This collection is part of the Longwood Manuscripts collection (Accession LMSS) of family papers assembled by Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) for his Longwood Library collection. Now held at Hagley Library, the Longwood Manuscripts collection is divided into ten collection groups. This, the fifth of those groups, consists of the papers the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.The company was organized in Paris in 1801 by Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) and his son Eleuthère... Show moreThis collection is part of the Longwood Manuscripts collection (Accession LMSS) of family papers assembled by Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) for his Longwood Library collection. Now held at Hagley Library, the Longwood Manuscripts collection is divided into ten collection groups. This, the fifth of those groups, consists of the papers the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.The company was organized in Paris in 1801 by Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) and his son Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834) for the manufacture of gunpowder. The next year, E.I. du Pont purchased a mill site on the banks of the Brandywine River just north of Wilmington, Delaware, and began making preparations to establish a black powder manufactory.The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. records (Accession LMSS.V) collection consists of records of the firm of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company collected by P.S. du Pont and separated from the main body of company records. This collection has not been digitized in its entirety. Image: Bill of Lading, Peter Bauduy, Philadelphia, to Anthony Girard, New York, 1807-09-23. Click here to view in the collection Show less
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 America. The company would grow to be the nation's preeminent gunpowder company for the next century.The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company nineteenth century records (Accession 0500.I) collection comprises... Show moreIn 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 America. The company would grow to be the nation's preeminent gunpowder company for the next century.The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company nineteenth century records (Accession 0500.I) collection comprises the nineteenth-century records of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., extending to the date of the second incorporation of the company in 1902.This digital collection includes more than 3300 items from the collection. The digitized material primarily consists of correspondence received by the company between 1802 and 1886 from customers, sales agents, and other business associates, including correspondence with sales agents describe the marketing of black powder to the Army, Navy, coal mine operators, and railroad entrepreneurs. Also included are ledgers which document wages of individual workers and describe living standards.Image: Receipt for the purchase of two passages from Liverpool to Philadelphia, 1852. Click to view. Show less
E.I. du Pont de Nemours was incorporated in Delaware on February 26, 1902. After the incorporation T. Coleman du Pont (1863-1930) was named president and his cousins Alfred I. du Pont (1864-1935) and Pierre Samuel du Pont (1870-1954) were named vice president and treasurer respectively. In the ensuing years, the company began to experiment with new forms of organization and began to systematically extend its control over the black powder and high explosives business.This digital collection... Show moreE.I. du Pont de Nemours was incorporated in Delaware on February 26, 1902. After the incorporation T. Coleman du Pont (1863-1930) was named president and his cousins Alfred I. du Pont (1864-1935) and Pierre Samuel du Pont (1870-1954) were named vice president and treasurer respectively. In the ensuing years, the company began to experiment with new forms of organization and began to systematically extend its control over the black powder and high explosives business.This digital collection includes items from the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company twentieth century records (Accession 0500.II) collection. The items digitized to date primarily consist of administrative and financial records of the companies contracted or absorbed by DuPont in the years after 1902, many of them former competitors. The collection has not been digitized in its entirety.Image: Carney's Point Works Smokeless Powder Cutting Machine with female operators, 1917. Click here to view in its collection. Show less
As DuPont began to diversify its product line beyond gunpowder and explosives in the early twentieth century, the company had a need for more advertising. DuPont established an Advertising Division within the Sales Department between 1907 and 1909, which was reorganized into a separate Advertising Department in 1921.The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Advertising Department records (Accession 1803) collection consists of background research files on ad campaigns run in individual... Show moreAs DuPont began to diversify its product line beyond gunpowder and explosives in the early twentieth century, the company had a need for more advertising. DuPont established an Advertising Division within the Sales Department between 1907 and 1909, which was reorganized into a separate Advertising Department in 1921.The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Advertising Department records (Accession 1803) collection consists of background research files on ad campaigns run in individual industrial departments for various products and to promote the company as a whole. It has not been digitized in its entirety.This digital collection comprises magazine tearsheets featuring DuPont advertisements dating from 1901 to 1971. A variety of brands and products are represented, including gunpowder, automobile supplies, Cellophane, paints, cleaning supplies, Rayon, Nylon, Dacron, and Fabrikoid.Image: 1956 advertisement for DuPont Cellophane. Click to view. Show less
Pierre A. Gentieu (1842-1930) was a long-term employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company who created an invaluable photographic record of the company's Brandywine Mills at the turn of the century. He was born in southwestern France in 1842, and emigrated to the United States around 1859.Gentieu began work in the Hagley Powder Yard in June, 1877. In 1881, he was appointed yard clerk by Francis Gurney du Pont, who took Gentieu with him when he established the smokeless powder plant at... Show morePierre A. Gentieu (1842-1930) was a long-term employee of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company who created an invaluable photographic record of the company's Brandywine Mills at the turn of the century. He was born in southwestern France in 1842, and emigrated to the United States around 1859.Gentieu began work in the Hagley Powder Yard in June, 1877. In 1881, he was appointed yard clerk by Francis Gurney du Pont, who took Gentieu with him when he established the smokeless powder plant at Carney's Point, N.J. in 1890. Gentieu also developed an amateur interest in photography, and between 1889 and 1910 he produced several hundred views of the Hagley Yards and their immediate surroundings. He was serving as the company's chief storekeeper at his retirement in 1925.The Pierre Gentieu papers (Accession 0503) collection offers correspondence with du Pont family members and coworkers, an account book of powder packed at the Hagley Yard (1858-1902); a record book with lists of explosions (1882-1909); time work sheets of powdermen during the 1890s; and a list of the principal events in the powder yards from 1882 to 1911. This document describes the work process to manufacture black powder at Hagley and several accidents that took place during this period.Image: Pierre A. Gentieu seated at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company exhibit at 1899 Sportsmen's Exposition. Click here to view in the collection. Show less
