These documents consist primarily of interoffice communications, technical notes, and production reports exchanged between Edison and his brother-in-law John V. Miller, manager of the Edison Chemical Works. The dated items cover the years 1913-1915 and 1919-1920. There are also a number of undated technical notes from Edison to Miller, one of which may have been written as early as 1909. Other correspondents include Robert A. Bachman, vice president and general manager of the Edison Storage Battery Co.; Ralph H. Beach of the Federal Storage Battery Car Co.; chemical engineers Thomas D. Greenley and Charles F. (Frank) Hunter; Edison's personal assistant William H. Meadowcroft; and construction and maintenance manager Charles A. Nicolai.
Most of the documents relate to composition and manufacturing process experiments on the iron and nickel mixes used in storage batteries. Also mentioned are Edison's other chemical plants at Silver Lake, which produced phenol and other organic chemicals; the Wax Dept.; and general equipment and operations issues such as water usage. Many of the notes in Edison's handwriting have been stamped on the back with the date and the notation "Received Edison Chemical Works Silver Lake, N.J."
All of the documents have been selected except for duplicates. Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.