[E1158-F]

https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/folder/E1158-F

→ View documents   → View folder on microfilm   → View metadata about this item set

Part Of: Edison General File Series -- 1911

[E1158-F] (E-11-58) Legal

This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to the protracted litigation arising from Edison's work on automatic telegraphy during the 1870s. After financier Jay Gould acquired the Automatic Telegraph Co. in 1875, Reiff, one of the original investors, instituted suit, seeking reimbursement for the interests of Edison, Harrington, and himself. Among the documents for 1911 are letters concerning Edison's involvement in the case and its appeal. Also included is correspondence pertaining to the troubled finances and health of Reiff, who died in February 1911 at the home of Mrs. James Hood Wright. Edison, who was asked to serve as an honorary pallbearer at the funeral, declined the invitation on account of illness. At the end of the folder is a two-page summation of Edison's cash advances to Reiff during the period 1888-1911.

Approximately 80 percent of the documents have been selected. The items not selected consist primarily of letters regarding the payment of legal fees, along with duplicates and variants of selected documents.

Related material for 1905-1910 can be found in the "Reiff, Josiah C." folders in the Document File Series (Thomas A. Edison Papers: A Selective Microfilm Edition, Part IV (1899-1910)). Related material for 1912 can be found in the "Telegraph" folder (E-12-78) in the Edison General File Series.

Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

Show all folders in the Edison General File category >>

Items