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E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Lavoisier Library archival collection

Creation: 1902-2011
 Collection
Accession: 2632

Abstract

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. Lavoisier Library is the library at the DuPont Company's Experimental Station, a large industrial research facility focused on innovative advancements in chemistry located in Wilmington, Delaware. The records in this collection consists of files assembled to document various aspects of the company's history, its policies and products, and the writings and speeches of executives and researchers.

Dates

  • Creation: 1902-2011

Creator

Extent

13 Linear Feet

Historical Note

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 department was renamed in 1952 to reflect the wider range of fibers being produced and was renamed the Fibers Department in 1988.

During World War I, the DuPont Company constructed a dye works at Deepwater Point, New Jersey. The plant included two research facilities, the Jackson Laboratory and the Technical Laboratory. In 1945 the plant name was changed to the Chambers Works, in honor of Dr. Arthur D. Chambers (1847-1929), a DuPont executive who promoted company involvement in the dye business. Chamber Works plant was one of two plants in New Jersey that were part of the Organic Chemicals Department devoted to the production of Dyestuffs, Neoprene, Ethyl Alcohol, Camphor and other Organic Chemicals for the rubber, petroleum, textile, paper, perfumery and other industries.

DuPont's Chestnut Run Laboratories near Wilmington, Delaware began construction in 1952 and opened in 1954. The research complex includes many buildings such as the Textile Research Laboratory, the Polychemicals Sales Services Laboratory and the Organic Chemical Department. Research at these laboratories was mainly aimed at the development of better textile products from DuPont fibers or the extension of markets through the development of new end uses.

Beginning in the early 1980s, the DuPont company made a strategic effort to broaden marketing capabilities by making every employee a salesperson. There were ongoing orientation programs within the company which stressed the need for all employees no matter what their duties, to understand the marketing function and relate their efforts to satisfying the customer.

Due to the economic recession of the early 1990s there was a substantial downsizing of the company in an effort to cut costs and focus on the manufacturing of DuPont’s core products. The company also underwent a reorganization and an international expansion. In 1996 DuPont’s stock value had increased by 160%.

DuPont formed a subsidiary for the Fibers Department called Invista in 2003 which was sold to Koch Industries in 2004. Products such as the Performance Fabrics developed by DuPont are now part of Invista.

Lavoisier Library is the library at the DuPont Company's Experimental Station, a large industrial research facility focused on innovative advancements in chemistry located in Wilmington, Delaware. The Lavoisier Library was established in 1917 as the DuPont Technical Library and was within the Chemical Department. The Library was organized by Dr. Charles Reese (1862-1940), the director of the Chemical Department. In 1950 the library was named after the renowned chemist Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794). There are several branches of DuPont Technical Libraries. The Chestnut Run branch first began at the Textile Research Laboratory in May of 1958 and in 1960 became Chestnut Run Technical Library.

Scope and Content

The records in this collection consists of files assembled to document various aspects of the company's history, its policies and products, and the writings and speeches of executives and researchers.

The collection has been arranged into eleven series: DuPont Fibers; History of DuPont products; History of the DuPont Company; Research; DuPont product information; Conferences, handbooks, manuals; Directories; Authors; Speeches; DuPont newsletters; and Subject files. Materials date from 1902 to 2011.

Series I. DuPont Fibers, 1955-2008 includes information about textile terminology, studies regarding textiles and textile blends as well as samples.

Series II. 1902-2010, History of DuPont Products, explains the process of developing fibers produced by DuPont, as well as other major events in the history of DuPont fibers.

Series III. 1945-2010, History of the DuPont Company, includes information about the Company's role in major events in United States history, as well as documenting the company's organizational structure.

Series IV. 1905-2005, Research, contains documents which describe the research and development process of textile fibers, in addition to the opportunities available for R&D in the company.

Series V. 1909-2001, DuPont Products, consists of information pertaining to the manufacture and use of nearly 150 products either manufactured by DuPont or produced by other companies and used to develop DuPont products.

Series VI. 1946-2001, Conferences, Handbooks , Manuals, contains proceedings about important company meetings educational conferences, and company wide policy.

Series VII. 1940-1985, Directories, includes lists of sources of written information, names of consultants, and locations as well as data about the technical libraries within DuPont.

Series VIII. 1935-1987, Authors, lists DuPont employees and executives who wrote news articles, technical papers, reports and commentaries about the DuPont Company or the company's products.

Series IX. 1935-2003, Speeches, lists thirty company executives, managers, and employees whose speeches were collected and published in DuPont newsletters or that were given at various meetings and conferences.

Series X. 1969-1991, DuPont News, includes issues of Pioneering Newsletter, DuPont Newsletter Impact, DuPont News, and Background (background information contained in DuPont News).

Series XI. Subject Files, 1906-2011, includes documents related to such topics as pigment production, equal opportunity in employment, management morale, business conduct and travel policies, the Lavoisier and Pedersen Prizes, and selected products.

Access Restrictions

Items in this collection are subject to a twenty-five year time seal from the date of their creation.

Use Restrictions

Copyright and trademark restrictions might apply.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

Donation, 2014

The collection contains various archival or ephemeral materials deaccessioned by the Chestnut Run Technical Library as part of its downsizing in 2014.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Lavoisier Library archival collection
Author:
David Burdash
Date:
2016
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400