Fergusson family scrapbook

Collection

Identifier: DP00-045

Staff Only

Scope and content

This scrapbook, through news clippings, correspondence and advertising materials, gives a comprehensive overview of the growth and diversification of a family owned business from the mid nineteenth century through to the closing decade of the twentieth.

Dates

Creation: 1860-1990

Language of Materials

Text in English.

Biographical sketch

Alexander C. Fergusson arrived in Philadelphia from Scotland in 1855. Within ten years he had began his own business as a broker and chemicals merchant. In 1892 his son, Alexander C. Fergusson, Jr. joined the firm. During World War I they set up the Fergusson Laboratories on Orianna Street to produce potassium ferricyanide for the war effort. After the war the firm branched out into the manufacture of liquid soaps and shampoos. By 1927 it was decided to split the laboratories off from the manufacturing side of the business, which then became known as the Alex. C. Fergusson Co. (AFCO).