Manuscripts and Archives Collection

Hagley's Manuscripts and Archives Department has more than 2,500 separate collections. They cover the full spectrum of American business and technology from the mercantile houses of the late 18th century to the multinational corporations of the 21st, including the personal and family papers of the entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, and managers who helped build them.

An Overview of the Collection:

  • DuPont Company business records
  • du Pont family papers
  • Northeastern railroads
  • Iron, steel, coal, and oil production industries (such as Sun Oil)
  • Firms with innovative technological practices
  • Military contractors (such as Sperry Gyroscope)
  • Computer and Communications (such as MCI records and RCA Corporation)
  • Consumer-oriented companies (such as Joseph E. Seagram & Sons and Avon)
  • Department stores
  • Mass Marketing and advertising (such as Ernest Dichter's papers)
  • Product design (such as Raymond Loewy and Thomas Lamb)
  • Interior design (such as William Pahlmann's papers)
  • National Business Associations (such as National Association of Manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States)
  • Personal papers (such as Pew family members and John J. Raskob)
  • Commercial and industrial structures (such as New York City's Pennsylvania Station)

For information about collections in our Manuscripts and Archives Department, please contact us at 302-658-2400 ext 330 or send us an email at askhagley@hagley.org.