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The Hagley Vault

Selections from Hagley Museum and Library's archives and published collections on the history of American business, technology, and innovation.

March 30, 2026

Black and white photograph of two children in Easter costumes with baskets.

Everything is just fine and candy this week as we hop along to the Easter holiday. The two peeps in a pod joining us for an Easter egg hunt in this ca. 1932 photograph are Junius and Paulina Dean, the children of Junius Simpson Dean (1896-1978) and Paulina du Pont Dean (1903-1964).

Paulina was the niece of Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954), who assembled the P.S. du Pont photographs (Accession 1969.002) collection that contains this item. This large collection of over 6,000 items documents P.S. du Pont's many interests as well as the many members of the du Pont family.

The series containing this photograph is the 'Individuals and families' series, which includes photographs and glass negatives featuring P.S. du Pont, his family and extended family, as well as friends and associates.

The images are mostly individual portraits, group portraits, and snapshots of families. Most of the photographs are original and there are a few original engravings,…Read more...

Archive

For posts prior to October 2020, visit the Hagley Vault on Tumblr.

Mon, 08/02/2021 - 12:00

It's almost a #MusicMonday ...

It's almost a #MusicMonday, but I can't seem to remember the tune . . . This image is from an article in a September 1950 issue of Nation's Business focusing on the rise of Muzak. While Muzak has since become a generic description of a genre of background music, it emerged as a brand name in 1934. Over the years, the Muzak name has been owned by…

Fri, 07/30/2021 - 12:00

Here's to another summer weekend ....

Here's to another summer weekend! We're welcoming the first weekend of August with this 1954 cover of Philco News and a ready supply of sunscreen. The magazine was the monthly employee newsletter of the Philco corporation, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firm that was once a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. This…

Thu, 07/29/2021 - 12:00

This 1952 Avon advertisement featuring star Ann Sothern is the perfect match ...

This 1952 Avon advertisement featuring star Ann Sothern is the perfect match for today's internet holiday, National Lipstick Day. The holiday was popularized by Huda Beauty, who purchased the rights to the date in 2016 to promote a product launch. The hashtag holiday has since been embraced by the beauty industry and other…

Wed, 07/28/2021 - 12:00

Here’s a #WorkerWednesday from a work in progress ...

Here’s a #WorkerWednesday from a work in progress! This ca. 1916 panoramic photograph of a bonfire in progress comes from Hagley Library’s collection of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc., Carney's Point Works and workers housing panoramic photographs (Accession 1969.138) (coming soon to a Digital Archive near you!). The women shown here…

Tue, 07/27/2021 - 12:00

Today's #TradeCardTuesday features the front side of a ca. 1881 advertising card ...

Today's #TradeCardTuesday features the front side of a ca. 1881 advertising card for thread produced by the Willimantic Linen Company of Willimantic, Connecticut. The company was incorporated in 1856 to manufacture linen cloth, but switched to manufacturing cotton thread when supply lines of flax proved unreliable. By around the time that this…

Mon, 07/26/2021 - 12:00

Happy birthday to the U.S. postal system!

Happy birthday to the U.S. postal system! The United States Post Office, the forerunner of today’s United States Postal Service, was established by the Second Continental Congress on this date, July 26, in 1775. The former postmaster of Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), served as its first postmaster general. We’re observing the date…

Fri, 07/23/2021 - 12:00

Summer fashions are just so hot right now ...

Summer fashions are just so hot right now, so here's a very cool #FashionFriday post. This July/August 1955 issue of Better Living magazine's cover story focuses on how Du Pont employees are staying "neat despite the heat" with the assistance of new synthetic fabrics and air conditioning technology. Better Living was a Du Pont…

Thu, 07/22/2021 - 12:00

Doing work to uncover the commercial roots of Hammock Day ...

Doing work to uncover the commercial roots of Hammock Day seems to violate the spirit of today's hashtag holiday, so I'll just promise that I didn't work very hard on this one. It appears to have entered the crowd of other unofficial internet holidays in 2008, and was the very meta creation of Holiday Insights, a website that appears to exist…

Wed, 07/21/2021 - 12:00

Here's a little midweek celebration of summer weekends!

Here's a little midweek celebration of summer weekends! This April 1946 photograph was taken on Coney Island, New York and shows one of the resort town's amusement parks. Text accompanying the photograph describes the seashore resort on the Atlantic Ocean as featuring "two and one half mile stretch of beach, a 13,000 foot long boardwalk and a…

Tue, 07/20/2021 - 12:00

Today marks the anniversary of the July 20, 1969 date when Apollo 11 ....

Today marks the anniversary of the July 20, 1969 date when Apollo 11 carried astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin to the world's first lunar landing and moon walk. In the years since, various public and private figures, beginning with President Richard Nixon in 1971, have encouraged state…

Mon, 07/19/2021 - 12:00

It's a #MotorMonday kind of morning ...

It's a #MotorMonday kind of morning, and we're starting the week off with this 1911 advertising card from the Matheson Automobile Company, Matheson was a small automaker headquartered out of Holyoke, Massachusetts and later Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Matheson automobiles were particularly popular for the power they provided, winning trophies…

Fri, 07/16/2021 - 12:00

This #FoodieFriday may be as American as cherry pie, but ...

This #FoodieFriday may be as American as cherry pie, but today's internet holiday, National Cherry Day, is a British one. The observance was created in 2008 as part of CherryAid, a campaign to save rapidly declining cherry orchards in the country. This ca. 1955 photograph of a vending machine offering up potato salad and fruit cocktail in cherry…

Thu, 07/15/2021 - 12:00

On this date, July 15, in 1916 ....

On this date, July 15, in 1916 U.S. Navy engineer George Conrad Westervelt (1879-1956) and industrialist William Edward Boeing (1881-1956) incorporated Pacific Aero Products in Seattle, Washington. The aircraft company was renamed in 1917, becoming the Boeing Airplane Company, which operates today as the Boeing Company. This 1934…

Wed, 07/14/2021 - 12:00

Today's #WorkerWednesday is just a step outside our front door.

Today's #WorkerWednesday is just a step outside our front door. This ca. 1918 photograph shows employees of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's Brandywine Works transporting sewed ballistite bags to building for loading into tin cans. During World War I, the company operated gunpowder and military explosives plants nationwide, as well as…

Tue, 07/13/2021 - 12:00

We're getting warmed up for the 91st annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game today with this photograph of the Pusey and Jones Company's baseball team.

We're getting warmed up for the 91st annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game today with this photograph of the Pusey and Jones Company's baseball team. The photograph, taken on July 12, 1913, documents the team on the day of their Industrial League game against the Malleable Iron company's team. They faced off that day for the first time…

Mon, 07/12/2021 - 12:00

We're starting the week off on the right track today with this photograph of steam-powered Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive traveling over the Elkview Viaduct near Oxford, Pennsylvania.

We're starting the week off on the right track today with this photograph of steam-powered Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive traveling over the Elkview Viaduct near Oxford, Pennsylvania. This image was captured on this date, June 12, in 1941 by David Harrison Cope (1913-2001). The bridge, built in 1897, was part of the railroad's Octoraro Branch,…