Part Of: Notebook Series -- Pocket Notebooks

[NP059A-F] PN-19-04-00 (ca. 1899)

This pocket notebook was probably used by Edison around 1899 for notes on chemicals, chemical reactions, cement, and experiments and projects to be undertaken. It consists of a promotional notepad distributed by the Standard Oil Co. and may have been used at Edison's winter home in Fort Myers, Florida. Included are a variety of chemical notes alluding to Henry Watts's multivolume Dictionary of Chemistry; notes on real estate, probably in the Fort Myers area; and notes on the chemical properties and varieties of cement. Among the experiments listed are several that involve "xyz rays." The book has been used in both directions. The last page contains a printed calendar for 1896 and an inscribed date of April 1919. That date may relate to the four- and five-digit numbers, possibly battery cell numbers, on the adjacent page and to similar numbers a few pages away. The front cover is stamped "Compliments of Standard Oil Company, Newark Branch, Newark, N.J." The pages are unnumbered. Approximately 35 pages have been used.

Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

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