Finding Aids

The Technical Department at DuPont's Carney's Point Works was established to collaborate with scientists at the DuPont Experimental Station and Eastern Laboratory of the Repauno Works to develop new products, maintain quality control, and improve products and processes. The collection focuses on the department's start-up period (1906-1910) and the two World Wars.

This collection consists of the business records of Ernest Dichter and the several consulting firms through which he operated fully document his role as a pioneer of motivational research, from the beginnings of his career in the United States until a few months before his death.

Ernest Munster (1885-1965) was an attorney and organized Lawyers International Corporation in 1930, with its office in New York City. Munster, the company's president, continued his association with the company through at least the mid-1940s. The Ernest Munster papers reflect his work which necessitated his familiarity with international trade and incorporation laws and taxation policies. The collection primarily consists of records Munster maintained during his years as president of Lawyers International Corporation, with some papers dating back to his employment with International Corporation Company in the late 1930s.

Howard Ensign Simmons Jr. (1929-1997) was an industrial scientist and the Research Vice-President in the Central Research Department of the DuPont Company from 1979 until his retirement in 1991. His records document Simmons's role in overseeing the production of "Science and Corporate Stategy" by David A. Hounshell and John K. Smith, a scholarly history of Research and Development at the DuPont Company. Also included are reports on DuPont's diversification program in the late 1960s.

Joseph W. Lynch was a textile chemist at the DuPont Company from 1954 to 1994. Lynch's papers document his forty-year career at DuPont. Some company records in Lynch's possession antedate his employment, while others describe his job searches from 1952 to 1954. The bulk of the records deal with customer relations, including identifying and resolving problems concerning DuPont's textile fiber products and providing technical assistance to customers.

Keystone Mushroom Farms, Inc. was a producer, canner, and distributer of mushrooms in Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was the successor of two previous businesses, L.F. Lambert Spawn Co. and Keystone Mushroom Company, Inc., which were formed in the early 1920s with complementary functions of spawn research; production and sales; and mushroom propagation, canning, and distribution. These records document the L.F. Lambert Spawn Co. and the Keystone Mushroom Company, Inc. The collection includes financial records, correspondence, payroll, reports, and shipment and inventory information. Of special interest are the records documenting Lambert's work with the War Production Board to produce penicillin.

Robert Lenox Belknap (1848-1896) was a capitalist and financier of New York City. The Robert Lenox Belknap papers are a fragment saved by his descendants. The papers include Belknap's private letterbooks for the final years of his career (1892-1895), although 33 earlier volumes have been lost. They include both business and personal correspondence and give a good picture of the life of a New York financier of the second rank.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the fourth child and second surviving son of Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and his wife, Gabrielle Joséphine de la Fite de Pelleport (1770-1837). These two items are related to his service in the Navy, one a letter concerning his business interests in California, and one report regarding rotten gun breechings.