practice.
This series contains correspondence, minute books, account
books, letterbooks, and other
records pertaining to the operations of the various Edison companies. Related material can be
found in the Document File Series and in the Primary Printed Series.
ORE MILLING COMPANIES
Documents concerning Edison's mining and ore milling ventures can
also be found in the
Alexander Elliott, Jr., Papers and Walter S. Mallory Papers and in
the Charles Batchelor Collection.
EDISON ORE MILLING COMPANY, LTD.
These records consist of correspondence, agreements, lists of
stockholders, trial balances, and
other business records. The documents deal mainly with income from royalties, tax obligations,
and legal expenses. Several letters contain comments by Edison on the fate of the company and
the reasons for its demise.
NEW YORK CONCENTRATING WORKS
These records consist of correspondence, reports, financial
records, agreements and indentures,
minutes, and other records relating to the organization and management of the company and the
eventual sale of its assets. The letters deal with the license arrangements with Edison and the
Edison Ore Milling Company, Ltd.; progress at the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Concentrating
Works in Ogden, N.J.; and leases and agreements with Edison and the Philadelphia &
Reading
Railroad Company. The annual reports contain statements of the company's capital stock,
paid-in capital, assets, debts, and stockholders.
OGDEN IRON COMPANY
These records consist of minutes, maps, correspondence, and
other business records. Included
are items relating to Edison's negotiations with the company's founders (1889–1891) and
the
conveyance of company property to Edison (1914). Also included are correspondence and legal
documents relating to the company's dissolution by the State of New Jersey in 1918.
SUSSEX COUNTY IRON COMPANY
These records consist of minutes, by-laws, lists of officers and
stockholders, correspondence, tax
bills, and other business records.
Administrative and Financial Records
These records consist of incoming correspondence, accounting
records, labor statements, and
other general office records kept by company officers or senior managers. The documents relate
to the organization, management, and failure of the company; the experimental mill at
Bechtelsville, Pa.; operations at Ogden, N.J.; and the testing of equipment, ore, and briquettes.
Other subjects include relationships with suppliers, customers, and investors and the market for
Edison's ore, briquettes, and milling technologies.
Legal Records
These records consist of correspondence, agreements, deeds,
indentures, and other legal
documents. The documents deal primarily with leases, mineral rights, and surveys on mining
sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Some items relate to the acquisition of the Sussex Iron
Company and to litigation resulting from the collapse of the stock house at the Ogden works in
1892. There are also reports by detectives hired to infiltrate the mining community.
Plant Operations Records
These records deal with the design, construction, operation,
improvement, repair, and
dismantling of machinery and equipment at the Ogden works.
Minute Book
This book contains entries relating to properties known as the
Gilbert Ore Mine, Scrub Oak
Mine, and Ogden Mine; the royalty agreement with the Edison Ore Milling Company, Ltd.; the
purchase of the Ogden Iron Company; and the removal of the company's offices from New York
City to the West Orange laboratory. Also included are two long reports by Edison on the status
of the company's mills.
Letterbooks
These books contain tissue copies of the company's outgoing
correspondence and internal
communications. Included are letters relating to stock transactions; stockholders' and directors'
meetings; payment of company obligations; changes in company officers; insurance,
employment, tax, and legal matters; press relations; market and economic conditions; properties
leased or owned; the design and purchase of equipment; the chemical analysis, manufacture, and
marketing of iron ore, briquettes, and sand; the construction, modification, and closing of the
Ogden works; interest in minerals other than iron, such as gold and molybdenite; and visitors to
the Ogden works. There are also some letters regarding Edison's views on company policies and
correspondence about his schedule, character, health, and family. In addition, the letterbooks
contain occasional correspondence regarding Edison's other iron ore enterprises; some letters
concerning phonograph contracts, litigation, and stock; items pertaining to the price of General
Electric securities and other aspects of the electric light business; and a few letters about the
telephone, kinetoscope, and phonoplex business.
Sand Sales Records
These records deal with the use of Edison sand for cement,
traction, sand blasting, and other
purposes.
PHONOGRAPH COMPANIES
- EDISON PHONOGRAPH COMPANY
- These records consist entirely of account books and other
financial material. Included are
accounts for Edison, patent attorneys Dyer & Seely, and the Edison Phonograph Toy
Manufacturing Company; patent, experimental, and cash accounts; and a list of stockholders
from 1887.
- EDISON PHONOGRAPH WORKS
- These records consist of minutes and financial material. The
minute book contains entries
relating to the purchase of the factory in Bloomfield, N.J.; the construction of the factory in
West Orange, N. J.; and the sale of assets to Thomas A. Edison, Inc.. There are also discussions
and resolutions regarding contracts and agreements with Edison and Edison-related companies.
The ledgers and journals summarize transactions pertaining to the manufacture of phonographs
and cylinder recordings, as well as Bates numbering machines, talking dolls, batteries, and
motors.
