Finding Aids

Philadelphia Quartz Company began as a family soap and candle business in 1831. It was founded in Philadelphia by Joseph Elkinton (1830-1905). It began producing and selling sodium silicate in 1861 as a builder to replace rosin in soap formulations. This image of office includes three male clerks and one visitor.

Founded in 1831 as the Elkinton Company and later renamed, Philadelphia Quartz Company became an important innovator during World War I by discovering that silica gels could be used as a base to manufacture catalysts for cracking crude oil molecules to make high-octane gasoline and developing potassium silicate which was adopted for use in cathode ray tubes. The company's records includes business records and the personal papers of the company's founding family.

The Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company operated bus and trolley lines, many of which originated in Upper Darby Township on the western border of Philadelphia and served Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. Suburban Station and the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company building are both located in Center City. The Red Arrow transportation lines are found in Philadelphia's western suburbs. This small collection consists of photographs of Suburban Station, railroad and trolley tracks, and bus shelters.

Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS), the nation's first mutual savings bank, was founded in 1816. In 1927 the Society commissioned Howe and Lescaze, a local architectural firm that had previously designed traditional style banks for the institution, to draw up plans for a new building to be constructed at the corner of 12th and Market Streets. This collection is composed of materials from two Philadelphia mutual savings banks which date from the first half of the nineteenth century. The collection has been divided into two series: Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) and Western Savings Fund Society (WSFS) which was merged with PSFS in 1982. A significant part of the collection consists of photographs of bank buildings represented by traditional styles and in later years by contemporary suburban sites. The American banking industry has usually conducted business in formal bank buildings. The styles of these buildings have changed with passing fashions of architectural taste. This collection provides a good visual record of these developments.

The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. This item is a compilation of PTC trolley service routes and their changes over time, listed by route.

The papers cover Reed’s private and governmental activities which include work with the War Production Board and the Mission for Economic Affairs during the Second World War. Correspondence files detail his role as a director and a member of the board of directors for numerous corporations and government organizations. Reed’s friendship and political relationship with Dwight David Eisenhower is documented, as is his role in persuading Eisenhower to run for President in 1952.

Philip Green Gossler (1870-1945) was an electrical engineer and businessperson who spent his career working in public utilities, eventually becoming chair of the board of directors at Columbia Gas & Electric Company. This small collection consists of a memorial resolution prepared by the board of directors of Columbia Gas & Electric following Gossler's death in 1945. It was hand-written on parchment in calligraphy mimicking medieval illuminated manuscripts, a style popular for such documents during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It includes illuminated initials and line fillers.

The Phillips family were prominent Philadelphia merchants and manufacturers over four generations. The records consist of four volumes of merchant and importer William Phillips (1771-1845), a daybook from the textile firm of Lewis, Phillips & Co., and an unrelated receipt book of Philadelphia wine merchant Francis Coppinger, dating from 1794 to 1795.

This collection consists of a microfilm volumes one and two of the diaries of Phoebe George Bradford (1794-1840), a native of Cecil County, Maryland, and resident of Wilmington, Delaware. The diaries contain descriptions of social doings and daily activities, opinions on family matters and religion, and occasional references to national matters and local happenings.

This collection consists of microfilms of volumes 1, 6-10, 15, 16, and 24 of the diaries of Phoebe George Bradford (1794-1840), a native of Cecil County, Maryland, and resident of Wilmington, Delaware. The diaries contain descriptions of social doings and daily activities, opinions on family matters and religion, and occasional references to national matters and local happenings.

This collection consists of photocopies of volumes 7-10, 15, 16, and 24 of the diaries of Phoebe George Bradford (1794-1840), a native of Cecil County, Maryland, and resident of Wilmington, Delaware. The diaries contain descriptions of social doings and daily activities, opinions on family matters and religion, and occasional references to national matters and local happenings.

The Phoenix Iron and Steel Company began in the late eighteenth century as a manufacturer of cut nails. It later became a major producer of railroad rails and iron and steel structural members. It operated as the Phoenix Iron and Steel Company from 1950 to 1959, when it was reorganized as the Phoenix Steel Corporation. This small collection primarily consists of a sample of letters received by president Samuel J. Reeves (1872-1878), primarily concerned with the Girard Avenue Bridge contract. There is also a volume of annual reports by the superintendent and a company history written by Catherine S. Sisto in 1950.

The Phoenix Iron Company began in the late eighteenth century as a manufacturer of cut nails. It later became a major producer of railroad rails and iron and steel structural members. This small collection of records includes incoming correspondence chiefly relating to orders for and deliveries of iron for railroads.

The Phoenix Steel Company began in the late 18th century as a manufacturer of cut nails. It later became a major producer of railroad rails and iron and steel structural members. Claymont Division of the Phoenix Steel Corporation was established in 1960 when the company purchased the Claymont, Delaware steel plant from the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. This small collection of materials originating from the Claymont steel plant includes miscellaneous plant announcements, catalogs, labor agreements, photographs, company-issued newsletters, and brief historical essays on the Phoenix Steel Corporation and its predecessors.

