Abstract:

Avon Products, Inc. is a manufacturer and direct selling company of beauty products. It is one of the oldest direct selling companies in America. The company was founded in 1886 by David H. McConnell (1856-1937) as the California Perfume Company (CPC). McConnell established a manufacturing headquarters and research laboratory in Suffern, New York, in the 1890s. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, CPC expanded its line of products to include cosmetics, household cleaners, food flavorings, and toiletries. The collection consists of photographs, negatives, slides, films, videos and sound recordings date from 1856 to 2000. The materials depict Avon products, their manufacture, packaging and sale, Avon employees and representatives and the offices, laboratories, factories and other structures owned by Avon Products, Inc. The collection is organized into ten series: Administration, Conferences, Non-sales employees, Domestic locations, International locations, Public relations, Sales managers and representatives, Selling methods and sales aids, Company history and philosophy, and Library, music, and museum.

Scope and Contents: Series II. Corporate Operations is comprised of six subseries.Subseries A. Corporate Documentation; mainly includes articles of association, by-laws, minutes, agreements, financial reports, canceled stock certificates and registers, and related documents regarding Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Limited, The Seagram Company, Ltd. and subsidiaries. The records also document selected acquisitions. Subseries B. Financial Records; this subseries contains six volumes of Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Limited payroll registers (1933-1945); and miscellaneous fragmentary financial records for Atlantic Distilling Company Limited (1927-1929), Distillers Corporation Limited (1927-1941, 1971), Premartin y Ca. (1853-1871; in Spanish), and unidentified companies (1917-1928).Subseries C. Legal Records; includes agreement files pertaining to the company's early years and provide insights into its development, especially capital projects. Financial statements for D.C.-S.L. and selected subsidiaries.Government regulation in regards to customs and excise regulation; the Food and Drugs Act; labeling approvals and regulation; liquor control; taxation; trade agreements; and the wartime prices and trade board. Included in these documents is a large collection of bottle label registrations. Trademark records include trademark registrations, renewals and assignments. Royal Warrants from Canada, Denmark, England, Greece, India, Netherlands and Sweden. Subseries D. Plants and Manufacturing Processes; this subseries contains records pertaining to manufacturing plants in Canada, the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Mexico and include plans, agreements, histories, payroll, clippings, and staffing records. The materials are arranged by plant location. Production and Processes records document manufacturing, machinery, packaging, cooperage, and warehousing.Subseries E. Real Estate; This subseries contains records documenting the Seagram Building (375 Park Avenue); 1410 Peel Street, Montreal (Canadian headquarters); Bronfman investment-property Harrison Hot Springs Hotel Company, Limited (B.C.); the Seagram Stadium (Waterloo, Ontario); and the Seagram Tower (Niagara Falls, Ontario). Subseries F. Agriculture and Research Records; This subseries documents Seagram research on distilling; fertilizers; corn; yeast; enzymes; and grain development including triticale. The tritcale and grain research was supported by the Rosner...

Abstract:

Dan Dee Pretzel and Potato Chip Company was an American snack food manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. This collection consists of nine short, silent film reels depicting select manufacturing and packaging processes at the company's factory and warehouse.

Abstract:

The E.I. du Pont de Nemours is a chemical company commonly known as the DuPont Company was established in 1802, and began by manufacturing gunpowder and later chemical compounds. The foundations for the Engineering Department were laid in 1902. The department’s purpose was to design and construct high explosives plants, design powder machinery and create extensions to existing plants. The DuPont Engineering Department collection consists of photographic material documenting Twentieth century construction projects throughout the many different E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company work sites, including some outside construction projects within the explosives and chemical industry. There are 209 work sites which are arranged in alphabetical order.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. This collection consists of six safety calendars issued by the DuPont Company. The illustrators who created these calendars--Stanley Massey Arthurs (1877-1950), Clyde Osmer DeLand (1872-1947), Gayle Porter Hoskins (1887-1962), and Frank Earle Schoonover (1877-1972)--were all artists who studied under Howard Pyle (1853-1911) at the turn of the twentieth century.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company. The Moberly Plant was an automotive finishes plant in Moberly Missouri from 1968 through 1990. The plant manufactured topcoat paints used to repair or refurinsh vehicles. This collection consists of materials related to the former DuPont Company site in Moberly, Missouri, 1968-1990. Materials include newsletters, guides to the plant, a magazine, a yearbook, certificates, photographs, slides, and negatives.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. During World War I, the DuPont Company entered the dye industry. This small collection of photographs is primarily of DuPont Company plant sites of dye works and explosives. There are numerous views of the Carrollville, Wisconsin, plant and the Terre, Indiana, plant.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company, established in 1802. In 1902 the DuPont Company acquired the Smith Electric Fuze Company and some other properties in the Pompton Lakes, New Jersey area. This collection consists of one color photograph showing three DuPont Company explosives delivery trucks, 1966 and two aerial photographs of the DuPont Company's Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, plant.

