Finding Aids

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 The collection contains her unpublished manuscript, "Love for life: a self-portrait of the first three generations of du Ponts in America, 1791-1834," and two letters from Ruhnka to J.B. Lippincott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.

Dr. Lucius F. Ellsworth (1941-) was a Hagley graduate fellow and was employed by Hagley as a research assistant in the history of technology from 1963 to 1967. The papers in this collection consist of a combination of research notes and original documents collected by Dr. Ellsworth during his research on the American tanning and leather industries.

The Lukens Steel Company was a medium-sized, non-integrated steel company and one of the top three producers of steel plates in the United States. Lukens operated continuously at its Coatesville, Pennsylvania, site since 1810 and was one of the few successful survivors of the many nineteenth-century iron works that once dotted southeastern Pennsylvania. This collection of Lukens Steel Company records consists of corporate records, mostly from the Secretary's Office. The records are comprised of seven series: Shareholders' meeting agendas; Stockholder lists; Proxies for annual meetings; Board and committee meeting agendas; Financial statements; Secretary's correspondence; and Counsel's correspondence.

The Lukens Steel Company was a medium-sized, non-integrated steel company and one of the top three producers of steel plates in the United States. Lukens operated continuously at its Coatesville, Pennsylvania, site from 1810, and was one of the few successful survivors of the many nineteenth-century ironworks that once dotted southeastern Pennsylvania. This collection consists of three volumes of logbooks from the Lukens Steel Navy Armor building in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

Lukens Steel Company was a medium-sized producer of specialty steel products and one of the top three U.S. producers of steel plate. The Lukens Steel Company records documents all aspects of the business from the early nineteenth century through the 1970s.

Lukenweld, Inc. was the first U.S. commercial shop to cut and fabricate shapes from steel plate by arc welding. The records are files of Robert C. Sahlin (1896-1967), a member of Lukenweld's sales staff. Sahlin's files record his dealings with Lukenweld's customers and his other activities as a salesman. Most Lukenweld orders were custom work, fabricating individual machine parts, so there was frequent interplay between sales and engineering staff.

Lunt Silversmiths designed and manufactured quality sterling holloware, flatware, silverware, and giftware for 107 years. Filing for bankruptcy in 2009, Lunt ceased manufacturing and sold their brand to Read & Barton the following year. Included are administrative records, designs, patterns, photographs, and three-dimensional objects that include moulds, silhouettes, and unstruck blanks. The numerous drawings and sketches that comprise this collection document the talent of skilled craftsmen who worked for the company throughout the twentieth century.

Lydia R. Bailey (1779-1869) owned and operated on of the busiest printing establishments in nineteenth century Philadelphia. The collection represents an account with John Steele (1758-1827), collector of the Port of Philadelphia, for printing of certificates and includes a list of ships for which certificates were purchased.

Lynch and Stoughton was a New York mercantile firm that traded extensively with Spain, Portugal, Holland, the West Indies, Florida, Ireland, and China, in the coasting trade between Pennsylvania and New England, and with the interior of New York State. The ledger documents the firm's mercantile business between 1783 and 1788. The ledger appears to have later been passed down through several generations of the Stow family of New York and Michigan, who used it as a scrapbook for scrap paper and practicing penmanship.

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (1766-1817), known as Madame de Staël, was a writer, philosopher, and politically engaged woman who survived the French Revolution and was exiled multiple times by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). The letter from "Necker de Stael Holstein" to Le Roy, Bayard & Co., New York, concerning accounts with the firm and with W. Saladin.

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (1766-1817), known as Madame de Staël, was a writer, philosopher, and politically engaged woman who survived the French Revolution and was exiled multiple times by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). Negative photostat of letter from Madame de Staël to Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817).

The Manheim, Petersburg and Lancaster Turnpike or Plank Road Company constructed a plank road between the named towns in 1851 to 1852, during the plank road craze. The records consist of eight pocket volumes and some loose papers kept by the company treasurer, such as a subscription book, toll gatherers' receipt book, and payment book.

The Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia was founded on May 19th, 1887 by members of the Philadelphia Manufacturers Association, a group of leading Philadelphia industrialists that predominantly consisted of textile executives. The guest book for the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia contains the names and signatures of both guests and the members that accompanied or introduced them, along with the city from which they were visiting.

