Finding Aids

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company, commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. It manufactured paints, dyes, and photographic products, and focused on applied research. This collection consists of materials related to patents and patent research. It includes patent proposal logs and patent search files from several DuPont Company departments related to photographic film and electronic products. The departments include: Photo Products, Electrochemical (Elchem), Electronics, Imaging Systems, and Photosystems and Electronics Department. This collection would be useful for examining research trends and patented product development.

Edwin A. Gee (1920-2013) was trained as a chemical engineer and worked as a metallurgist for the United States Bureau of Mines before joining the DuPont Company in 1948. The papers of Edwin A. Gee are incomplete and represent only a small portion of his work in the Development Department and as a member of the Executive Committee. The surviving records have been arranged in two series that document Gee's involvement in important phases of the company's history: Patent documentation and Diversification and research and development strategy.

The Textile Fibers Department of the DuPont Company was established in 1936 (known then as the Rayon Department) which specialized in researching and developing synthetic fibers for fabrics such as Rayon, Nylon, Teflon, Corian, and Kevlar. This collection consists of materials once housed in the library of the Experimental Station and culled after the sale of the textile fibers business. The collection has been arranged into six series: Vertical file; Translation logs; Miscellany; Project indexes; Publications; Speeches.

H.E. Schroeder (1915-2009) was a research chemist who spent most of his career with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. His papers consist of documents and memorabilia covering his family and professional life.

The Radio Corporation of America (renamed RCA Corporation in 1969) was best known for its pioneering radio and television development and manufacturing. In addition to consumer electronics, RCA was a major player in the development of electronics for industrial and military applications. The Records of other RCA divisions include documentation of RCA's research and development before the Second World War, as well material from the famous patent dispute case Armstrong v. Radio Corporation of America and National Broadcasting Company.

The Sperry Gyroscope Company was originally organized by electrical inventor Elmer Ambrose Sperry (1860-1930) for the purpose of manufacturing and marketing his ship gyrostabilizer, gyrocompass, and high-intensity searchlight. Their card file documents over sixty years of the company's history.

Wallace Hume Carothers (1896-1937) was a chemist and inventor of Neoprene artificial rubber and Nylon synthetic fiber. He worked as a chemist in E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's Fundamental Research Program from 1928 until his death in 1937. This small collection consists of a mixture of materials collected in the decades following Carothers death related to the development of Nylon and polymerization. Included are reprinted articles, patent applications, biographical materials, and newspaper clippings.