Classical electron theory occupies a pivotal yet often underappreciated position in the prehistory of special relativity. Yet the historiography of classical electron theory tends to fall into two extremes. On the one hand, there are technically rigorous reconstructions—indispensable but frequently shaped by retrospective, post-relativistic categories. On the other hand, there are largely descriptive narratives that refrain from engaging with the mathematical formalism of that period. These notes seek a middle path by relying the work of Max Abraham.