Here's a little snippet about Edison Battery Oil.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/edis/edisonia/articles/batteryoil.htm

If it worked, it would have been a fairly elegant solution for the time.
These days, most sealed batteries found in an industrial setting use a
sonically welded casing to prevent absorption and evaporation, with a safety
valve for venting gas if necessary (mostly in circumstances where the
battery has been severely overcharged). At the time, a lot of batteries had
wood cases, which were problematic, but I'm not entirely sure what Edison
Primary Batteries had as a casing.

Batteries of that type for the most part haven't changed much since then.

-Ryan

>From: Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [ARSCLIST] Edison battery oil?
>Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:33:18 -0500
>
>My wife found me a really cool little glass bottle at a garage sale. It is
>embossed raised letters on glass, about the form-factor of a tiny milk
>bottle, probably holds 4 oz. It's got Edison's trademark signature on one
>side and the other side says:
>
>Edison Battery Oil
>Made in U.S.A.
>--------------------
>Thomas A. Edison
>Incorporated
>Bloomfield, N.J.
>U.S.A.
>
>So, can someone tell me more about it? What batteries would need oil? What
>era would this be from? Thanks!
>
>-- Tom Fine

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