The Phoenix Steel Company began in the late eighteenth century as a manufacturer of cut nails. It later became a major producer of railroad rails and iron and steel structural members. Their records include minutes (1856-1929); stock ledgers; brief of title papers and property maps; legal and financial correspondence and tax papers; account books; and a works diary.

Pierre A. Gentieu (1842-1930) was a long-time employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Gentieu was born in France in 1842. He emigrated to the United States around 1859. He began working for DuPont in 1877. This collection is comprised of images taken by DuPont Company employee Pierre Gentieu from approximately 1880 to 1920. Gentieu's images document the DuPont Company Powder Yards along the banks of the Brandywine River in Wilmington Delaware. The collection documents the surrounding community along the Brandywine including worker's families, du Pont family homes, churches in the area, DuPont Company exposition displays, and other facets of social and work life in the area.

Pierre A. Gentieu (1842-1930) was a long-term employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company who created an invaluable photographic record of the company's Brandywine Mills at the turn of the century. This is a small group of photographs related to northern New Castle County, Delaware. There are two photographs taken by Pierre and Frederic A. Gentieu, father and son, who photographed an August outing with a large group of men, women, and children.

Pierre Gentieu (1842-1930) was an artist, photographer, and an employee of the DuPont Company for thirty-four years. Pierre Gentieu and his wife, Sarah Albina "Binie" Gentieu (1846-1925) had six children. Although three children had no issue, they had nine grandchildren and twenty great grandchildren. All six children worked for the DuPont Co. and several grandchildren did as well. This collection consists of nine albums that document the Gentieu family history, primarily the life of the patriarch of the family Pierre Gentieu (1842-1930). The albums contain originals and reproductions of correspondence, family trees, documents, photographs, and ephemera.

Pierre A. Gentieu was a long-term employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company who created an invaluable photographic record of the company's Brandywine Mills at the turn of the century. 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 and his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont the company began with the production of gunpowder. This small collection includes original drymounted photographic prints of views near Henry Clay Village in Delaware by Pierre Gentieu. Several have simple hand drawn decorative borders on them and are signed. There are also several items related to DuPont Gunpowder and rifles.

Pierre A. Gentieu (1842-1930) was a photographer and a long-term employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. Gentieu's papers include correspondence with du Pont family members and coworkers, an account book of powder packed at the Hagley Yard (1858-1902), a record book with lists of explosions (1882-1909), time work sheets of powdermen during the 1890s, and a list of the principal events in the powder yards from 1882 to 1911.

Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was an industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He was president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company from 1915 to 1919 and chairman of the board of directors from 1919 to 1940. P.S. du Pont was the great-grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and the great-great-grandson and namesake of the French economist Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817). This small collection includes a single letter from P.S. du Pont to J.P. Morgan & Company dated November 15, 1945. In the letter, du Pont discusses the purchase of ninety letters written by du Pont's ancestor and namesake, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, between 1815 and 1817, to be acquired per agent Pierre Le Sage. This letter and its carbon copy were never sent.

Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was an industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He was president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. from 1915 to 1919 and chairman of the board of directors from 1919 to 1940. This small collection consists of four Christmas greetings letters from Pierre S. du Pont to Joseph H. Odell (1871-1929), pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Troy, New York. Odell was the officiant at Pierre S. du Pont and Alice Belin's (1872-1944) wedding on October 16, 1915.

Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was the great grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and that company played a major role in P.S. du Pont's life. He is most well-known for developing the preeminent botanical gardens, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. This item is a matted portrait of P.S. du Pont, autographed on front beneath image area.

A Liberty ship was a World War II EC2 type cargo ship designed for the emergency ship building program. Over 2,700 of these ships were built. This item is a photograph which shows a stern of EC-2 Liberty ship.

