Paul B. Israel is director and editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Louis Carlat and David Hochfelder are, respectively, managing editor and assistant editor for the project. Theresa M. Collins is the Edison Papers Project's associate director for outreach and development and has served as an editor since 1991.

"A choplicking feast for future Edison biographers - well into the next century, and perhaps beyond." (Washington Post) "What is most extraordinary about the collection isn't necessarily what it reveals about Edison's inventions... It's the insight into the process." (Associated Press) "A triumph of the bookmaker's art, with splendidly arranged illustrations, essential background information, and cautionary reminders of the common sources on which Edison's imagination drew." (New York Review of Books) "In the pages of this volume Edison the man, his work, and his times come alive... A delight to browse through or to read carefully." (Science) "Beyond its status as the resource for Edison studies, providing a near inexhaustible supply of scholarly fodder, this series... will surely become a model for such projects in the future... The sheer diversity of material offered here refreshingly transcends any exclusive restriction to Edisonia." (British Journal for the History of Science)"

• Calendar of DocumentsList of Editorial HeadnotesPrefaceChronology of Thomas A. Edison, April 1883– December 1884Editorial Policy and User's GuideEditorial SymbolsList of Abbreviations1. April– June 1883 (Docs. 2418– 2476)2. July– September 1883 (Docs. 2477– 2531)3. October– December 1883 (Docs. 2532– 2578)4. January– March 1884 (Docs. 2579– 2638)5. April– June 1884 (Docs. 2639– 2691)6. July– September 1884 (Docs. 2692– 2737)7. October– December 1884 (Docs. 2738– 2769)Appendix 1: Edison's Autobiographical NotesAppendix 2: Edison Village PlantsAppendix 3: Specifications of Dynamos Produced at the Edison Machine Works, April 1883– December 1884Appendix 4: Edison's Patents, April 1883– December 1884BibliographyCreditsIndex