Chestnut Run photograph albums
Creation: crica 1954 Creation: 1988Abstract
The DuPont Company's Chestnut Run Laboratories were opened in 1954 near Wilmington, Delaware. The first laboratory was the Textile Research Laboratory whose purpose was to test the effects of normal wear and tear on DuPont's line of synthetic fibers and fabrics. This collection consists of eight albums of photographs showing laboratories, fabrication equipment, testing equipment dating to the mid-1950s, and personnel photographs from the late-1980s.
Dates
- Creation: crica 1954
- Creation: 1988
Creator
- E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Chestnut Run Laboratories (Organization)
Extent
1 Linear Foot
General Physical Description
631 photographic prints : b&w : 8 x 10 in. or smaller 1 photographic print : color : 8 x 10 in. 3 negatives : b&w : 5 x 7 in. 2 negatives : b&w : 4 x 5 in.
Photographs were removed from 3-ring binder albums during processing, and are currently housed unbound in folders.
Historical Note
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. The company was established in 1802 by Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) and his son Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) the company began with the production of gunpowder. Throughout the 1900s and 1910s, the company shifted its focus away from gunpowder production and towards chemistry and synthetic materials. By 1926 the company officially dissolved the powder production unit, although it had already been inactive for many years.
DuPont's Chestnut Run Laboratories were opened in 1954 near Wilmington, Delaware. The first laboratory was the Textile Research Laboratory whose purpose was to test the effects of normal wear and tear on DuPont's line of synthetic fibers and fabrics. The 165 acre complex went on to house eight laboratories and an administration building. The eight service and research laboratories were: The Textile Research Laboratory, Polychemicals Sales Services Laboratory, Elastomers - Freon Products Laboratory Film Service Laboratory, Pigments Laboratory, Electrochemicals Laboratory, the Sales Technical Laboratory of Industrial & Biochemicals Department, and the Plastics Technical Services Laboratory.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of seven albums of photographs showing laboratories, fabrication equipment, and testing equipment at DuPont's Chestnut Run Textile Research Laboratory, shortly after the facility opened in the mid-1950s. Equipment such as abraders, flexers, oscillographs, and plastometers are shown both alone and in use by technicians. In addition, a small number of photos show office-space, lobbies, and administrators.
An eighth photo album created by DuPont's Involved People Division dates to around 1988 and contains photographs and bios of personnel in the Industrial Polymer Division. About 150 individuals are represented in this album.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research
Language of Materials
English
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Chestnut Run photograph albums
- Author:
- Judy Stevenson and encoded by Chase Markee in 2013.
- Date:
- 2013
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
