Photographs from the Records of the Althouse, Bates, and Crompton Chemical Companies
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of print photographs of the instrumentation and facilities of the Althouse, Bates, and Crompton Chemical Companies collected by Dr. James F. Feeman during his career as a research chemist. The photographs span 1946 to 1974, but primarily document operations at the Althouse Chemical Company facilities in Reading in the 1950s and the Crompton and Knowles Research Laboratories in Gibraltar in the 1960s. The photographs depict various steps in the manufacturing process and instrumentation pictured includes autoclaves, blenders, spectrophotometers, and portable pH meters, as well as equipment used in Althouse’s Customer Service and Quality Control Laboratory to gauge the durability and "wash-fastness" of dyed fabric. Photographs from the Customer Service and Quality Control Laboratory likewise capture the preparation of fabric samples to illustrate dye properties and notably highlight Althouse's role as a niche manufacturer of dyes used in apparel, upholstery, and carpeting. Several photographs of Feeman in the laboratory and facilities at the new Crompton and Knowles Research Center in Gibraltar dating from 1974 round out the collection.
Dates
- Creation: 1946-1974
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1951-1966
Creator
- Feeman, James, 1922-2017 (Person)
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes and the collection is open to the public.
Copyright Information
To obtain reproduction and copyright information, contact: reproductions@sciencehistory.org.
Background Note
Based in Reading, Pennsylvania, the Althouse Chemical Company was founded in 1915 by C. Scott Althouse (1880-1970) as a small, family-owned firm specializing in fabric dyes. While German imported dyes dominated the marked prior World War I, wartime shortages notably spurred the creation of American dye companies like Althouse, which primarily served as a supplier for the associated Neversink Dyeing Company. Over time, a surplus of dyestuffs allowed Althouse to expand its business to the public market, focusing on a limited range of specialty colors of a superior quality and class. In an effort to diversify beyond the manufacture of industrial weaving equipment, the Crompton and Knowles Corporation of Worcester, Massachusetts acquired Althouse in 1954. As a division of Crompton and Knowles, Althouse in turn acquired the Bates Chemical Company, a firm based in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania that specialized in food and cosmetic dyes, in 1960. Together, Althouse and Bates continued to serve as leaders in the specialty dyes industry and eventually combined their operations at a new plant in Gibraltar, Pennsylvania. In 1999, Crompton and Knowles merged with Witco Corp. to become the Crompton Corporation and ultimately ceased its production of dyes before becoming part of the Chemtura Corporation in 2005.
Extent
44 Photographic Prints (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Black and white print photographs of the instrumentation and facilities used in the manufacture of dyes at the Althouse, Bates, and Crompton Chemical Companies.
Custodial History
Collected by Dr. James F. Feeman during his career as a research chemist with the Althouse, Bates, and Crompton Chemical Companies.
Acquisition Information
Separated from the Records of the Althouse, Bates, and Crompton Chemical Companies, 1903-2000 (bulk 1930-1999); Gift of James Feeman, 2004.
Digitized Materials
This collection has been digitized in its entirety and is available online in our Digital Collections: https://digital.sciencehistory.org/collections/j098zb128
Source
- Bates Chemical Company (Organization)
- Althouse Chemical Company (Organization)
- Crompton & Knowles Corporation (Organization)
Subject
- Crompton & Knowles Corporation (Organization)
- Althouse Chemical Company (Organization)
- Bates Chemical Company (Organization)
- Title
- Photographs from the Records of the Althouse, Bates, and Crompton Chemical Companies
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding Aid Created by Hillary S. Kativa and encoded into EAD by Melanie Grear (2017) and Alex Asal (2023).
- Date
- 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- 8/28/2023: Digitized Materials note added.
Repository Details
Part of the Science History Institute Archives Repository
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19106 United States
215.873.8265
215.873.5265 (Fax)
reference@sciencehistory.org