These seven scrapbooks cover the period July 1878-November 1885. They contain glued-in letters addressed to Painter, Charles E. Bailey, George L. Bradley, Edward H. Johnson, James Redpath, and other officials of the Edison Speaking Phonograph Co. Much of correspondence is by S. Bergmann of New York and Brehmer Bros. of Philadelphia, manufacturing firms that produced phonographs for the Edison Speaking Phonograph Co. Also included are letters by Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Co., Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co., Remington & Sons, Oberlin Smith, and other manufacturers. In addition, there is correspondence by Painter, Edison, Gardiner G. Hubbard, and other company officials, along with letters from exhibitors and prospective exhibitors throughout the United States and Canada. Although the scrapbooks progress in rough chronological order, the letters within each book are not in any discernable sequence.

Less than 10 percent of the documents have been selected. Most of the unselected items are letters from exhibitors and prospective exhibitors, responses to which can be found in the letterbooks. Also not selected are routine letters pertaining to orders and shipments of phonographs. The selected documents have been rearranged in chronological order.