This case is one of several lawsuits arising out of Edison's decision to call in his North American Phonograph Co. bonds in 1894. The company was placed in receivership, and Edison resisted receiver John R. Hardin's request for the assignment of his phonograph patents. Among the cases that ensued were: Thomas A. Edison v. John R. Hardin; John R. Hardin v. Thomas A. Edison; John R. Hardin v. Edison Phonograph Works and Thomas A. Edison; and Walter W. Cutting v. North American Phonograph Company.
The following volume is a book of exhibits used in the four above-mentioned cases. Exhibits 1-23 (Schedules A-W) consist of agreements involving Edison, the Edison Phonograph Co., the Edison Phonograph Works, the North American Phonograph Co., Jesse Lippincott, and the American Graphophone Co. Exhibits 1-22 (Schedules A-V) appear elsewhere in the edition, and only a typewritten contents list has been selected here. Exhibit 23 (Schedule W), which is a list of phonograph patents and patent applications, has also been selected here. In addition, the volume contains approximately forty exhibits, numbered 24-166, consisting of the certificates of organization of the various phonograph companies; lists of officers and directors; letters exchanged between Hardin and Edison's patent attorneys, Dyer & Seely; and numerous other items. These exhibits, along with a typewritten contents list, have been selected. Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.