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Caesar A. Grasselli 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

Caesar A. Grasselli was the president of the Grasselli Chemical Company of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1885 to 1916. Born in Cincinnati on November 7, 1850, Grasselli's father, Eugene Ramiro Grasselli, was the founder of the family's chemical company. At 15, Caesar Grasselli began an apprenticeship at his father's chemical company, doing manual labor and learning the fundamentals of the chemical industry. He was educated at Mt. St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. After graduating, Grasselli became a partner of the company in 1873 and eventually became president after his father's death.

While president of the Grasselli Chemical Company, Grasselli led the company through rapid growth. Under his lead, the company manufactured the first American-made saltcake, which was heavily used by glass manufacturers. By the end of his time as president of the Grasselli Chemical Company, Grasselli had grown the company to 14 factories. Caesar left the company to his son, Thomas Grasselli, until 1928, when the Grasselli Chemical Company merged with DuPont.

Caesar A. Grasselli died on July 28th, 1927, in Cleveland, Ohio.

This collection consists of one bound copy of My Family and the Grasselli Chemical Company by Caesar A. Grasselli. The preface of the book explains that Caesar Grasselli began dictating the book in 1916 to his secretary and continued until his death in 1927. The last two chapters of the book were written posthumously. The book consists of 18 chapters and is 98 pages long. Included along with the chapters is a list of descendants of Eugene Ramiro Grasselli and Caesar Grasselli, as well as a transcript of a speech given by Caesar Grasselli II at John Carroll University on June 22, 1974.

The Caesar A. Grasselli Collection was donated to the Science History Institute by Irene duPont in 1998.

The Caesar A. Grasselli Collection was processed by Olivia E. Hosie in May 2024.

Publisher
Science History Institute Archives
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid created and encoded into EAD by Olivia E. Hosie.
Finding Aid Date
2024
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 Caesar A. Grasselli Collection. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

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