Alexis I. du Pont (1816-1857) was proprieter of his family's business, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, which began in the manufacture of gunpowder in 1802. Betweeen 1829 and 1931, he attended the boarding school New Haven Gymnasium to prepare for his higher education at the University of Pennsylvania. The volume is an autograph book of mostly blank pages. Internal evidence suggests that it was begun by his older siblings as a memento for him when he first left home for school as he entered his teens. Later, Alexis du Pont used the same volume to collect samples of poetry verses on the theme of "friendship" as mementos of his schoolmates when he left preparatory school and entered college.

Alexis I. du Pont (1816-1857) was proprieter of his family business, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, which began in the manufacture of gunpowder in 1802. He was the youngest child of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), the founder of the DuPont Company. This collection contains thirteen photographic items, mostly portraits of Alexis I. du Pont and other du Pont family members.

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) had three sons: Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856), Henry du Pont (1812-1889), and Alexis I. du Pont (1816-1857). All three were partners in their father's company. This collection contains the papers of Alfred Victor du Pont, Henry du Pont, and Alexis I. du Pont, as well as those of their wives: Margaretta Elizabeth Lammot du Pont, Louisa Gerhard du Pont, and Joanna Maria Smith du Pont. The papers of Henry du Pont are the largest component, and reflect his business and military activities. Certain papers of each son relate to the affairs of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.