Finding Aids

The E. I du Pont de Nemours & Company minute books document an important era in the history of the company from just before the turn of the twentieth century through the 1930s. The DuPont Company in this time went through many changes in structure under the leadership of cousins T. Coleman du Pont, Alfred I. du Pont, and Pierre S. du Pont.

The E.I. du Pont de Nemours Niagara Plant produces a number of specialty chemicals, such as polymer acetates, sodium cyanide, and methyl chloride; the plant was purchased by the DuPont Company in 1930. This small collection of Niagara Plant historical files consists of plant histories, photographs, biographical information on personnel, drawings of plant buildings, and some artifacts.

In 1801, French immigrants Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834) and his father Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) organized the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (alternatively referred to as the DuPont Company) in Paris for the purpose of manufacturing gunpowder in the United States. The next year E.I. du Pont purchased a mill site on the banks of the Brandywine Creek just north of Wilmington, Delaware, and the company would grow to be the preeminent gunpowder company in the United States for the next century. This collection comprises the nineteenth-century records of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. extending to the date of the second incorporation of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. in 1902. The company's twentieth-century records, with the 1902 reincorporation as the dividing point, are described in a separate finding aid as E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. twentieth-century records (Accession 0500.II).

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly known as the DuPont Company. It was established in 1802 and began by manufacturing gunpowder, later moving into chemical compounds. During the 1920s and 1930s, under the leadership of Irénée du Pont (1876-1963), president from 1919 to 1926, and Lammot du Pont (1880-1952), president from 1926 to 1940, the company became the world's leading chemical manufacturer producing smokeless powder, dynamite, dyes, cellophane, textile fibers, and artificial rubber. The records primarily document the presidency of Lammot du Pont, with some fragmentary records from the Irénée du Pont period.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company was a chemical company and began a research program in dyes in 1916. By the late 1920s the DuPont Company was one of the four major U.S. dye producers and controlled twenty-five percent of the market. The records consist of notebooks and procedures on dyes, which describe the colors, uses, applications, tests, and fastness and dying properties for dyes manufactured by DuPont and its competitors.

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 (1739-1817) and his son Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) for the production of gunpowder. The organization charts show the evolution of DuPont's corporate structure, including the period 1919 to 1921, when the decentralized, multi-divisional form was adopted, and the diversification and restructuring of the 1980s. As the charts also show the names of company officials above supervisory rank, they may also be used to follow individual career paths.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The Photo Products Department was formed in December 1941. The products it manufactured expanded from cinema film and included an array of medical products related to x-ray film and other photographic film products. This is a small collection of DuPont Company Photo Products Department materials primarily related to x-ray and radiographic film processing.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Polymer Products Department researched, developed, and manufactured products made out of elastomers, plastics, and resins. The collection includes records from the Marketing Services Division, Experimental Station, Plastics Department's Polymer Products Division, Fabrics and Finishes Department, and Specialty Polymers Division. The records reflect the diverse functions for which the department and its predecessor components were responsible and contain material representing several periods in the department's history.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's Pontchartrain Works in LaPlace, Louisiana, was a major producer of Neoprene and other elastomers in the latter half of the twentieth century. The records consist of manuals, technical reports, brochures, bulletins, and other material from Du Pont's Louisville Works, Montague Works, and its Maydown Works located in the United Kingdom. Most documents were created by the company's Elastomer Chemicals Department and deal with the manufacture of various synthetic rubbers in the 1950s and 1960s.

Around 1950, DuPont's Newburgh, New York, Fabrikoid laboratory began working on a non-woven fabric that would be a true leather substitute. The resulting product was marketed under the trademark "Corfam," beginning in 1965. DuPont terminated production in 1972 but licensed the technology to Poland. This small collection includes a range of documents describing the origins of DuPont's Corfam project and assessing the reasons for its failure.

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. The postcard consists of a view of the DuPont Powder Yards in Wilmington, Delaware.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The Public Affairs Department began as the Publicity Bureau in 1916, to deal with issues raised by the great increase of business spawned by World War I. Prior to this time, publicity had been handled by the Advertising Division, created in 1911. The Public Affairs Department records contain biographical sketches of deceased officers, employees, and du Pont family members, as well as histories of company plants, predecessor companies, and all line and staff departments. The alphabetical history file contains press releases, memoranda, and pamphlets that were assembled for various public relations campaigns.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company’s R. & H. Chemicals Department manufactured and sold peroxides, cyanide of sodium, formaldehyde, trychloretheline, tin oxide, and polyvinyl alcohol. The department was formed in 1933 as a result of the 1930 acquisition of the Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Company, which operated a plant in Niagara Falls, New York. The records primarily consist of reports on experimentations with various insecticides, pesticides, preservatives, and other forms of pest and disease-control applied to the farming and agricultural industries.