- NATIONAL PHONOGRAPH COMPANY
- These records consist primarily of minutes and financial
material. The minute book contains
entries relating to agreements involving Edison, the Edison Phonograph Works, the Edison
Phonograph Company, and the American Graphophone Company. Included also are entries
pertaining to the company's purchase of property from the Edison Manufacturing Company;
litigation against the company and other Edison interests by regional phonograph companies;
and threatened litigation involving the Pooley Furniture Company (makers of Amberola
cabinets) and the Victor Talking Machine Company. The ledger and journal summarize
transactions pertaining to the sale of phonographs and cylinder recordings.
- NORTH AMERICAN PHONOGRAPH COMPANY
- These records consist of minutes and financial material. The
minute book contains entries
relating to agreements involving Edison, Jesse Lippincott, the Edison Phonograph Company, the
Edison Phonograph Works, the Automatic Phonograph Exhibition Company, and various
regional phonograph companies. Also mentioned is the removal of the company's principal
office from New York City to Jersey City; litigation with the American Graphophone Company;
advertisement expenditures; the introduction of installment sales; the discontinuation of the
nickel-in-the-slot business; and proposed manufacturing activities in Canada. The ledgers and
journals summarize transactions pertaining to the sale of phonographs, graphophones,
nickel-in-the-slot machines, and cylinder recordings in the United States and Canada.
OTHER COMPANIES
- BATES MANUFACTURING COMPANY
- These records consist of legal documents, correspondence, and
financial records. Many items
relate to agreements with the Edison Phonograph Works, which assumed most of the company's
indebtedness and all of its manufacturing operations in 1892. Also included are Edison's 1895
proposition for revisions in the 1892 agreement; correspondence concerning the company's
accounts and financial condition; and documents pertaining to the controversy over Bates's
continued manufacture and sale of automatic numbering machines through the Bates Machine
Company of Brooklyn.
- EDISON ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY AND RELATED
COMPANIES
- These records contain financial, historical, and technical data
regarding the operations of various
Edison central stations.
- EDISON ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY OF EUROPE, LTD.
- These records consist of correspondence and other documents
pertaining to the financial, legal,
and general administrative affairs of the company. Included are items regarding relations
between the company and its associated European firms.
- EDISON MACHINE WORKS [NOT SELECTED]
- These records consist of a letterbook from 1887 and two
scrapbooks covering the period
1886–1889. The letterbook deals mainly with routine financial matters involving credits,
notes,
invoices, stocks, payrolls, and sundry expenses. The scrapbooks contain blueprints, mostly
drawings and technical data, relating to dynamos.
- EDISON MANUFACTURING COMPANY
- Letterbooks
- Most of the letters in these books pertain to the technical and
commercial development of the
Edison-Lalande primary battery, which Edison refined and began marketing in 1889. Included
are items concerning the marketing of the battery for use with the phonograph. Other documents
relate to additional applications for the battery, including electric lighting, fire and burglar
alarms, dental and medical instruments, and cigar lighters.
- Financial Records
- The ledgers, journals, and other financial documents summarize
transactions relating to the
company's works at Silver Lake, N.J., its New York City office, and its operations in Europe.
Among the products covered are primary batteries, motion pictures, phonographs, talking dolls,
fan motors, and x-rays.
EDISON PHONOPLEX SYSTEM
This letterbook deals mainly with the sale, installation, and
operation of the phonoplex system in
the United States and Canada. There are also general inquiries about the system and material
relating to contracts.
The vouchers in this series record the payment of bills and
other expenditures by
Edison. Attached to these vouchers are incoming correspondence, notes by Edison, and other
material similar to that found in the Document File Series. The documents relate to the technical
and commercial development of the electric light, the phonograph, motion pictures, and most of
the other technologies in which Edison was involved during the period 1887–1898. There
are
also items pertaining to the construction and equipping of the West Orange laboratory and to
Edison's personal affairs, including his charitable contributions and his memberships in clubs
and societies. Some of the material concerns legal matters. In addition, there are items pertaining
to the estate of Mary Stilwell Edison; debts owed by Samuel Edison; payments made to Samuel's
companion, James Symington; a loan to Simeon O. Edison; and other family matters. The
documents appear in two subseries: (1) vouchers containing substantive
correspondence and other significant attachments; and (2) vouchers containing bills and other
items pertaining to Edison's early work on motion pictures.
- Correspondence
- Legal Documents
- Financial Records
This series contains correspondence, financial records, legal records,
and other documents
relating to members of the Edison and Miller families. Most of the items pertain to the activities
and interests of Edison's second wife, Mina Miller Edison, and to the maintenance of Glenmont,
Edison's home in Llewellyn Park, N.J. There are also several contracts and other legal records
from the period 1867–1900.
These documents, found or recovered after the microfilm editions of Parts I and II had been published, were filmed at the end of the Part III microfilm edition. The documents have been integrated into their appropriate places in the digital edition. A more complete description of the contents of the Supplement can be found by clicking on the link above.
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