The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

This letterbook covers the period October 1886-February 1887. Many of the letters are by Edison. There is also correspondence by Samuel Insull and Alfred O. Tate. Most of Edison's letters are in the hand of Insull, Tate, or John F. Randolph, acting as Edison's secretary. Much of the correspondence relates to the Edison Machine Works, which moved to Schenectady, New York in 1886. Other letters concern the payroll of the Edison Lamp Co. and the phonoplex telegraph system. There are also letters about Edison's residence in Fort Myers, Florida and lists of United Edison Manufacturing Co. notes deposited in the Germania Bank. Among the recipients are S. Bergmann & Co., the Edison Lamp Co., the Germania Bank, George E. Gouraud, Francis R. Upton. Numerous letters were also addressed to Insull in his capacity as secretary and treasurer of the Edison Machine Works. The front cover is labeled "General Letter Book October 12, 1886-Feb.21, 1887. The spine is stamped "Letters." The book contains 496 numbered pages and an index. Approximately 20 percent of the book has been selected.