Finding Aids

Longwood Gardens is a series of formal display gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, that was developed by Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) after he purchased the site from the Peirce family in 1906. In 1921 he constructed an extensive network of conservatories which contained plantings from many locales, including species from Africa and South America. This collection consists of two homemade stereographs showing different interior views of the conservatory.

In the spring of 1934 the Senate's Special Committee Investigating the Munitions Industry chaired by Senator Gerald P. Nye (1892-1971) began to examine the role that the munitions manufacturers had played during the First World War. This collection consists of photographs of P. S. du Pont, Irénée du Pont, Lammot du Pont, and A. Felix du Pont testifying before the Nye Committee in September of 1934.

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 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 "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 from 1919 to 1940. P.S. du Pont was the great grandson of Eleuthere Irenee 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). du Pont's personal life is well documented by the photographic collection he left, and it followed certain themes. The greatest of these may be horticultural interests which developed during his creation of the celebrated Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where he lived. du Pont made many foreign and domestic journeys and recorded his travels. His large extended family is included in this collection. This collection is organized into seven series: Longwood Gardens; Individuals and families; Groups and organizations; E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company; Trips and vacations; Places; and Culture, society, and service.