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.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. In 1800, accompanied by his sons, Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), he arrived in America. The collection contains photocopies and microfilm of selected documents concerning du Pont de Nemours and members of his family from Mairie de Montargis and Mairie de Chevannes.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. Françoise Robin du Pont (1748-1841) was the second wife of du Pont de Nemours. The collection contains photocopies of letters of both du Pont de Nemours. His letter regards obtaining a "safe conduct" passport while heading a scientific expedition being sent to North America by the Institute National. Her letters are with a Bergen Point, New Jersey former neighbor, C. Preudhomme, and his son.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. 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). This collection contains two letters, one by du Pont de Nemours and one by de Staël. His letter was written the night the Bastille was stormed. Her undated letter concerns French relations with Sweden.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. 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). This collection contains six photocopied letters of du Pont de Nemours to Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), and de Staël letters to unknown correspondents. The letters include references to the political situation in France, services of du Pont de Nemours printing establishment, and national affairs.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827), the son of Pierre Samuel, was a French diplomat who later immigrated to the United States and established various trading companies before moving to Delaware. This collection contains three photocopied documents in French: a memoir by du Pont de Nemours, letter of Eustache Briux to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, and a letter from Victor du Pont to Talleyrand.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. He was an advocate for a national educational system and promoted Franco-American trade relations. This small collection consists of copies of letters and documents concerning du Pont de Nemours' apartments in Paris, France. There is also one copy of a letter from Emmanuel Crétet (1747-1809), Ministre de l'Intérieur.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. The collection contains letters written to and from du Pont regarding business ventures, sale of books, dealing with creditors, and the fame he had brought to the town of Nemours.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. The collection contains a letter he wrote to a colleague concerning his proposed voyage to America.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. He was an advocate for a national educational system and promoted Franco-American trade relations. In 1800, du Pont de Nemours emmigrated to the United States with his sons. This item is a letter from du Pont de Nemours to Claude-Antoine Guyot des Herbiers (1745-1825), a French writer, lawyer, and politician. The letter is written in French and congratulates Guyot des Hebiers on a recent political nomination.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. This item is a photocopy of a letter from du Pont de Nemours to Giovanni Fabroni (1752-1822), an Italian agronomist, economist, and chemist, regarding the latter's work on the grain trade.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. He was an advocate for a national educational system and promoted Franco-American trade relations. In 1800, du Pont emmigrated to the United States with his sons Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834). This is one letter from du Pont de Nemours to President James Madison (1751-1836) thanking him for his assistance with obtaining travel passes and letters of introduction for his sons. The letter is written in French and is dated July 5, 1812.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. In 1800, accompanied by his sons, Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834), he arrived in America. This item is a letter to Jean-Barthélemy Lecouteaulx de Canteleu (1746-1818) concerning a newly invented brocade loom.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. This is a letter from du Pont de Nemours to his friend Joseph Jean Johannot (1748-1829), a Swiss banker living in Paris, regarding the receipt of a subscription.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. Louis Marie de La Revelliere-Lepeaux (1753-1824) was a member of the French government in the time surrounding the French Revolution, including the Estates-General, the National Convention, and the French Directory. The letter from du Pont to La Revelliere-Lepeaux concern's du Pont's son Victor, who was then serving as French consul at Charleston, South Carolina.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. The collection contains a letter he wrote to Fermier General and Administrateur des Postes, offering advice on the handling of employees by Monneron and a collection of essays published by du Pont de Nemours about art exhibits in the Louvre in Paris.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. The letter he wrote to Philippe Albert Stapfer (1766-1840), Ministre de l'Interieur de la Republique Helvetique, concerns the Swiss political system and public educational system.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. This item is a letter from du Pont de Nemours to Pierre Fourault de Pavant (1762-1816), who was a notary in Paris for the Baronne de Sael-Holstein (1766-1817).

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. Rémi Boucher de Molandon (1765-1824), was a council member in the Administrateur du Département du Loiret in New Orleans, France. This is one handwritten letter from du Pont de Nemours to Boucher de Molandon concerning the transfer of a general from the Minister of War to another department. The letter is dated June 4, 1797 and written in French.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. Rémi Boucher de Molandon (1765-1824), was a council member in the Administrateur du Département du Loiret in Orléans, France. This is one handwritten letter from du Pont de Nemours to Boucher de Molandon concerning the treatment of unidentified prisoners.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. In 1800, accompanied by his sons, Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834), he arrived in America. In 1802, E.I. du Pont established E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, which began manufacturing gunpowder. This item is a letter written to President Thomas Jefferson about du Pont de Nemours' son, E.I. du Pont, as a gunpowder manufacturer and requesting Jefferson's opinon on the matter of refining saltpetre.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. In 1800, accompanied by his sons, Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), he arrived in America. Du Pont de Nemours and his sons established the commission house of Du Pont de Nemours, Père et Fils & Cie. in New York. In 1800, Victor Marie du Pont established a trading company, Victor du Pont de Nemours & Co. This small collection consists of two letters regarding finances of business affairs.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. This collection consists of two handwritten letters in French from du Pont de Nemours. The first letter is to an uknown recipient referred to as "mon cher Prédecesseur," and the second letter is to Pierre-Charles-Louis Baudin (1748-1799), politician and French revolutionary, who was opposed to the execution of King Louis XVI (1754-1793).

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator (1739-1817). The letters to Carl Fredrik, Comte de Scheffer, of Sweden (1715-1786), were part of a series to supply news from Paris, intended for Gustavus III, King of Sweden. Subjects include reviews of literary works, comments on political subjects, freedom of the press, du Pont accepting a Swedish knighthood, and biography of M. Turgot.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator (1739-1817). The letters to Carl Fredrik, Comte de Scheffer, of Sweden (1715-1786) were part of a series to supply news from Paris, intended for Gustavus III, King of Sweden. Topics include volumes on political economy, a work by M. de Gebelin, formation of a Polish army, French financial matters, and Anne Robert Jacques Turgot's (1727-1781) retirement as French minister of Finance.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. In the letters to Marie Charles César de Fay, Comte de Latour-Maubourg (1756-1831), du Pont de Nemours explains plans for creating a French colony in America.