This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to the commercial and technical development of Edison's alkaline storage battery and its use in electric vehicles. Many of the documents were written by Edison or bear his marginalia. Included are letters and advertisements concerning the Electric Storage Battery Co. of Philadelphia and its Ironclad-Exide battery. Also included are a draft agreement and related correspondence with the General Vehicle Co. concerning a battery service system of central stations for electric vehicles, along with letters pertaining to arrangements to establish a marketing agency in Connecticut. Among the correspondents for 1912 are William C. Anderson, president of the Anderson Electric Car Co. and manufacturer of the Detroit Electric automobile; longtime Edison associate Edward H. Johnson; and Philip D. Wagoner, president of the General Vehicle Co.
Approximately 80 percent of the documents have been selected. The unselected material consists of unsolicited correspondence, promotional material from companies seeking business with Edison, clippings from periodicals, a form pertaining to product guarantees from the Edison Storage Battery Co., duplicates, and items that duplicate the information in selected documents. Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.