This collection consists of photographs and maps depicting the property of the Brandywine Works of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The maps and blueprints show how the property of the Brandywine Works was divided among du Pont family members for estates after the works closed. A small series of large-format photographs depict various scenes and events from the Brandywine Works and the city of Wilmington in general.

Marc Harrison (1936-1998) was an industrial designer and pioneer of universal design. The collection consists of Marc Harrison's business papers, legal records from cases in which Harrison served as a professional witness, files on exhibitions of Harrison's work, and publications featuring Harrison and products he designed.

The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Corporation of America was founded in 1899 as the American branch of Guglielmo Marconi’s (1874-1937) Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company of London. Because of its emphasis on providing radio transmitter receivers for ships and fostering oceanic communications, the U.S. Navy commandeered the company during World War I. After the war, both government and industry colluded to buy out the British company; they created the Radio Corporation of America in its stead in 1919. This collection includes around 1,300 engineering and technical drawings from the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America . Subjects depicted range from circuit diagrams, wiring layouts, and switchboard schematics to architectural plans for aerial towers and carrying case designs.

Manigault's papers consist of her own diaries and correspondence between her and Gabrielle Josephine du Pont (1770-1836), both which document the life of a female member of Charleston's merchant-planter elite during the Early National Period, and the web of connections linking Charleston, New York and Philadelphia society.

Margaretta “Meta” du Pont Coleman (1862-1938) was a descendant of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) who founded the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company with his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) in 1802. The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. The Margaretta E. "Meta" du Pont Coleman Papers primarily consist of family correspondence collected by Meta Coleman.

Margaretta Lammot du Pont (1807-1898) was the wife of Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856), who worked for E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. This collection correspondence to du Pont from Joseph D. Reinboth, of Pennsylvania, and her grandson, T. Coleman du Pont (1863-1930).

Margaretta Lammot du Pont (1807-1898) was the wife of Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856), who worked for E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. In 1885, she sent a letter to Meta Kemble de Forest (1852-1933) which indicates she is sending book from "Aunt Sophie" [Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888)].

Marguerite Lammot du Pont Lee (1862-1936) was activist for women's suffrage, child labor, and other social issues. The scrapbook contains religious poems, newspaper clippings, editorial comments, gunpowder labels, as well as a few photographs of the area near the DuPont Powder Yards.

Marie Delphine du Pont (1916-2009) was the great-great-grandaughter of E.I. du Pont (1771-1834), the founder of the DuPont Company. Her papers consist of letters and postcards between du Pont and her cousin, Irene Sophie du Pont May (1900-2001).

The Marsay School of Beauty Culture was a cosmetology school that offered at-home training courses and operated out of Chicago, Illinois. The school began advertising in newspapers across the country in 1925. In 1928, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged the school with unfair methods of competition. It issued a cease and desist order in 1929, but it appears that the school continued at least into 1930. This is a small collection of correspondence promoting the beauty school's courses between 1926 and 1930. This collection would be useful for researchers interested in cosmetology advertising campaigns and unfair trade practices.

Marshall Johnson (1938-), an industrial designer, worked for some of the most well-known small appliance companies and designed many popular consumer products as well as often doing their graphic and packaging design. He began working at Black & Decker, Inc., designing portable power tools and lawn and garden power tools. He went on to work as a corporate industrial designer for ALCOA, and later as a designer of small appliances and cookware for Wear-Ever, Proctor Silex, and Hamilton Beach, as those companies merged and evolved through the years. The Marshall B. Johnson Research Collection for Industrial Design and Housewares consists of Johnson's career files and artifacts from the various companies for which he worked, historical and research materials on the companies and their products, files on industrial designers, and Johnson's personal papers, which include materials on his family, childhood, education, interests, and other activities.

Martha Brown Ogle Callender Forman (1788-1864) was the second wife of Gen. Thomas Marsh Forman (1758-1845). Her diaries are entirely personal, with many details of the daily life of enslavers and the enslaved at Rose Hill, a Cecil County, Maryland plantation.

Martha Furnace was an iron plantation built in 1793 by the Pennsylvania ironmaster Isaac Potts (1750-1803) on a branch of the Wading River two miles above Harrisville in eastern Burlington County, New Jersey. The volume is a combined daybook and diary, containing a comprehensive account of the operation of a Pine Barrens iron plantation during the early 1800s.

