Philadelphia Quartz Company began as a family soap and candle business in 1831. It was founded in Philadelphia by Joseph Elkinton (1830-1905). It began producing and selling sodium silicate in 1861 as a builder to replace rosin in soap formulations. This image of office includes three male clerks and one visitor.

Founded in 1831 as the Elkinton Company and later renamed, Philadelphia Quartz Company became an important innovator during World War I by discovering that silica gels could be used as a base to manufacture catalysts for cracking crude oil molecules to make high-octane gasoline and developing potassium silicate which was adopted for use in cathode ray tubes. The company's records includes business records and the personal papers of the company's founding family.