Overview of the Collection |
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| Title: | Plastics History Collection |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1848-2007 |
| Quantity: | 1.5 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Miscellaneous items relating to the history of the plastics industry and notable figures in plastics research, development and manufacturing. Includes printed material, photographs, technical papers, interviews, and audiovisual material. |
| Language: | English, French |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 http://scrc.syr.edu |
In 2008 the National Plastics Center and Museum in Leominster, Massachusetts transferred the majority of its holdings to Syracuse University's Special Collections Research Center (SCRC). The collections include more than 40 manuscript collections from organizations and individuals, as well as several thousand plastics artifacts. The Plastics History Collection is being developed by Syracuse University to support this collecting area.
The Plastics History Collection, intended to support the collecting area of plastic artifacts and history, will eventually comprise a wide range of materials relating to the history of the plastics industry and notable figures in plastics research, development and manufacturing.
The collection consists of fourteen DVDs. Four contain copies of documentaries on plastics and the history thereof. Ten contain interviews with members of the "Plastics Pioneers," notable figures in the industry. A full listing of the interviewees and their companies is given in the inventory below.
Photographs contain images of machinary and products related to Dupont and Star Manufacturer Co.
Printed Materials contain employee magazines/newsletters, booklets, and catalogs from several companies.
Professional Organizations contain printed material from the Plastics Historical Society, the Society of Plastics Engineers, and the Society of the Plastics Industry.
Technical Papers contain professional papers written by engineers on the subject of plastics and processes.
Miscellaneous contains an award for the Doyle Works, Industrial Division and internally used forms for quotations and registering complaints for the Consolidated Molded Products Corporation.
Alphabetical by subject and chronologically within by company.
There are no access restrictions on this material.
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Other general plastics-related collections include the Plastics Artifact Collection and the Plastics Product Literature Collection. For a complete listing of all plastics-related collections held by Special Collections Research Center, please refer to the SCRC Subject Index .
Special Collections Research Center also maintains a comprehensive website which provides historical information on companies, products and individuals. The website serves as a portal for access to digital images of artifacts, print materials, company histories, finding aids for our manuscript collections, and more. Please visit the website at http://plastics.syr.edu.
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Plastics History Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Library
DVDs gift of Glenn L. Beall, 2010.
Plastics Hall of Fame Medal, gift of Gordon Kline, 2003.
Created by: MRC
Date: 9 Aug 2010
Revision history: 25 April 2011 - added material and updated the finding aid. (CEG);
28 Oct 2011 - added Kline medal (MRC)
| Documentaries | |||||||||||
| Dates given are, as well as can be determined, the original recording dates of the productions. The transfer to DVD was done in 2010. | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | All Things Bakelite 1937 - interview and plant tour of the manufacturing facilities of Bakelite (phenol formaldehyde), discovered by Leo Baekeland in 1907. | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Discovery of Polyethylene circa 1950 - recreation of events; features many employees of Imperial Chemical Industries, ltd. who were involved in the discovery and subsequent production and development | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Modern Marvels: Plastics (A&E/History Channel) circa 1994 - includes cameo by plastics expert Jeff Meikle and some comments on plastics' impact on the environment | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | To Shape Tomorrow / The Fourth Kingdom 1930s | ||||||||||
| "To Shape Tomorrow" follows "befuddled Mr. Bagshot" throughout his day, highlighting how different his life would be without plastics. Produced sometime in the 1930s, the film promotes the wonderful things that could be made by the then-new processes of shell molding, thermoforming, laminated Formica, extrusion of PVC pipe and sheets, and the molding of phonograph records. | |||||||||||
| "The Fourth Kingdom" is billed as "the birth of the age of plastics" | |||||||||||
| Interviews | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Plastics Pioneers 1952-1968 - includes several sheets giving details of topics discussed for each person (10 CDs) | ||||||||||
| Individuals interviewed include the following: | |||||||||||
