J. Harry DuBois Collection on the History of Plastics
name: label: Creator
content: DuBois, J. Harry, 1903-1986
label: Names
content: Bakelite Corporation
label: Names
content: Boonton Rubber Company.
label: Names
content: Charles Burroughs Co.
label: Names
content: Dow Chemical Company
label: Names
content: General Electric Company
label: Names
content: Mybroy Ceramics Corporation.
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Physical Sciences
label: Names
content: Shaw Insulator Company.
topic: label: Topic
content: Plastics -- Molding
label: Topic
content: Plastics
label: Topic
content: Petroleum chemicals
label: Topic
content: Chemistry
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by J.H. Dubois in 1981.
creator: label: Creator
content: DuBois, J. Harry, 1903-1986
setName: label: See more items in
content: J. Harry DuBois Collection on the History of Plastics
abstract: label: Summary
content: J. Harry DuBois (1903-1986) was an industrial consultant in the field of petrochemicals and plastics. In 1927 at General Electric his studies resulted in extending the use of laminated plastics.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: J. Harry DuBois (1903-1986) was an industrial consultant in the field of petrochemicals and plastics.  DuBois began his career in the plastics industry at General Electric in 1927.  His studies resulted in extending the use of laminated plastics.  In GE's molding division he pioneered work on compression molded acetates, injection molding, radomes and low pressure laminates.  In 1944 he became vice president of Shaw Insulator Company.  He also worked at Plax Corporation, Mycalex Corporation of America and Tech Art Plastics.  In 1972 he was president of Mybroy Ceramics Corporation.    A member of the Society of the Plastics Industry and the Society of Plastics Engineers, DuBois collected much of this material while writing his book, Plastics History U.S.A, published in 1972 by Cahner Publishing Company of Boston.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.66 Cubic feet (8 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1900-circa 1975
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Transferred from the Division of Physical Sciences (now the Division of Medicine and Science), April 5, 1983.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0008
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Catalogs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Bakelite Catalogs, 1910-1944

Series 2: Plastics Trade Catalogs, circa 1920-1953

Series 3: Boonton Rubber Co., 1911-1974

Series 4: Charles Burroughs Co., 1879-1929

Series 5: Sigfried Higgins and Bakelite Printing Plates, 1925-1959

Series 6: Plastic Publications and miscellaneous Materials, circa 1890-1975
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Jeffrey Sturchio, Robert S. Harding and Ann Seeger, 1982.  Revised by Robert S. Harding, 1994 and 2000.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Catalogs -- 1910-1960
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection of trade catalogs, research reports, correspondence, photographs, and other historical material relating to the plastics industry was donated by J. Harry DuBois.  

Included are trade catalogues of the General Bakelite Company, Bakelite Corporation, and competitors in the plastics industry in the 1920's and 1930's, including Dow Chemical and General Electric; material relating to the Boonton Rubber Company, including Richard W. Seabury's notebooks, 1911-1923; memoranda of 1916, 1918, 1923, and 1926 concerning the history of Boonton's early use of Bakelite for molded products; catalogues, photographs, and a blueprint of a 1897 hydraulic press from Charles Burroughs Company; research reports, 1925-1932, of Sigfreid Higgins, on mechanical development research at the Bakelite Corporation; reports on sales development research, 1941-1946, at the Bakelite Corporation; experimental notes, correspondence on possible patents and other materials concerning the use of Bakelite and rubber for printing plates; reports, notes, and and miscellaneous photographs on the history of the plastics industry; Zylonite trade catalogues, pre-1900; and Recto trademark patent and patent drawing.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at Other Organizations

Syracuse University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center

J. Harry DuBois Papers, 1940-1943

Collection consists of the personal and professional papers of J. Harry DuBois, covering his long career in the plastics industry. It includes scrapbooks and photograph albums of his family and world-wide travel for business, photographs and slides, and audio and film reels.