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 Frank L. Dyer, president of NPCo. Other correspondents include Carl H. Wilson, general manager; Leonard C. McChesney, manager of the Advertising Department, F. K. Dolbeer, manager of sales; and Eldridge R. Johnson, president of the Victor Talking Machine Co. Included are letters pertaining to the manufacture, distribution, and sale of phonographs and cylinder records, as well as correspondence about litigation, patents, and other legal matters. Among the documents for 1909 are items concerning the activities of the Advertising Department, the introduction of Amberola records, and the development of a concealed-horn phonograph and an eight-minute record. Also included are letters relating to the decision and settlement in the New York Phonograph Co. case, to competition and cooperation between NPCo and Victor Talking Machine Co., and to corporate reaction to the Copyright Act of 1909. In addition, there are pamphlets giving jobbers' and dealers' discounts for the year and an undated Edison memorandum proposing a record exchange system.
Approximately 10 percent of the documents have been selected. Among the items not selected are documents regarding local and state legislation and the business of individual dealers and jobbers.