This letterbook covers the period December 1890-January 1891. Most of the letters are by Alfred O. Tate. There is also correspondence by Edison, Thomas Maguire, and John F. Randolph. Many of the letters relate to the manufacture and marketing of the phonograph and talking doll. Included are numerous letters pertaining to the Edison Phonograph Toy Manufacturing Co. and to Edison's efforts to liquidate that company. There is also material concerning the Edison Phonograph Works, the North American Phonograph Co., and the Automatic Phonograph Exhibition Co. A few letters deal with problems in the production of musical records and with Edison's decision to close the laboratory's music room and discharge its staff. There are also documents relating to mining and ore milling and to electric lighting. There are some letters about Edison's family, particularly his father, Samuel, and his brother, William Pitt, who died of cancer in January, 1891. Other correspondence deals with Edison's personal finances, including his stockholdings in the Edison General Electric Co. and in several railroad companies; his financial relations with George E. Gouraud and Jesse Lippincott; and his investment in the magazine, Phonogram. The front cover is labeled "General Letter Book Indexed." The book contains 498 numbered pages and an index. Approximately 40 percent of the book has been selected. Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.