E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company, commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. It was established in 1802 by French immigrants Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) and his son Eleuthère Irénée “E.I.” du Pont (1771-1834). The company began as a manufacturer of black powder. Throughout the early 1900s, DuPont expanded considerably. The company began establishing plants all over the United States and manufactured other products in addition to gunpowder and explosives. The company manufactured paints, dyes, and photographic products, and focused on applied research.

During the 1910s, the DuPont Company decided to enter the film and photographic supply market. In 1924, it entered into a joint venture with Pathé Exchange, the American affiliate of the French company Pathé Cinema Société Anonyme. The new concern was called DuPont-Pathé Film Manufacturing Corporation, and it operated out of Parlin, New Jersey. The company produced 35mm positive movie film, with sales reaching approximately $4 million per year by the end of the decade. In 1927, Eastman Kodak purchased Pathé Cinema, and in 1929 RKO bought most of Pathé Exchange’s assets. In 1931, DuPont changed the name of the company to DuPont Film Manufacturing Corporation, dropping the Pathé name. In 1942, the DuPont Film Manufacturing Corporation became the Photo Products Department, developing and manufacturing magnetic tape, x-ray film, and photographic materials such as Croyln, Dylux, and Cromalin.

In 1983, the Photo Products Department reorganized into the Photosystems and Electronics Department, including photographic films, systems, and electronics. The department was discontinued in 1986, and two new departments were formed: the Electronics Department and the Imaging Systems Department.