Edison, Thomas. (1847–1931)
Angry Autograph Note about saving runoff at the Edison Battery Co.
A brief but amusing autograph note written by Thomas Edison to his son Charles, composed at the bottom of a letter on Edison Storage Battery Company letterhead, signed "A. Pedersen," dated July 15, 1919. In the typed letter, Arthur Zentgraf Pedersen (1885 - 1959), protests Edison's "memorandum in which he states that we are losing a large amoung of nickel in the wash water of filter press-Iron-nickel mud" and attempts to correct the record, saying that "the wash water from this press does not go into the brook at all but is caught in a tank and used in our platting. The nickel which remains in the mud is sold at a very good figure." He goes on to states that they need "a few filter presses and pumps in order to prevent a large amount of nickel and copper from running out of the factory." Edison replies, in pencil, to his son: "Charles, This man is a Lemon. I will follow it up until we save every bit of it but I want nothing to do with this man. Edison."The Edison Storage Battery Company was organized in New Jersey on May 27, 1901, to develop, manufacture, and sell Thomas Edison's alkaline storage battery. It produced batteries for mining lamps, train lighting and signaling, submarines, electric vehicles, and other uses. The company had its own research department and sales force, but it also sold batteries through separate sales companies, including the Edison Storage Battery Supply Company (11241)
Autograph Letter Science & Technology