Abstract:

In 1952, the DuPont Company created the Product Information section within the Public Relations department. Its function was to produce news releases with photographs about DuPont and its products for indirect publicity and advertising purposes. This collection contains photographs of DuPont Company corporate events and proceedings, product trade shows and fairs, development and manufacturing processes, and the employees and facilities where the products were created. Most of the photographs were taken from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Abstract:

Hercules Inc. was a manufacturer of chemicals and munitions based in Wilmington, Delaware. Earl R. Fenstermacher (1894-1984) was the superintendent of the Columbus plant in Kansas. This item is a bound volume containing two typescripts written by Fenstermacher describing the manufacture and operating procedures at the company.

Abstract:

Edward M. Harrington (1866-1933) was a chemist and expert on blasting cap design. He held several positions at the Aetna Powder Company, eventually becoming superintendent of the dynamite works at Aetna, Indiana. Harrington then went on to work for the DuPont Company at various plants in the Operating Department until his retirement in 1921. Images in this collection are of dynamite and other explosive plants, including Aetna Powder Company plants in Newport, Rhode Island (electric blasting caps) and Aetna, Indiana, and DuPont Company plants in Repauno, New Jersey; Hopwell, Virginia, and many other locations. Photographs show buildings, office and plant interiors, many with workers, employee groups, housing, and recreation.

Abstract:

The Louviers dynamite works began production in 1908 and provided explosives primarily for mines in the region. The panoramic photograph shows a view of the DuPont Company dynamite works at Louviers, Colorado, including the magazine area, powder line, and overall view.

Abstract:

The War Department of the United States Government contracted with the DuPont Company to build and run a smokeless powder plant called the Old Hickory plant on the Cumberland River near Nashville, Tennessee during World War I. These panoramic photographs show overall views of DuPont Company's Old Hickory smokeless powder plant, also views of exterior and interior details.

Abstract:

The DuPont Company acquired a site on the York River in Virginia on which they planned to build a dynamite plant. The U.S. Government took over the property in 1918 and got the DuPont Company to build a shell loading plant instead. These three panoramic photographs show overall views of the shell loading plant at Penniman, Virginia during World War I.

Abstract:

In 1902 the DuPont Company acquired the Smith Electric Fuze Company and some other properties in the Pompton Lakes, New Jersey area. DuPont continued the manufacture of fuses, blasting caps, and other blasting supplies at the plant, adding a shell plant and other facilities. One panoramic photograph shows an overview of the DuPont Company plant at Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, 1918, and the other is a group portrait of staff, August 25, 1943.

Abstract:

In 1918, the company opened an additional plant in Racine, Wisconsin to increase the production of smokeless powder to meet the growing demand in order to support the war effort. This panoramic photograph shows a group of engineers outside of the plant.

Abstract:

The DuPont Company purchased a site near City Point, Virginia on the James River in 1912 in order to build a dynamite plant located closer to the southern market. The panoramic photographs show exteriors of the plant, views of the workers' housing, the town (including the African American section), and a photograph of the Hopewell China Corporation, a post-war reuse of one of the facilities.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The Fabrics and Finishes Department produced DuPont's consumer lines of paints and finishes. Duco was a durable, quick-drying lacquer used for appliances. It was the standard finish for GM vehicles. Dulux was glossier, which made it more popular than Duco. Lucite paint was introduced in the 1950s and was less expensive and more durable than its predecessors. This small collection consists of one album of photographs of finishes facilities (i.e., Refinish Service Warehouses/wholesale) and retail paint stores.

Abstract:

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.

Abstract:

The Indiana Ordnance Works was built by the DuPont Company for the U.S. Government beginning in 1940. It manufactured military explosives, propellants, and smokeless powder. The panoramic photographs show overviews of the Indiana Ordnance Works facilities, Charlestown, Indiana.

Abstract:

The Joy Manufacturing Company was a major manufacturer of underground mining and materials handling machinery. The photographs were collected by retired corporate secretary James Packer (1920-2008) in 1985 for the purpose of writing a company history. This small collection consists of photographs, mostly group portraits of staff. The collection dates range from the 1921 to 1988. The materials are so sporadic that there is no bulk date.

Abstract:

James R. Thomen (1926-) was manager of the Experimental Station from 1975 to 1985 when he retired. The DuPont Company's Experimental initially, was to be a small laboratory to screen inventions which were coming into the company from outside independent inventors specifically for research on black powder, smokeless powder, and dynamite, but soon its mission was altered and it became a large industrial research facility focused on innovative advancements in chemistry. This collection consists primarily of photographs of buildings at the Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware taken between 1910 and 1950.

Abstract:

The John B. Stetson Company was a manufacturer of hats. The company was founded in 1865 by John B. Stetson (1830-1906) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company's Kensington plant consisted of twenty-five buildings covering nine acres at Germantown and Montgomery Avenues. During its heyday in the 1920s it employed over 5,000 people to make its hats. This is a small collection of photographs and other material relating to the company. The photographs focus on the workers in and around the factory and its amenities.

