Product Details
CompanyEdison Storage Battery Company Certificate TypeCapital Stock Date IssuedUnissued, circa early 1900'sCanceledYesPrinterAmerican Bank Note CompanySignaturesNAApproximate Size11 1/4" (w) by 7 3/4" (h)ImagesRepresentative of the piece you will receiveGuaranteed AuthenticYesAdditional DetailsNA
Historical Context
The Edison Storage Battery Co. (ESBCo) was organized in New Jersey on May 27, 1901, in order to develop, manufacture, and sell Edison's alkaline storage battery. Edison served as the company's first president; Walter S. Mallory, as vice president; and John F. Randolph, as secretary and treasurer. The company was initially capitalized at one million dollars. The capitalization was increased to $3.5 million in 1910 and to $5 million in 1917, largely to reduce the company's indebtedness to Edison, who financed much of the battery research.
Commercial manufacturing of a nickel-iron battery began in January 1903 but was suspended on November 1, 1904, when the "E" cells suffered reduced electrical capacity and leakage. After technical improvements to the production process and to the battery itself, beginning with the "A" cell, commercial manufacture resumed in 1909.
Chemicals for the batteries were manufactured in Silver Lake, New Jersey, and the batteries themselves were assembled nearby, first in Glen Ridge and later in West Orange. Despite increased orders and production, the company did not realize a net profit until 1913, due largely to its research budget and indebtedness. Research and development were performed by ESBCo's own Research Department, as well as at Edison's laboratory in West Orange.
Product lines and sales structures were expanded throughout the company's history. Batteries were manufactured for mining lamps, train lighting and signaling, submarines, electric vehicles, as well as other applications.
ESBCo had its own sales force, but it also sold batteries through separate sales companies, including one Edison company — the Edison Storage Battery Supply Co. (formed in 1913) — and non-Edison companies such as Miller Reese Hutchison, Inc. (formed in 1916). Foreign sales rights were controlled at different times by various agents, including Herman E. Dick, Paul H. Cromelin, Maurice E. Fox, and John F. Monnot. After Edison's death the company was merged into Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
In 1972 the battery company was sold to the Exide Battery Corporation, which discontinued making Edison's nickel-iron battery in 1975.
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