The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company commonly known as the DuPont Company. It was established in 1802 and began by manufacturing gunpowder; later it produced chemical compounds. The Real Estate Division was responsible for investigating locations and the acquisition of major facilities throughout the United States. Henry H. Gunther (1919-1960), was a real estate specialist with the DuPont Company. This small collection consists of Gunther's files on acquiring plant sites.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Repauno Works manufactured high explosive dynamite. The company began as the Repauno Chemical Company on June 7, 1880 founded by Lammot du Pont (1831-1884). Lammot du Pont was a chemist working for the family business, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company which originally produced gunpowder. This collection consists of material for the 100th anniversary of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Repauno Works.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company, established in 1802. The Secretary’s Offices was raised to departmental rank on June 1, 1947. The Secretary’s Department was merged into the Legal Department on January 1, 1974. The records of the Secretary's Department are arranged in six series: Transcripts of annual stockholders’ meetings; Leases and agreements; Files on deceased board members; Records division; Stock records; Special committee on 150th anniversary.

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. The collection consists of research files and other records from the primary divisions of the Textile Fibers Department, including the Pioneering Research Division, Rayon Research Division, Technical Service Section, and the research facilities at the Spruance Plant in Richmond, Virginia, and at the Yerkes Plant in Buffalo, New York. These files document the development of some of DuPont's best known and most commercially successful synthetic fibers: nylon, Dacron, and Orlon. Additionally, there are market research reports assessing product performance and consumer surveys evaluating customer attitudes toward products.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (alternatively referred to as the DuPont Company, or simply DuPont) was reincorporated on February 26, 1902, as successor to the partnership Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834) and his father Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) had organized in 1801 for the purpose of manufacturing gunpowder in the United States. During the twentieth century, the company diversified beyond gunpowder and explosives into the broader chemicals industry. The twentieth-century records (dating up to 1972) of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. document the transformation of the company into a modern, centrally administered industrial giant. The collection, however, is not comprehensive for the period, and any company collections received after 1972 were accessioned and processed separately by Hagley Museum and Library.

In the twenty-first century, the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, better known as the DuPont Company focused on science with a diverse set of interests and products. It operates in more than ninty countries with corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, and employs more than 60,000 people worldwide, including 10,000 scientists and engineers. This is a collection of websites owned by or affiliated with the DuPont Company, between 2011 and present. Complete web archive is available at https://archive-it.org/collections/2606.

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) was the founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The collection contains original love letters from du Pont to his wife, Sophie (Dalmas) du Pont (1775-1828). He writes of how much he loves his wife and misses her when away. English transcribed extracts of several letters were done by their daughter, Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888).

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) had four daughters: Victorine (1792-1861), Evelina (1796-1863), Eleuthera (1806-1876), and Sophie (1810-1888). The daughters maintained this album (in microfilm form) of prints, sketches, watercolor designs, selection of poetry, and autographs. It was returned to Victorine after the original recipient died in 1823, at which point she continued it.

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) had four daughters. This group of materials within the Winterthur Manuscripts collection contains the papers of the three eldest: Victorine (du Pont) Bauduy (1792-1861), Evelina (du Pont) Bidermann (1796-1863), and Eleuthera (du Pont) Smith (1806-1876), as well as their respective husbands: Ferdinand Bauduy (1791-1814), James Antoine Bidermann (1790-1865), and Thomas MacKie Smith (1809-1852). Victorine du Pont Bauduy and Eleuthera du Pont Smith were teachers at the Brandywine Manufacturers' Sunday School (BMSS), a nonsectarian school offering classes in reading, writing, arithmetic, and Bible lessons. Evelina du Pont Bidermann spent much of her adult life traveling alongside her husband and then building the Winterthur mansion in Delaware. Their papers document details about their education, social life, family, attitudes, and activities through incoming and outgoing correspondence, as well as personal papers such as diaries and account books.

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) had three sons: Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856), Henry du Pont (1812-1889), and Alexis I. du Pont (1816-1857). All three were partners in their father's company. This collection contains the papers of Alfred Victor du Pont, Henry du Pont, and Alexis I. du Pont, as well as those of their wives: Margaretta Elizabeth Lammot du Pont, Louisa Gerhard du Pont, and Joanna Maria Smith du Pont. The papers of Henry du Pont are the largest component, and reflect his business and military activities. Certain papers of each son relate to the affairs of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.

