E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Public Affairs Department records
Creation: 1912-1983Abstract
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The Public Affairs Department began as the Publicity Bureau in 1916, to deal with issues raised by the great increase of business spawned by World War I. Prior to this time, publicity had been handled by the Advertising Division, created in 1911. The Public Affairs Department records contain biographical sketches of deceased officers, employees, and du Pont family members, as well as histories of company plants, predecessor companies, and all line and staff departments. The alphabetical history file contains press releases, memoranda, and pamphlets that were assembled for various public relations campaigns.
Dates
- Creation: 1912-1983
Creator
- E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (Organization)
Extent
23.5 Linear Feet
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); it began with the production of gunpowder. The du Ponts purchased a mill site on the banks of the Brandywine River just north of Wilmington, Delaware. During wartime the company was a major supplier for the United States government. During peacetime, the company marketed their products toward sportsmen and hunters. Throughout the 1900s and 1910s, the company shifted its focus away from gunpowder production and toward chemistry innovations.
The DuPont Company's Publicity Bureau was originally created on February 21, 1916, at the urging of company executive, R.R.M. Carpenter Sr. (1877-1949) to deal with issues raised by the great increase of business spawned by World War I. Prior to this time, publicity had been handled by the Advertising Division, created in 1911. Charles K. Weston (1870-1947) of the Philadelphia Public Ledger was the first Director of Publicity. The Publicity Bureau became the Publicty Department in October 1935. It was renamed the Public Relations Department on April 1, 1938, and the Public Affairs Department in 1973. It was combined with the Marketing Communications Department to form the External Affairs Department on January 1, 1986. During the 1930s, the Public Affairs Department attempted to counter the Nye Commission investigation, which labeled the DuPont Company as a "merchant of death." It developed the slogan "Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry" and developed the DuPont Cavalcade of America on radio. The Community Relations Division, established in 1946, published the magazine Better Living.
Scope and Contents
The Public Affairs Department records contain biographical sketches of deceased officers, employees, and du Pont family members, as well as histories of company plants, predecessor companies, and all line and staff departments. The alphabetical history file contains press releases, memoranda, and pamphlets that were assembled for various public relations campaigns.
Dr. James Karr Hunt reference files series are the papers of the technical advisor in the Public Affairs Department. Arranged into four subseries: Product files; Carl Kaufmann energy files; General and historical files; and Court suits.
Product files subseries consists of news releases, correspondence, articles, and reports on a wide range of DuPont products including synthetic fibers, as well as plastics, refridgerants, and agrichemicals.
Carl Kaufmann energy files suberies consists primarily of articles on energy-related topics dating from 1969 to 1973; some files contain charts, graphs, speeches, pamphlets, and bibliographies.
General and historical files subseries contains information about plants and products.
Court suits subseries consists of agreements, decrees, correspondence, and background information related to several lawsuits the DuPont Company was involved in. The lawsuits were primarily antitrust suits, a patent infringement case, and a tax case.
Historical summaries of World War II ordnance plants series is made up of World War II-era publicity stressing DuPont's contribution to the war effort and its role in the atomic energy program.
History files series is an alphabetical history file with press releases, memoranda, and pamphlets that were assembled for various public relations campaigns. Of particular interest is the file documenting the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn "Better Things for Better Living" campaign. There is also considerable information on the company's pavilions at the 1939 and 1964 New York World's Fairs, efforts to counter the Nye Committee's investigation, lawsuits with other chemical companies over products and patent infringement, and the General Motors and Cellophane antitrust suits. Histories of company plants, predecessor companies, and all line and staff departments are also included. More recent records describe the impact of the energy crisis during the early 1970s on the chemical industry and the Ralph Nader "Company State" investigation.
Speeches series are DuPont executive speeches by Lammot du Pont Copeland, Henry B. du Pont, Crawford H. Greenewalt, Walter S. Carpenter Jr., and Charles M.A. Stine. There are a few speeches by Harold Brayman, C.B. McCoy, E.A. Gee, Irving S. Shapiro, and E.R. Kane. Primary topics are science and industry, the role of big business, and leadership.
Biographical sketches series contains files on deceased officers, employees, and du Pont family members.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Literary rights retained by depositor.
Language of Materials
English
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Public Affairs Department records
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2020: Clayton Ruminski and Laurie Sather
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
