Finding Aids

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834) was a French American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E.I. du Pont married Sophie Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) in 1791, and the couple had eight children, one of whom died in infancy. This collection primarily consists of E.I. du Pont's personal and business correspondence; writings and notes; school materials; memoranda on manufactures and tariffs; legal agreements; patents; and land surveys. Also included are Sophie Dalmas du Pont's correspondence and household account records.

Gertrude Ruhnka (1891-1981) was a research librarian at the Huntington Library in California. The collection contains her unpublished manuscript, "Love for life: a self-portrait of the first three generations of du Ponts in America, 1791-1834," and two letters from Ruhnka to J.B. Lippincott Company and Dr. Walter J. Heacock of the Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. His son, Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), established E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., a black powder manufacturer, on the Brandywine River in Delaware. The collection contains photocopies of three letters of du Pont de Nemours du Pont to Etienne Alexandre Jacques Anisson du Perron (1749-1794) and Alexandre Brongniart (1770-1847). The letters concern printing, natural sciences, and requesting scientific journals and bulletins.