Part Of: Notebook Series -- Pocket Notebooks

[NP112-F] PN-17-00-00 (1917-1918)

This pocket notebook was used by Edison, probably during the period September 1917-March 1918, for notes pertaining primarily to war-related experiments. Included are experiments, some conducted aboard the Navy warship USS Sachem in Long Island Sound, on sound detection devices and other means of locating submarines. Also included are notes on smoke bombs, kite rudders, Lyle gun projectiles, camouflaging techniques, the use of smokeless anthracite coal by Allied ships, and other war-related topics. In addition, there is a considerable amount of information copied from published sources, such as a table of the number of destroyers owned by each of the Allied and enemy nations. There are also references to the dismissal of experimenter Absalom M. Kennedy in December 1917 and to experiments at the U.S. Naval Station in Key West, Florida, where Edison resided during February-April 1918. A few of the notes relate to disc record experiments. Among the employees who assisted Edison in Key West were experimenters Albert G. Gerbode, William H. Knierim, Sherwood T. (Sam) Moore, Paul D. Payne, and Samuel C. Shaffner. There is also a reference to Charles B. Hanford, a retired Shakespearian actor who served as Edison's personal assistant and advised him on camouflaging experiments. The pages are unnumbered. Approximately 150 pages have been used.

Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

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