This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to the business of the North American Phonograph Co. and to the technical development of phonographs and cylinders. Included are numerous circular letters to local Edison phonograph companies concerning company policies and technical matters. There is also material regarding the sale of coin-operated phonographs and the lawsuit filed against the North American Phonograph Co. by the Automatic Phonograph Exhibition Co. Much of the correspondence is by Thomas R. Lombard, vice president of the company, and by Sherburne B. Eaton, Edison's personal attorney.
Approximately 50 percent of the documents have been selected. The following categories of documents have not been selected: routine letters and circulars to local Edison phonograph companies concerning the ordering, shipping, and leasing of phonographs and phonograph parts; inventory lists; duplicate copies of selected items; documents that duplicate information in selected material.
Related material can be found in D-90-52 (Phonograph - Automatic Phonograph Exhibition Co.). Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.