Legacy

The collections of documents “Correspondence with individuals and companies” and “Scientific work” are the largest and most important part of Tesla’s legacy.

In the category “Correspondence with individuals and companies” are preserved letters, postcards, business cards, telegrams and greeting cards received by Nikola Tesla, as well as carbon copies of a large number of business letters which he sent during the period from 1882 to 1943.

This collection of documents contains 69,680 listed items which relate to 10,691 correspondents. It includes correspondence with 9,682 individuals and 1,009 companies. A total of 4,850 correspondents include the names of both companies and individuals.

Tesla corresponded with a great number of esteemed figures from the worlds of science, culture, art and sport, from all corners of the world, as well as with completely unknown individuals.

He maintained his business correspondence in a very orderly way. Many business letters are accompanied by Tesla’s replies to them. Tesla’s secretaries typed business letters with duplicate carbon copies so that the whole business communication can be followed.