Series II (formerly Series B)

The papers in this series relating to the manufacture of explosives describe all phases of powder making and augment the official records of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. records (Accession 0500.I). They include accident and explosion records, dating from circa 1805 to 1879, patents, testing, papers relating to production costs, and advertising material, including a collection of foreign and domestic gunpowder labels. This series also includes material on the Gunpowder Trade Association, including Henry M. Boies' original proposal for organization, agreements with member companies, syndicate price lists, minutes of meetings, and papers concerning the purchase of Brainerd Mills, circa 1868-1880; patents (among which are certain ones of Alfred Nobel), 1829-1880; miscellaneous business papers relating to production costs, accounts, and agreements with companies, dating from 1838 to 1883.

Additionally, there are numerous notes and papers concerning ingredients and processes involved in powder making. Most numerous are items relating to: experiments with saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur, conducted by Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856), Alexis I. du Pont (1816-1857), and Lammot du Pont; the processes of glazing, refining, and rolling; the operation of machinery; performance and firing qualities of powder. In testing, much of the experimental work was done by the United States government, as indicated by correspondence between Alfred Mordecai and Alfred V. du Pont, particularly on guncotton, 1841-1849, and later letters between the company and the Ordnance Office relating to tests of Mammoth powder, 1869-1871.

A smaller group of material dating from 1857 to 1862 relates to Lammot du Pont's trips to Europe as a company representative. In 1858 he went as an observer, but from 1861 to 1862, he was there as a confidential agent of the government to purchase, in the name of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., an adequate supply of saltpeter for wartime production needs. Among the significant items are: correspondence between Lammot du Pont and Henry du Pont (1812-1889), then head of the company, discussing his intentions, movements, and accomplishments while abroad; a letter of introduction from President James Buchanan (1791-1868), 1858; a request for a personal loan from John Y. Mason, American Minister to France (1799-1859), 1858; a letter of J.R. McDonald, vice-consul at Hamburg, to Benjamin Moran (1820-1886), assistant secretary of the American legation at London, discussing the supply of saltpeter, 1862; and letters of James Antoine Bidermann (1790-1865), A.D. Bishop (of London), H.E. Drayson (London agent), Alfred V. du Pont (1833-1893), Margaretta (Lammot) du Pont (1807-1898), Forbes, Forbes & Co. (London agents), Henry Hall Gage (1791-1877) (Viscount Gage of Castle Island (Kerry)), Peter Kemble (1825-1887), Lloyd's of London, and others.