Part Of: Notebook Series -- Pocket Notebooks

[NP089-F] PN-11-05-15 (1911)

The two dated entries in this pocket notebook are from May and July 1911. The book was used by Edison to record ideas about business matters, experiments to be tried, and other tasks to be performed. Many of the items have been crossed out. Some entries appear to be clean transcriptions of entries from PN-12-04-17. Included are notes relating to battery experiments, chemical additives for Ni(OH)2 (nickel hydroxide) in batteries, cell regeneration, and new battery models. Also included are entries pertaining to veneers for disc records, talking pictures, and battery-powered trucks manufactured by the Lansden Co. In addition, there are lists of inventions to be patented, data on costs for various materials and parts, and talking points for marketing and promotion. Some of the entries deal with Edison's upcoming trip to Europe, such as obtaining passports for the family and finding out whether a duty had to be paid on cigars. At one point, the inventor reminds himself to "take new memo book to Europe" [probably PN-10-00-00.2 in Thomas A. Edison Papers: A Selective Microfilm Edition, Part IV (1899-1910), reel 178].

Among the numerous Edison employees mentioned in the book are Edward L. Aiken, assistant superintendent of the Edison Phonograph Works; assistant engineer John R. Anderson, Jr.; chemists Jonas Walter Aylsworth and Ignacy Goldstein; master machinist Robert A. Bachman; chief engineer Donald M. Bliss; Frank L. Dyer, president of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., and head of the Legal Dept.; William H. Meadowcroft, Edison's personal assistant; Harry F. Miller, Edison's personal secretary; machinists Sherwood T. (Sam) Moore and Albert F. Wurth; and machinist and longtime Edison associate Frederick P. Ott. The pages are unnumbered. Approximately 150 pages have been used.

Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

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