Mary Augusta Lammot (1811-1905) was a daughter of Daniel Lammot (1782-1877) and Susan Parham Beck Lammot (1786-1817). The letter is from Mary Augusta Lammot to her sister, Margaretta Lammot du Pont (1807-1898), describing her visit to Philadelphia, the things she saw there, and the people she met.

Mary Belin (1839-1913) married Lammot du Pont (1831-1884) and had eleven children, many who were prominent in the building up of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The volume consists of a typed transcript of letters originally sent to Mary Belin du Pont (1839-1913) by her daughters Louisa ("La") (1868-1926), Sophie M. ("Tabby") (1871-1894), Isabella ("Bella") (1882-1946), and Margaretta ("Peg") (1884-1973) in 1894. The letters center around a single incident wherein Sophie, who was suffering from tuberculosis, was sent to Colorado Springs for a cure.

Mary Belin (1839-1913) married Lammot du Pont (1831-1884) and had eleven children, many who were prominent in the building up of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The collection includes a carbon copy of a typed transcript from Belin's recipe book. The recipe book included dishes typical of middle class Americans in the Northeast in the early and mid-nineteenth century, as well as home remedies, household hints, and how to prepare paints and dyes.

Masters & Markoe was a mercantile house which operated throughout the early nineteenth century. Most of the records date from the period 1810 to 1814 and document the West Indian trade of Markoe & Masters. The collection consists of the business correspondence and accounts records which shows that the firm was primarily involved with the importation of sugar from Santa Cruz (St. Croix). The company also imported molasses, rum, coffee, mahogany, and logwood. There are also personal papers of the firms co-founder, Thomas Masters (1781-1844) and members of his family.

The Maxim Silencer Company was the first company to manufacture gun silencers for commercial use. The company was founded in 1908 as the Maxim Silent Firearms Company by Hiram Percy Maxim (1869-1936) in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1912, Maxim incorporated his business as the Maxim Silencer Company. Maxim was an engineer and inventor. The records of the Maxim Silencer Company consist of directors' minute books from October 18, 1912, to October 19, 1956. There are a small payroll book showing payments; newsclippings and magazine articles on the company's history; issues of the company magazine from the World War II years; and good selection of the company's trade catalogs, both for the firearms silencers and snowplows and snow blowers.

May du Pont Saulsbury (1854-1927) was a leading hostess in Washington, D.C. during the Wilson administration, philanthropist, and wife of Senator Willard Saulsbury (1861-1927). The journal covers the couple's summer trip to Europe in 1919, coinciding with the signing of Treaty of Versailles.

MCI Communications Corporation (MCI) was one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. It was incorporated in Delaware in 1968 as Microwave Communications of America, Inc., to provide businesses with nationwide microwave telecommunications services at low prices. Being confronted by industry de facto monopoly AT&T in the interconnection of its lines to local facilities owned by AT&T affiliated regional Bell companies, MCI challenged the telecommunications giant with competitive long-distance telephone services, both in courts and at the marketplace. MCI-AT&T antitrust litigation (1974-1985) led to AT&T's divestiture of its regional carriers and changed the previously regulated telecommunications industry into a business open to competition. The collection documents all facets of MCI history from 1968 to the end of the 1990s, as well as changes in the American telecommunications regulatory policy, legislation, and public perception of the industry. Documents also include records of MCI's subsidiaries and their predecessors starting as early as 1849.

MCI Communications Corporation (MCI) was a large telecommunications company. It was organized in October 1963 in Joliet, Illinois, by John D. (Jack) Goeken (1930-2010) as Microwave Communications, Inc. Goeken and his partners were planning to provide point-to-point private line microwave communications between Chicago and St. Louis to small businesses. This small collection of MCI documents primarily concerns customer service support, branch service, billing/system problems, and internet services.

The papers document the lives and careers of three generations of the immediate and extended family that began with famed Civil War officer Montgomery C. Meigs (1816-1892). The most notable members include his son, engineer Montgomery Meigs (1847-1931) and granddaughter and author Cornelia Meigs (1884-1973). The materials are about equally divided between professional activities and domestic family concerns.

