[D0231AAM], Letter from William Joseph Hammer to Thomas Alva Edison, May 27th, 1902
https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/D0231AAM
Transcription
Letterhead of William J. Hammer, Consulting Electrical Engineer, [1400?] Havemeyer Building, 26 Cortland St. New York, May 27th, 1902. Thomas A. Edison, Esq., Orange, N. J. My Dear Mr. Edison:- Mr. Randolph has written me regarding your views as carrying out negotiations with the telephone people and others. I have no doubt whatever that you can personally negotiate any of those matters much better that I can, and I certainly have no desire to interfere with your plans in any way. You will recollect that while at the laboratory in addition to speaking of the question of looking up interferences on your patents we talked of the question of the Marconi Company, Dr. Lodge's Company, and some of the others taking over your patent No. 465,071; and you asked me to see several of the wireless telegraph people; and it was also arranged that Mr. Mallory, who was present, should see the telegraph people in this city, I then saw Mr. Marconi's assistant on several occasions, and he brought the matter of your patent before Mr. F. H. Betts who said that he would recommend its purchase to the Directors of the Company, although it was not a Hertzian wave patent, there being no sprocket gap. I found that you had subsequently spoken to Mr. Lewis, <Answered May 27 _ 1902> <Hammer _> <Who are the [Electorolytic?] people & the Marconi is progressing> <E> [TAE Marginalia] their counsel, regarding the matter, as a result of your conversation with me at the laboratory I did not follow the matter up further and only gave Mr. Lewis my assurance that I would do nothing further in the matter as I understood that you had placed the negotiations with the Marconi Company in his hands. It may interest you to know that I have not endeavored to. negotiate any of your other patents, but have sounded two parties in connection with one of your patents on electrolytic work, as I know both of these parties very well, and knew that they were prominently identified with this art; and if you were desirous of disposing of that particular patent there might be an excellent opportunity with those parties, provided I found that the said patent was applicable to their special lines. I have said nothing to any of the telephone people, and merely made the suggestion regarding the telephone repeaters in the event of your desiring to dispose of this particular patent, in which case, if you wished it, I was prepared to make a preliminary investigation, which would perhaps lead up to the disposal of the patent. I was certainly not going further into the matter than I believed to be your wishes, and a result of our various interviews. Yours very truly, Wm. J. Hammer