Abstract:

The Laflin & Rand Powder Company was one of the largest gunpowder manufacturers during the nineteenth century. Frederick W. Beers (1839-1933) was a New York map publisher. This item is a lithograph depicting the powder mills and surrounding landscape, and it is pages 16 and 17 of "County Atlas of Ulster, New York: From Recent and Actual Surveys and Records," by author F.W. Beers.

Abstract:

Leonard W. Walton (1911-2005) was a printing industry executive with Milprint, Inc., which specialized in printing packaging materials, between 1936 and 1976. This collection of photographs related to Milprint, Inc was collected by Leonard W. Walton. A majority of the photographs show Milprint employees attending events, banquets, and dinners, including Quarter Century Club celebrations.

Abstract:

Lepley & Joswick Photographers was a commercial photographic studio in Chicago, Illinois, between 1946 and 1952. The firm was a partnership between Alden D. Lepley (1911-2003) and Gerald "Jerry" J. Joswick (1923-1990). In 1946, Lepley and Joswick opened a photography studio at 5121 W. Devon Ave. in Chicago. Their clients were mainly industrial ones. Both partners continued to pursue side projects and give lectures separately. This small collection of photographs features a range of commercial images depicting different areas of industry in Chicago between 1940 and 1952. It includes food factory assembly line workers, canned and boxed food products, home appliances and electronics, and interior home designs.

Abstract:

The lithographs include the following Philadelphia printers' names: E. Beaulieu; Herline & Co.; King & Baird; Wagner & McGuigan; and W. H. Rease. This is a group of nine mid-nineteenth century lithographs showing illustrations of Philadelphia factories.

Abstract:

During World War II, the DuPont Company was contracted to produce smokeless powder, TNT and DNT explosives for the military. This panoramic photograph is a group portrait of uniformed guards at a military explosives plant in Memphis, Tennessee, 1941.

Scope and Contents:

Plants and Sperry School series contains interior and exterior views of Sperry facilities. There are some aerials views of plants, building exteriors, and interiors which show various departments laboratories and work areas. There are images that show the construction of the Nassau plant. The views of the school are primarily interiors, many show students at work or with instructors. The images date from 1915 to 1962 and are mostly photographic reproductions, though there are a few original photographs in this series. There are three silent films two contain footage of site construction and one is of a laboratory dedication ceremony.

Abstract:

The Plymouth Cordage Company of North Plymouth, Massachusetts, was founded in 1824 and was involved, as their name implies, in the rope-making industry, particularly for use by the shipping and fishing industries. This album contains sixteen photographs of plant interiors showing machinery and manufacturing processes, and two exterior views of the building.

Abstract:

The Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Company was a manufacturer of cartridge ammunition for fire arms. This collection consists of copy photographs of Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Company facilities in Bridgeport, Connecticut, including interiors of a laboratory and exteriors of various buildings.

Abstract:

DuPont Company Repauno Works manufactured high explosive dynamite. The company began as the Repauno Chemical Company on June 7, 1880, by Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), a chemist working for the family business, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company which originally produced gunpowder. This collection of photographs includes numerous views of the buildings, facilities, employees, and plant operations and activities.

Abstract:

This print is an aerial photograph showing the full expanse of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company factory in North Tonawanda, New York. The company initially imported musical instruments from Europe, but moved into manufacturing instruments by 1880. Shortly after the turn of the century, Wurlitzer moved to North Tonawanda, New York. By 1934 it had produced the first jukebox. In 1973, Wurlitzer sold its jukebox brand to a German company and closed the North Tonawanda factory.

Abstract:

The Allentown Non-Freezing Powder Co. built this plant in 1903 to manufacture commercial explosives using its proprietary ingredient, nitrostarch. The panoramic photograph shows employees of the Trojan Chemical Company explosives plant in Seiple, Pennsylvania.

Abstract:

The Warren-Ehret Company was a Philadelphia roofing company founded in 1883. This collection consists of 259 images from three unbound albums which were used as sales portfolios to show the variety and extent of Warren-Ehret's roofing jobs on a variety of buildings.

Abstract:

The Wolf Envelope Company was an envelope, stationery, and novelties manufacturer in Cleveland, Ohio, during the twentieth century. Founded in 1899 by Louis Littman (1855-1937), the company was greatly expanded by Harry Fleishman Affelder (1881-1963), who joined in 1913 and eventually became President. This collection consists of one silent 16mm film, commissioned by Affelder, primarily documenting the daily operations at the Wolf Envelope Company's facilities in 1935. Also included are a few short clips showing the manufacturing processes employed by other envelope industry companies, including the Berkowitz Envelope Company in Kansas City, Missouri, a paper mill in Berlin, New Hampshire, and John Dickison & Company in Washington, Tyne and Wear, England.

Scope and Contents:

Bethlehem Steel Corporation's World War One ordnance plants (Bethlehem Loading Company) were located in Redington, Pennsylvania, May's Landing, New Jersey ("Belcoville"), and New Castle, Delaware.