Edward H.  Russell was the inventor of the process for extracting silver from raw ore by lixiviation, using hyposulphite. This procedure was first successfully introduced in September 1884 at Silver Reef, UT.

In the collection are carbons of letters in bound letter copying book, written from May of either 1884 or 1885, to April of 1886. They are from Russell to various western mine managers, and about the advantages of the method. Letters to Carl A. Stetefeldt, author of a book on the "Russell process," detail progress made in its implementation in various locations, including Silver City, NM.