Items

[CL205-F] Domestic (1902)

Company Records Series -- National Phonograph Company -- Correspondence

Title: [CL205-F] Domestic (1902)
Description: This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to the commercial exploitation of phonographs in the United States. Most of the items are letters to and from William E. Gilmore, president of NPCo. Included are letters pertaining to the manufacture, distribution, and sale of phonographs and cylinder records, as well as correspondence about litigation, patents, and other legal matters. Among the documents for 1902 are the minutes of a stockholders' meeting of the New England Phonograph Co.; correspondence regarding a license agreement with the Victor Talking Machine Co.; and letters dealing with the business of San Francisco jobber Peter Bacigalupi, the introduction of new "moulded" records, and the demand for dictaphones. Also included are a summary of orders and shipments of phonographs and recordings for the period 1899-1902 and a memorandum by Edison regarding an increase in the company's capital stock to one million dollars. Among the numerous items pertaining to legal matters are letters concerning price cutting in Illinois, Iowa, and Massachusetts; a case against the U.S. Commissioner of Patents; patent infringement suits by and against NPCo; and suits against individuals modifying Edison reproducers.
Approximately 20 percent of the documents have been selected. Many of the items not selected consist of letters and memoranda regarding ongoing litigation with the American Graphophone Co., Lambert Co., New York Phonograph Co., and other companies over patent rights. Other unselected letters refer to suits against parties engaged in price cutting, the unauthorized use of Edison's name, and the illegal modification of Edison reproducers.
URL: https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/folder/CL205-F
Identifier: CL205-F
Type: Company Records
Rights: Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
Is Part Of: Company Records Series -- National Phonograph Company -- Correspondence
Alternative Title: Domestic (1902)
Has Version: Archive.org Viewer, Microfilm Series Reel 215

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