Eileen Gray (1878-1976) is considered one of the most important and influential furniture designers and architects of the early twentieth century, inspiring both modernism and Art Deco movements. She was among the vanguard of the International Style in her use and interpretation of geometric forms and industrially produced materials. This collection is a boxed set of postcard-size reproductions of black and white photographs of houses, rooms, and objects designed by her.

The Electric Hose and Rubber Company (EHRC) was a manufacturer of braided rubber hoses in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1900 to 1978. The company specialized in the manufacture of consumer-grade garden hoses, as well as industrial-grade hoses for pumping gas and military functions. This collection includes accounting ledgers, tax information, payroll books, advertisements, company newspapers, employee records, and stockholder information. The collection materials date from 1904 to 1978, with the bulk of the materials dating from the 1920s to the 1960s. This collection would be useful to researchers interested in the history of manufacturing in Delaware, particularly in regard to rubber hoses.

Frederic G. Cooper (1883-1962) was an honorary member of the Society of Illustrators. He worked for New York Edison from 1905 to 1926. These are miniature souvenir posters for the Electrical Exposition and Motor Shows sponsored by the New York Edison Company.

The Leeds & Northrup Company thrived throughout the twentieth century as a premier manufacturer of precision measuring and scientific equipment. The bulk of the Leeds & Northrup Electrical Power Systems records come from three employees, whose work at Leeds & Northrup spanned from 1928-1981: W. Spencer Bloor (1918-2002), Nathan Cohn (1907-1989), and S. Byron Morehouse. All worked within the Instrumentation and Controls for Electric Power Application Division. The records include papers, presentations, correspondence, memos, blueprints, and other materials relating to the development of a national electrical power grid in the United States. Technological and commercial developments in automatic electric power generation control, stabilization of energy load across regions, and problems of interconnection feature prominently in these materials.

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 (1739-1817) and his son Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) for the production of gunpowder. The papers in this collection date from the lifetime of E.I. du Pont and document important aspects of the early history of the DuPont Company.

Eleuthera du Pont Smith (1806-1876) was the daughter of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828). This collection contains an invitation she received to attend the Lafayette Ball in Philadelphia in 1824.

Eleuthera du Pont Smith (1806-1876) and Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888) were daughters of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828). This collection contains letters from the du Ponts to Mary Wilkinson, a former student at the Brandywine Manufacturers' Sunday School. The letters discuss domestic matters, including family news, health, faith, and needlework for the mills.

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834) was a French American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. E.I. du Pont married Sophie Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) in 1791; the couple had eight children, one of whom died in infancy. This collection of papers includes outbound and inbound correspondence covering personal and business matters. These include personal accounts, writings and memoirs, legal documents, and miscellany, of which the majority are accounts. There are papers of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. that date from 1802 to 1850 and include correspondence (drafts, retained copies, and letters received), contracts and other legal documents, accounts, bills and receipts, checks, promissory notes, bills of exchange, drafts, and certain miscellaneous notes and memoranda.

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1921-1994) was a descendant of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) who founded the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company with his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) in 1802. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. This collection consists of graphic materials including a photographic print of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1921-1994), booklets, a copy of a photographic print of Johan Andreas Philip Ludwig (1753-1803), the Ludwig family crest and a genealogy of the Pelleport family.

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834) was a French American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. This ledger documents his accounts current between the years 1814 and 1818.

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834) was a French American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E.I. du Pont married Sophie Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) in 1791, and the couple had eight children, one of whom died in infancy. This collection primarily consists of E.I. du Pont's personal and business correspondence; writings and notes; school materials; memoranda on manufactures and tariffs; legal agreements; patents; and land surveys. Also included are Sophie Dalmas du Pont's correspondence and household account records.

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), with his father Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), was the founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. This collection includes his recipts for hotel and livery stable bills.

Between 1802 and 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives by the du Pont family business, which was founded by Éleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771–1834). Longwood Gardens is a series of formal display gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, that was developed by Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954), a descendent of E.I. du Pont. These are aerial views of the residence at Eleutherian Mills and Longwood Gardens taken by Dallin Aerial Surveys Company.

From 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives by the duPont family business. The name also refers to the house and gardens on the hill above the mills, which was the first duPont family home in America. This collections contains slides and color snapshot photographs of the garden at Eleutherian Mills. Also included is an 8 mm. home movie.

