This folder contains correspondence, agreements, and other documents relating to the business of the Edison Electric Lamp Co., which changed its name to the Edison Lamp Co. during the year. Most of the correspondence is by Francis R. Upton, treasurer and general manager of the company, and by Philip S. Dyer, secretary. Many of the letters deal with company finances. Others concern the purchase of a new factory building. This is also correspondence pertaining to the acquisition and testing of bamboo and other fibrous materials for use as filaments, including several letters by John C. Branner, a geologist whom Edison hired to search for fibers in Brazil. A list of specimens sent to Edison for testing, which accompanied Branner's letter of January 14, 1881, can be found in the Joseph De Mott Fredericks Collection in the Special Collections Series. Pages 3-8 of Branner's letter, along with a 2-page attachment, were also found in the Fredericks Collection. For the sake of completeness, images of the entire letter are presented here and in the Fredericks Collection.

All of the documents have been selected except for duplicate copies of selected documents and a few routine items regarding the shipment of lamps.