Mendes Cohen (1831-1915) worked for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, chiefly in the Motive Power Department, from 1851 to 1855, where he adaptated wood-burning locomotives to coal-burning and devised the method for handling traffic on the 10% temporary grade over the Kingwood Tunnel. The report covers a series of tests and improvements conducted in 1853 and 1854 with the aim of reducing flue wear and tear and fuel consumption in the large coal-burning engines

Michael Somerville Withers (1926-1985) was a mechanical engineer and an inventor. He worked at the DuPont Company from 1953 to 1983. Withers is the holder/co-holder of fourteen United States patents for plastic laminates and heat exchangers. Withers's papers document his career with the DuPont Company on plastic laminates, heat exchangers, and seal rings. The papers are organized into seven series: Sabine River Works; Experimental Station; Nafion Laminator; Heat exchangers/heaters; Vespel seal rings; Pneumatic tension device; and Trade catalogs, pamphlets, and articles.

Michael Tenenbaum (1913-2005) was a metallurgist and President of the Inland Steel Company from 1971 to 1978. This small collection of his papers consist of a series of his writings and speeches and a small number of Inland Steel Company publications.

During his lifetime, French botanist Michel Adanson (1727-1806) assembled a large number of notes and documents for a projected but never completed scientific encylcopedia. This collection of Adanson's notes focuses on nitrates, including saltpeter.

Mildred I. McCormick (1911-1993) was president of the Business Professional Women's Club, Wilmington, Delaware, in 1973-1974, and an executive secretary at Hewlett-Packard Corporation. The collection contains miscellaneous items from the Business and Professional Women's Club of Wilmington, Delaware (BPWC).

The Millerstown Iron Company, organized in 1873, constructed the Macungie Furnace in Macungie, Pennsylvania, and was a small anthracite iron company. The microfilmed letterbook documents the business correspondence of the company and includes outgoing correspondence from the Macungie furnace's superintendents.

The Millerstown Iron Company, organized in 1873, constructed the Macungie Furnace in Macungie, Pennsylvania, and was a small anthracite iron company. The minute book records the activities of the directors of the company, primarily concerning company finances and the efforts to raise money by the sale of bonds.

Mittleman Robinson Inc. is an image management consulting firm. Its records consist of company brochures and press clippings advertising their services.

The Mixobeater was a machine developed for the baking and food processing industries by the Meteor Mixing Machine Company and Mixobeater Machinery Company, of New York. The collection pertains mainly to the sale of machine parts and business dealings to Fitchburg Machine Works and include lists of patents, drawings and instructions, and correspondence.

Montchanin is an unincorporated community located near Greenville, Delaware. It is named for Anne Alexandrine de Montchanin (1720-1756), mother of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), who was a French political economist and diplomat who emigrated to Delaware with his sons. The plat depicts the area between Brandywine Creek, Barley Mill Road, and Kennett Pike and includes 85 buildings and residents' names.

Mordecai Lewis & Company (Philadelphia) was a merchant firm that owned several ships and specialized in imports of European goods, including white lead and, eventually, paint. The account sheet documents the sales of powder to William Bingham (1752-1804).

In 1932, Morris Sayre (1885-1953) became a director of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), which he became president of in 1948. The collection contains speeches given by Morris Sayre on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

The Mount Carbon Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on April 20, 1829, for the purpose of building a railroad from the Schuylkill Canal at Mount Carbon up Norwegian Creek to the forks and thence to Wadesville on the East Branch and Mount Laffee on the West Branch. The collection consist of thirteen laborers receipts issued for the construction of the railroad in 1829 and 1830 by William R. Hopkins, superintendent.

More than half of the mushrooms in the United States are grown in and around the town of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which calls itself the "mushroom capital of the world." Walter W. Maule (1892-1964) and Charles C. Brosius (1930-), both Chester County, Pennsylvania, mushroom growers, were active in professional trade associations and advocates for their industry. This small collection on the mushroom industry consists of papers that document mushroom industry educational courses and professional trade associations. The collection provides insight into the role profession trade associations such as the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association, the Mushroom Cooperative Canning Association, and the American Mushroom Insitute agriculturual play in affecting legislation and mushroom farming practices.

The Wilson and du Pont families were prominent families in the Wilmington, Delaware area. The papers document the daily activities of three generations of Natalies: Natalie Green Driver (Wilson)(1846-1912), Natalie Driver Wilson (du Pont)(1877-1918), and Natalie Wilson du Pont (Edmonds)(1904-1975).