The William du Pont papers series consists of photographic material transferred from the William du Pont papers, mostly relating to the U.S.F. Powder Company, together with the Ball Grain Explosives Company which was in a way U.S.F. Powder Company predecessor. This series primarily contains glass plate negatives of experimental firings of flashless powder samples, accompanied by the explosion photographs. Several prints are included with negatives.

Also included are three oversize sheets with mounted photographs presenting comparisons of various test firings. Some negatives are smashed and thrown away [envelopes marked as “empty”]; others are broken or cracked [marked “broken’]. Few negatives are film, not glass. Negatives are organized by shot number within each type of the gun caliber.