The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

This pocket notebook contains one dated entry from April 1910. It was probably used by Edison at his winter home in Fort Myers, Florida, as well as at the laboratory in West Orange. The book contains notes regarding experimental work and other tasks to be performed. Among the experiments are many chemical researches relative to Edison's alkaline storage battery and to phonograph record blanks. Other experiments pertain to motion pictures, color photography, business phonographs, and phonograph reproducers. An entry marked "Big Scheme" proposes using heat from the Edison Portland Cement Co. kilns to generate electricity. The employees mentioned in relation to individual experiments include Ralph Arbogast, Walter N. Archer, Eben G. Dodge, Pursell Eggleston, Ignacy Goldstein, Thomas D. Greenley, and Walter E. Holland. The notebook also contains many notations and reminders about patents, production costs, marketing, and other business matters. Included are notes pertaining to recording artists Leo Slezak, Arturo Nutini, and Harry Lauder, and a reminder to send storage battery data and a catalog to "Jack" Morgan at J. P. Morgan & Co. Near the end of the book are tabulated costs for battery and cement production, statistics on the production of chemicals, and a financial profile of the Edison Portland Cement Co. as of October 1909. One entry giving the address of a chemical plant is in an unidentified hand. The pages are unnumbered. Approximately 80 pages have been used.