Part Of: Smithsonian Institution

[X092-F] Edison Manuscripts

These documents cover the years 1880-1924; there are also several undated items. Included is a December 1883 letter from Edison to the renowned Hungarian violinist Ede (Edward) Reményi declining a dinner invitation and remarking that he "must work, work, things are booming." Also included is a 1894 letter from Edison to William S. Pilling, a Philadelphia industrialist who later became secretary-treasurer of the Edison Portland Cement Co., describing production difficulties at the ore milling plant in Ogden, New Jersey. In a 1920 letter to Perriton Maxwell, editor of Leslie's, Edison reminisces about selling that magazine as a newspaper boy on the Grand Trunk Railroad. In addition, there are undated technical notes, probably from 1917-1918, pertaining to wartime experiments involving the use of telephones for sound detection; and a 1924 letter regarding Edison's $300 contribution to a Thomas Paine Memorial Building.

The documents are from the following manuscript files: MSS 251B (Edison) (item 1); MSS 470A (items 2, 4, 5, 8, 9); MSS 470A COPY (items 3, 6, 7).

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. -- National Museum of American History -- Dibner Library

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