Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) was the founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The collection contains original love letters from du Pont to his wife, Sophie (Dalmas) du Pont (1775-1828). He writes of how much he loves his wife and misses her when away. English transcribed extracts of several letters were done by their daughter, Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888).

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834) was a French American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. E.I. du Pont married Sophie Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) in 1791; the couple had eight children, one of whom died in infancy. This collection of papers includes outbound and inbound correspondence covering personal and business matters. These include personal accounts, writings and memoirs, legal documents, and miscellany, of which the majority are accounts. There are papers of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. that date from 1802 to 1850 and include correspondence (drafts, retained copies, and letters received), contracts and other legal documents, accounts, bills and receipts, checks, promissory notes, bills of exchange, drafts, and certain miscellaneous notes and memoranda.

The correspondence between Sophie Dalmas du Pont and her husband E.I. du Pont dates from 1792 through 1817. Much of the correspondence was written prior to the family's emigration to the United States in 1799 and contains details of their life in France. The letters include information on child rearing, health and medicinal recipes, and diet. The correspondence documents her domestic responsibilities and supervison of the family's farm and vineyards. The letters, affectionate in tone, express the couple's mutual sadness at being apart and reflect a companionate marriage.

Her papers include three household account ledgers dating from 1819 to 1827, which were used to record expenses for groceries, clothing, and domestic servants' wages. The ledgers also document production at the family's farm. Bills and receipts date from 1803 to 1827, document purchases of groceries, fabrics, and shoes.