Finding Aids

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company that began as a gunpowder manufacturer in 1802. In 1939, the DuPont Company created the Seaford Plant near Seaford, Delaware, to be the world's first nylon plant. The bulk of the records in this collection relate to the planning of the Seaford Plant's 50th anniversary celebration events; however, there is a small amount of documentation related to the introduction of nylon, as well as operation and wage statistics from the 1940s through the 1960s that would be of interest to researchers interested in textiles, manufacturing, or labor practices.

The Textile Fibers Department of the DuPont Company, established in 1936 as the Rayon Department, specialized in researching and developing synthetic fibers for fabrics such as Rayon, Nylon, Teflon, Corian, and Kevlar. This collection primarily contains video tapes (VHS and U-Matic). Most of the content on the VHS videotapes are different than that on the U-Matic videotapes, there are a few duplicate videos that are in both formats. The videotapes content are employee training videos related to management, customer service and safety, as well as, informational videos about product and services, company history and events. Additionally the collection contains photographs, slides, advertising and promotional materials.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly known as the DuPont Company. DuPont's Advertising Department was formed in September 1921, when the company was reorganized with a decentralized structure. The Advertising Department was responsible for assisting the company in promoting and advertising the work of the other departments, including the Textile Fibers Department. The Textile Fibers Department of the DuPont Company was established in 1936 as the Rayon Department, which specialized in researching and developing synthetic fibers for fabrics. This photograph album highlights the facilities and processes of the DuPont Company's synthetic textile fibers manufacturing and research. The album was likely created by the Advertising Department between 1945 and 1968. Each photograph is accompanied by text describing the image. The album is divided into seven sections: Nylon, Orlon, Dacron, Acetate, Lycra, Chestnut Run, and All Fibers.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company, established in 1802. DuPont's Chestnut Run Laboratories was opened in 1954 near Wilmington, Delaware. This collection consists of two albums documenting the history of the Chestnut Run facility between 1954 and 1961. One album contains primarily photographs taken of the facilities exteriors between 1955 and 1958. The second album contains mostly newspaper clippings between 1954 and 1961.

Kevlar is a synthetic fiber developed by chemists Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014), Paul Morgan (1911-1992), and Herbert Blades in 1965 while working at the DuPont Company. The oral histories presented here document the research and development processes that transformed Kevlar from a novel polymer in the laboratory to a life-changing product in the marketplace.

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.

The Textile Fibers Department of the DuPont Company was established in 1936 as the Rayon Department, which specialized in researching and developing synthetic fibers for fabrics such as Nylon, Orlon, Dacron, and Lycra. The collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by Joseph Plasky, with former employees of DuPont's Textile Fibers department.