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Albert C. Holler Collection
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Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Albert C. Holler (1921-2009) was an American analytical chemist. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1921, Holler first became interested in chemistry at the age of eleven. In his youth, he set up a chemistry lab in the basement of his parents' home and won several prizes for his chemistry-related projects. He also worked at Reinhold Pharmacy, where he took his salary in chemicals.
Holler started his undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh's Erie Center in Erie, Pennsylvania (1939-1941). At Pitt-Erie Center, he developed a process for detecting cadmium in copper solution. At the age of nineteen, he published his first scientific paper on this innovation, titled "The Qualitative Determination of Cadmium in the Presence of Copper," which appeared in the March 1941 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Holler's undergraduate education was interrupted by World War II. From 1941 to 1944, he worked at U.S. Metal Products Company, where he served as Chief Chemist and Metallurgist. At U.S. Metal Products, he supervised the production, control, and research of secondary copper-based alloys.
In 1944, Holler resumed his undergraduate education in Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his B.S. in Chemistry (1947). At Minnesota, he studied under renowned analytical chemist Izaak M. Kolthoff and was a member of the Alpha Chi Sigma Chemistry Fraternity and Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society. He was awarded Sigma Xi's Thomas F. Andrew Prize for excellence in undergraduate research in analytical chemistry. After his graduation in 1947, he remained at the University of Minnesota's Department of Chemistry for a time, serving as a research fellow under physical chemist Bryce Crawford.
In 1948, Holler went to work at Twin City Testing Engineering Laboratory, Incorporated in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he enjoyed a productive thirty-seven-year career. At Twin City Testing, Holler played a key role in the development of the firm's Chemistry Division, which grew to include forty chemists, industrial hygienists, and technicians. Under his direction, the Chemistry Division provided a wide variety of chemical analysis services, including the analysis of numerous substances (such as metals, rocks and minerals, and soaps and oils), water analysis, sewage analysis, and petroleum and fuels testing. Holler rose through Twin City Testing's corporate hierarchy, eventually serving as Director of the Chemistry Division and Vice President of Chemistry. He retired from Twin City Testing in 1985.
Albert C. Holler was an active member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists, and the American Society for Testing Materials. He also authored and co-authored several scientific journal articles. Along with William T. Freier, he was co-author of the textbook Introduction to Industrial Chemistry (1945).
Albert C. Holler passed away in 2009.
Sources
Albert C. Holler Collection, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Albert C. Holler Collection contains printed materials collected by American analytical chemist Albert C. Holler. Most of the materials in this collection have some connection to analytical chemistry. Small amounts of materials concerning chemistry in general and analytical chemistry research conducted by Holler during the 1940s are also present here. The collection is arranged into the following four series:
- Sales Literature
- Manuals and Directions
- Articles
- Miscellaneous Printed Materials
The Albert C. Holler Collection was donated to the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) by Jeanne Holler in February 2016.
The Albert C. Holler Collection was processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in September 2022.
Subject
- Chemical apparatus
- Chemicals
- Scientific apparatus and instruments
- Scientific apparatus and instruments industry
- Analytical chemistry
Occupation
- Publisher
- Science History Institute Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid created and encoded into EAD by Kenton G. Jaehnig.
- Finding Aid Date
- September 2022
- Access Restrictions
-
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes and the collection is open to the public.
- Use Restrictions
-
The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Albert C. Holler Collection. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Collection Inventory
Arranged alphabetically by company, this series contains sales literature collected by Albert C. Holler. Sales literature printed by chemical companies, scientific instrument manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and a scientific instrument and laboratory supply distributor are found in this series. Sales materials printed by a metal company, an instrument component manufacturer, a chemical analysis laboratory, and a food processing company who marketed chemical by-products are also present here.
Most of the materials in this series concern chemicals and scientific instruments. Small amounts of materials regarding scientific laboratory supplies, scientific instrument components, and pharmaceuticals are also present here.
The contents of the Sales Literature series consist of a variety of printed sales materials. Sales booklets and brochures are the most common items found in this series. Small numbers of other miscellaneous sales materials, including, but not limited to, price lists, sales bulletins, and sales binders are preserved here as well.
Arranged alphabetically by company, this series contains manuals and directions collected by Albert C. Holler. The materials in the Manuals and Directions series were printed by three scientific instrument manufacturers, two scientific instrument and laboratory supply distributors, a scientific instrument component manufacturer, and a chemical company. The individual items contain information regarding the use of scientific instruments, chemical analysis techniques, and the installation and use of scientific instrument components.
The contents of the Manuals and Directions series consist of four manuals, one technical bulletin, and one directions sheet.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains articles collected by Albert C. Holler. It contains a few scientific journal articles authored and co-authored by Holler, including a copy his very first article "The Qualitative Determination of Cadmium in the Presence of Copper." Articles by several other analytical chemists and a handful of companies, and newspaper articles published by the Minneapolis Morning Tribune are also preserved here.
The materials in the Articles series mainly concern analytical chemistry, including research conducted by Albert C. Holler during the 1940s. A handful of articles regarding analytical chemistry instruments and synthetic rubber developed by Holler's mentor Izaak M. Kolthoff are also found in this series. A single article concerning the state of chemistry in the United States in 1917 is also present here.
Journal article reprints make up the bulk of the materials preserved in the Articles series. Photocopies of two newspaper articles are preserved here as well.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains miscellaneous printed materials collected by Albert C. Holler. It contains printed materials that do not readily fit elsewhere in the collection.
Materials concerning analytical chemistry instruments and analytical chemistry make up the largest components of this series. A few items regarding chemistry in general are also present here. The materials were produced by several different entities, including, but not limited to, two scientific instrument and laboratory supply distributors, a scientific instrument manufacturer, a chemical company, and the United States Patent Office.
The contents of the Miscellaneous Printed Materials series consist of a variety of materials, including, but not limited to, charts, printed copies of United States Patents, a periodical, and a program.