This collection contains research reports for the purpose of developing and elaborating exhibits and interpretations of the Hagley Museum. The reports were prepared by a permanent research staff and by participants in the Hagley Fellowship Program. The research reports also include scholarly articles that use Hagley's collections or are about subjects that pertain to Hagley's mission.

Eleutherian Mills is the house built by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), above his gunpowder mills, the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. It served as a home to the du Pont family for generations, the last being Louise du Pont Crowninshield (1877-1958). The collection contains material related to the restoration of the home prior to Crowninshield occupying it. Also included are materials related to a road to the Eleutherian Mills and Nemours residences, repairs to the iron bridge across the Brandywine, and description of E.I. du Pont's garden.

The Eli Bridge Company manufactures Ferris Wheels and other amusement park rides, such as the Scrambler. The company was founded by William Eli "W.E." Sullivan (1861-1932) in 1906. Most of this collection consists of a trade journal on carnival rides and devices dating between 1916 and 1935. The monthly magazine was first titled The Optimist, and later continued as Big Eli News. It featured articles about amusement park rides, parts, and operations, and included advertisements and illustrations.

Upper Louviers was a residence located on the east bank of the Brandywine Creek in Brandywine Hundred, Delaware, opposite the powder mills of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Elise du Pont Elrick (1902-1984), who lived at Upper Louviers as a child, was an architect and translator. This collection consists of architectural drawings of the residence made by Elise du Pont Elrick in 1936.

Elise Simons du Pont (1849-1919) was the wife of Francis Gurney du Pont (1850-1904), a vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The records consist of itemized household receipts, primarily from three Wilmington, Delaware grocers and one from John Wanamaker's department store in Philadelphia. The receipts give descriptions of goods and prices.

Elliott, Johnson & Co. was a well-known banking and brokerage firm of Wilmington, Delaware, in the late nineteenth century. Henry du Pont (1812-1889) was an American military officer and son of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828). The collection consists of two letters from Elliott, Johnson & Co. regarding the purchase of bonds in two Florida railroads, the Sanford & Lake Eustis Railroad Company and the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railway Company.

Ellis Leroy "Lee" Hawk, Jr. (1926-2012) was a chemical engineer with Hercules Inc., and later the engineering director at Himont. He was involved in establishing polypropylene plants all over the world during the 1950s through the 1980s. This small collection consists of a scrapbook of photographs showing plant construction and a travel memoir written by Hawk about his career in the chemical industry. The memoir provides context for the scrapbook and an interesting portrait of an American businessman during the early stages of globalization.

Elmer Sperry (1860-1930) was one of America’s electric pioneers. He founded the Sperry Gyroscope Company in order to develop, manufacture, and market marine gyrostabilizing devices. The papers document Sperry's research and development work and entrepreneurial activities.

Elmer A. Sperry (1860-1930) was an electrical engineer who established the Electric Light, Motor, and Car Brake Company in 1883 and then founded the Sperry Electric Mining Machine Company in 1886. After selling his patents to General Electric, he went to work for the company as a consultant. This collection includes original materials, as well as copy work from other sources and images which show Sperry's inventions; there is some ephemera, family photos, employees, and views of the Sperry Company's Brooklyn drafting rooms.

Elva M. Chandler (1900-1990) was an active clubwoman, active in many women's professional, church, and political organizations and president of the local Business and Professional Women's Club. She was best known for her involvement in the Delaware Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (BPWC) and belonged to the Christina branch. Chandler's papers document her role in business and professional women's organizations and the changing role of women in business life from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Active in the 1840s, Emerson & Hanson Threshing Machine Company manufactured and repaired farming implements and other machinery; the company primarily manufactured "Pitt's Patent Horse Power and Separator" threshing machine, having licensed the process from the patentee. The collection consists of a sample of sixteen letters from agents, customers, and suppliers in various Midwestern states, containing orders for machines and parts, complaints, etc.

Emile F. du Pont (1898-1974) was director of the Employee Relations Department for DuPont Company beginning in 1945. His papers largely consist of speeches he gave, most of which were given to DuPont employees, on the history of the company. There are also files related to his role in the National Safety Council and production of "The Du Pont Story" film.

Emma E. Holmes (1838-1910) was the daughter of Dr. Henry M. Holmes (1790-1854) and Eliza Ford Gibbes (1808-1875). The diary chronicles Holmes's life in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Civil War, detailing the Charleston fire of December 1861, visiting army camps, taking a position as governess and tutor, and plundering Union troops near the end of the war.