Abstract:

The Castolite Company was a retail wholesaler of a clear, liquid plastic (or polyester resin) called "Castolite," which was used for casting, embedding, laminating, molding, or coating. The company was founded in 1948 by William Weers (1906-1976). Initially, the scientific community used Castolite for embedding biological specimens into clear, liquid plastic, among other scientific applications. The process became popular in the arts and crafts community, and hobby shops frequently sold Castolite. This small collection includes 1952 promotional sales materials for Castolite and its uses for making jewelry and other homemade creations; the purchaser could then sell their products for personal profit.

Abstract:

The Cavalcade of America television show was an anthology drama which aired on NBC from 1952 to 1953 and ABC from 1953 to 1957. The show was adapted from a radio show of the same name sponsored by the DuPont Company, a chemical company, which began as a manufacturer of gunpowder in 1802.This collections consists of two reels of television commercials for various DuPont products. The commercials feature various spokesmen talking about or demonstrating the products. One commercial features DuPont Company president Crawford Greenewalt.

Scope and Contents: The Commercials series consists of DuPont Company commercials for more than fifty DuPont products. The products most heavily represented are Teflon cookware, Silverstone cookware, Lucite Paints, Rally Car Wax, medical products, and agrichemicals. Medical products include the Automatic Clinical Analyzer, Diamond Knife, Luminescence Biometer, mammography, mass spectrometer, overdose antidote, Teflon voice boxes, Thallium heart attack prevention, and X-ray subtraction. Commercials on agrichemicals cover DuPont research, crop protection, agrochemical testing, Extrazine II herbicide, Krovar herbicide, nitrogen fixation studies of soybeans, and pesticides. There are several commercials related to DuPont safety measures taken at plants to ensure workplace safety, as well as the safe transportation of chemicals, double wall oil tankers for marine life, and noise and vibration reduction. There are also several commercials related to DuPont programs for alcohol rehabilitation, energy conservation, personal safety program for rape prevention, and job training programs for inmate rehabilitation. Commercials for DuPont’s man-made fibers include Coolmax, Kevlar, Lycra, Tyvek, and Nomex fire retardant suits. The automobile products represented in this series are for Gas Booster, Exhaust Manifold Reactor, Nomex filter bags, Refinish, safety auto glass, and Zerex Antifreeze. One of DuPont’s marketing campaigns used the tagline “There's A Lot of Good Chemistry Between Us.” These commercials generally feature a narrator having a conversation with one or more people in a particular situation being informed about how a DuPont invention impacts their life without them even being aware of it. The commercial generally does not focus on a single product, but rather on a single material that is used in a variety of products. For example, in one commercial, a family is walking through their new home while it is under construction and the narrator is explaining to them how Methanol is used to make various parts of their home. Another advertising campaign termed “The Originators” commercials, again does not focus on a particular product, but rather on a significant contribution DuPont scientists have made through research in a particular area. Each commercial features a DuPont scientist talking about their research area. For example, one commercial features Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of Kevlar, discussing all the different uses of the synthetic material. ...

Abstract:

Domenico Mortellito (1906-1994) was a designer, muralist, and sculptor noted for working in plastics and other synthetic materials. The majority of the materials in this small collection deal with the design and execution of the DuPont Pavilion at the second New York World's Fair in 1964-1965, including correspondence, studies, drawings, and photos of the take-apart model of the original design.

Abstract:

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 and began with the production of gunpowder. Throughout the 1900s and 1910s, the company shifted its focus away from gunpowder production and towards chemistry innovations. This collection contains twenty photographs of DuPont Company exhibits and exhibit areas in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, as well as exterior views in the vicinity of the Hall and views of the boardwalk at North Carolina Avenue. Chalfonte-Haddon Hall was a hotel and convention center that had its start as two Quaker boarding houses built in the 1860s.

Abstract:

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.

Abstract:

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.

Abstract:

Gordon M. Kline (1903-1996) was highly involved in the plastics industry, beginning in its infancy. He worked in the plastics section of the National Bureau of Standards, editor of Modern Plastics, and with the U.S. government on preservation of significant historical items. The papers document his professional career with the National Bureau of Standards, along with material describing his work with the Society of the Plastics Industry, the American Society for Testing Materials, and the International Standards Organization.

Abstract:

Gordon M. Kline (1903-1981), earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from University of Maryland in 1934, served as a technical investigator for the U.S. Army in Germany in 1945. These are three snapshot photographs of Dr. G. M. Kline and research team in Troisdorf, Germany, June 1945.

Abstract:

The leather manufacturing firm of J.E. Rhoads & Sons grew out of an eighteenth-century tanning operation on the Rhoads family homestead in Marple, Chester County (now Delaware County), Pa. Records cover the entire history of the firm from the 1720s through the 1960s. There is also substantial information on trade organizations in the leather industry and on members of the Rhoads family.

Abstract:

NVF Company was a manufacturer of laminated plastic plates and sheets composed of only cellulose; the material is called vulcanized fibre. Initially named the National Vulcanized Fibre Company, it was formed in 1922 by Israel Way Marshall (1850-1911) and Thomas Elwood Marshall (1855-1929) in Yorklyn, Delaware. NVF Company was one of the three largest fibre companies in the country and eventually dissolved in the early twenty-first century. The NVF Company collection consists of records beginning in the 1870s, before the official creation of the company, and continues until the dissolution of the company. These materials include the history of the Marshall family, the formation of the National Vulcanized Fibre Company, administrative and presidential papers, publications and reports, marketing and publicity materials, subject files, labor contracts, employee grievances, and arbitration cases.

Abstract:

Rubbermaid Incorporated is an American manufacturer and distributor of many household items. The collection is comprised of a public relations file consisting mostly of clippings and tear sheets, generally notices of the company in local papers and the trade press. Most deal with company performance, organizational culture, and personnel changes, with particular notices of Stanley C. Gault (1926-2016), CEO from 1980 to 1991.