This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to the procurement and testing of minerals. Included are inquiries by Edison to various suppliers, along with letters requesting information from Edison and inquiring about ores that he might supply. Some of the documents pertain to Edison's widely publicized idea of making books and other printed material (as well as punch cards for tabulating machines) from thinly rolled nickel sheets rather than from wood-pulp paper. Also included is an exchange of letters with Max U. Schoop, pioneer developer of thermal spray devices for coating metals, regarding his proposal to treat phonograph plates with nickel tinsel. An inquiry from Charles W. Bennett of Cornell University concerns the metal plating processes employed by Edison. Other correspondents include geologist Henry C. Demming and E. Schaaf-Regelman, a dealer in ores and rare minerals.
Approximately 20 percent of the documents have been selected. The selected material includes a sampling of letters relating to Edison's acquisition of minerals for experimental or production purposes. Among the documents not selected are referrals to other vendors and exchanges concerning ores that Edison was not interested in purchasing. Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.