This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to the commercial exploitation of phonographs in the United States. Most of the items are letters to and from William E. Gilmore, president of NPCo. Other correspondents include John R. Schermerhorn, assistant general manager; Carl H. Wilson, manager of sales; Leonard C. McChesney, manager of the Advertising Department; attorney Frank L. Dyer; and San Francisco jobber Peter Bacigalupi. Included are letters pertaining to the manufacture, distribution, and sale of phonographs and cylinder records, as well as correspondence about litigation, patents, copyrights, and other legal matters. Among the documents for 1905 are letters regarding the control of the New England Phonograph Co.; Bacigalupi's participation in the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon; and schedules for shipping cylinder records. Other items concern the reorganization of the phonograph business on the West Coast; competition with Victor, Columbia, and other companies; and the formation of a Commercial Department to sell and operate dictaphones. Also included is a 6-page report by Dyer concerning pending litigation involving NPCo, the Edison Manufacturing Co., and other Edison concerns. At the end of the folder are reports detailing the ownership and condition of the local phonograph companies organized under the aegis of the North American Phonograph Co. during the years 1888-1890.
Approximately 20 percent of the documents have been selected. Among the items not selected are documents regarding ongoing litigation with the New York Phonograph Co. and other parties, the business of individual dealers and jobbers, and the evaluation of patents granted to outside parties.