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Business History at the Hagley Museum and Library

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2012

Michael Nash
Michael Nash
Affiliation:
Michael Nash is curator of manuscripts atthe Hagley Museum and Library.
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Abstract

From its beginnings in the private library of Pierre S. du Pont, the Hagley Museum and Library has grown into a leading resource for business historians, particularly for those interested in the development of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In this thorough description of the Hagley's collections, Dr. Nash demonstrates the breadth and depth of its holdings, from the papers of the eighteenth-century Physiocrats to those of New Deal and post-World War II companies and business leaders.

Type
Archival Essay
Information
Business History Review , Volume 60 , Issue 1 , Spring 1986 , pp. 104 - 120
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1986

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References

1 Pierre S. du Pont to H. Fletcher Brown, 7 July 1924, in Pierre S. du Pont Papers. According to customary usage, the Du Pont Company is spelled with an upper-case D, and du Pont in the family name with a lower-case d.

2 Recently, Hagley joined these and other similar institutions when it was chosen for membership in the Independent Research Libraries Association.

3 Collection development policy statement for Dr. Charles David Papers, box 1.

4 Cochran, Thomas, Frontiers of Change (New York, 1984).Google Scholar

5 The papers of Henry du Pont (1822–89, 35 linear feet) and Francis Gurney du Pont (1850–1904, 18 linear feet) also provide good documentation of company history during these years.

6 Chandler, Alfred D. Jr, Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of American Industrial Enterprise (Cambridge, Mass., 1962).Google Scholar

7 As a result of this antitrust action Du Pont had to divest itself of many of its most important black powder and high explosive manufacturing plants. The Hercules and Atlas companies were established as part of the settlements to operate these properties. This is well documented in the Atlas Company records (1912–60, 500 linear feet). Atlas was acquired by ICI in 1972 and became ICI Americas.

8 Chandler, Alfred Jr and Salsbury, Stephen, Pierre S. du Pont and the Making of the Modern Corporation (New York, 1964).Google Scholar

9 Chandler, Strategy and Structure, 20–24.

10 Hagley is currently working with seven other repositories to appraise and divide the 360,000-cubic foot Pennsylvania Railroad Archive. Hagley is accessioning board minutes, a microfilm copy of the board file, and records of key operating departments. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is acquiring the original board file presidential correspondence (1899–1960) and financial records. The five other repositories (Temple University, New York Public Library, the Bentley Library, New Jersey State Archives, and Pennsylvania State University) are dividing divisional and developmental records along subject and geographic lines.

11 Other transportation companies represented in Hagley's collections include the Red Arrow Lines Records (1848–1973, 100 linear feet), and Delaware Coach Company (1880–1960, 150 linear feet). These records document the development of commuter trolley, railroad, and bus service in the greater Philadelphia-Wilmington area. Papers of William L. Austin (1875–1940, 12 linear feet) describe his career with Baldwin Locomotive Works and the role he played in promoting the sale of locomotives and railroad technology in Europe and the Far East.

12 Hagley also has the records of Delmarva Power (1880–1960, 100 linear feet), which tell a somewhat similar story with an emphasis on rural electrification. The records of the Philadelphia Electric Company (1890–1940, 36 reels of microfilm) document the history of one of the country's most important urban electric companies.

13 Other Hagley collections that may be of interest to business historians with a technological bent include: Leeds & Northrup (1869–1952, 25 reels of microfilm); Boeing Vertol helicopter division of Boeing Aircraft (1943–67, 150 linear feet); Link-Belt Company (1851–1908, 725 drawings); Fritz Water Wheel (1899–1956, 200 linear feet), and Campbell Water Wheel (1920–75, 53 linear feet); S. S. White Dental Manufacturing Company records (1847–1960, 40 linear feet), and Phoenix Bridge Company (1880–1960, 200 linear feet).

14 The shipbuilding industry, which was closely related to iron and steel, is represented by several collections. These include the records of Pusey and Jones (1848–1945, 25 linear feet) and Harlan and Hollingsworth (1870–1950, 200 linear feet).

15 Smaller collections include: the records of Charles I. Du Pont and Company and Du Planty & McCall of Hagley, Delaware, the first cotton manufacturer in the Wilmington area (1810–35, 5 linear feet); records of Du Pont, Bauduy & Company (1809–59, 7 linear feet), and records of William Whitaker & Sons of Philadelphia (1809–1971, 15 linear feet).