| CD #1: Stuart Landas, Celanese Corporation of America; Sandy Brown, Condensite Company; Allen Brown, Bakelite Company; Frank Shaw, transfer molding; Allen Cole, Bresslin Publishing (Modern Plastics); Walter Rom, Bolton Molding Company; J.J. Greeby, Dow Chemical | |||||||||||
| CD #2: Garson Meyer, Eastman Kodak; Fred C. Meechum, Northern Industrial Chemical of Boston; Herb Spencer, Durex Plastics and Chemicals; Hans W. Wandas, Northern Industrial Chemical of Boston; M.M. McKiver, Megalot Corporation; Charles A. Norris Jr, Bakelite Company; V. Victor Sammett, Northern Industrial Chemical of Boston | |||||||||||
| CD #3 and #4: Ronald "Chick" Kamea, Albany Billiard Ball Company and Niagara Insulbake Company; C.W. Vaunt, Bakelite Company, division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corp.; George Scribner, Bolton Molding Company; R.E. Brannum, Bakelite Corporation; Gordon Brown, Bakelite Corporation; Sandy Brown, Condensite Company; Lionel Canenoff [Canenauve?], Standard Tool Company; James S. Wilson, Bestway Products Company; J.G. Swanson, independent consultant; [unidentified speaker, reading notes by Gordon Brown]; Donald S. Frederick, Roman-Hawes Company | |||||||||||
| CD #5 and #6: William T. Cruise, Society of the Plastics Industry; Luis Francisco, American Cyanide; D.J. O'Conner, Formica Company; J. Harry DuBois, General Electric; Willard Crane, Cincinnati Milling Machine Company; Al Manoville, Apollo Manufacturing Company; Charles Lichtenberg, Resinox Corporation and Monsanto; N.A. Backscheider, Recto Molded Products; B. Frank Hantz, American Insulator Corporation; Oscar Gold, manufacturer; Fred Behr, Pacific Novelty Company; Allen F. Randolf, Arlington Company (later Dupont); Emery Cleaves, New Jersey Button Works; J. Frank, Albian Realty Corporation | |||||||||||
| CD #7 and #8: [Plastics Pioneers Association written histories and interviews, read by J. Harry DuBois]; John J. Kevel, Plastics Technology; John G. Slater, Tennessee Eastman Plastic; W.T. LaRose, W.T. LaRose and Associates, Inc.; Sven Moxness, Honeywell; Lloyd G. Schenck, Bootin Rubber Company; Sam Moore, Interchemical Corporation; Siegfried Higgins, Williamson and Company, Caldwell, NJ; F. Reed Estabrook, Brook Molding Corporation; Elmer E. Mills, manufacturers' representative; George H. Bowmer; Ruth Rossitor, wife of plastics leader John G. Rossitor; William Morris Lester, Pyro Plastics; Edwin L. Hobson; C. William Cluworth, Plastics World; E.O. Wokeck, Bangor Plastics; Walter F. Grote, Grote Manufacturing Company (Grotlite); Arthur R. Tennom | |||||||||||
| CD #9: Arthur Tennom, continued | |||||||||||
| CD #10: [Meeting of the Pioneers of Plastics Association at Bald Peak Country Club, Sep 1968]; Bill Cullom, manufaturers' representative | |||||||||||
| Photographs | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous 1942, 1948, 1952-1953, 1959, 1965, 1969, undated - Dupont machinery and employees at work, also features the process behind making a toothbrush; Star Manufacturer Co. baby toys (3 folders) | ||||||||||
| Printed Materials | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous 1848, 1920, 1928, 1943-1944, 1950-1953, 1977, 1987 - features a French catalog for Jeuffroy & Fils, a Leominster Tool Co., Inc. catalog, Detroit Mold Engineering Co. newsletters, and a manual on how combs are made | ||||||||||
| Professional Organizations | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | National Plastics Center and Museum 2006-2007 - membership card belonging to David Harper | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Plastics Historical Society 1988-1993, 1996-1997, undated - features issues of the Plastiquarian, newsletters, and various membership documents (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) 1953, 1968, 1992 - "Ninth Annual National Technical Conference of the SPE" general program, "100 Years Young" by Armand Winfield for 26th annual technical conference, Plastics Ingenuity magazine, and the golden anniversary issue of Plastics Engineering magazine | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) 1948, 1955, 1959 - photograph of the national plastics exposition ribbon being cut by two unknown men, program for the exposition, and a booklet for parents on using plastic film safely | ||||||||||
| Technical Papers | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Miscellaneous 1956, 1959, undated - features documents from the Society of Plastics Engineers, "Automatic High Speed Injection Molding"; Durez, "Advances in Thermoset Molding"; DOW Chemical, "The Importance of Rigidity in Injection Molding"; and Monsanto, "Rules for Satisfactory Dielectric Preheating of Resinox Materials" | ||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Plastics Hall of Fame Medal, Gordon Kline 1973 - award given to Gordon Kline at his induction into the Plastics Hall of Fame | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Consolidated Molded Products Corporation/Doyle Works 1945, undated - army-navy production award given to the employees of Doyle; blank complaint record and blank request for quotation for Consolidated Molded Products | ||||||||||
