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Records of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists

Notifications

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

Call Number:
16
Repository:
Science History Institute Archives
Extent:
5.6 linear feet (3 record boxes, 1 oversized box, 1 artifact box, and 1 half hollinger box)
Preferred Citation:
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Records of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, 1901-1992, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Date:
1901-1992 (inclusive) and 1921-1951 (bulk)
Creator:
American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists
Form:
Archival materials, Photographs, and Sample cards
Abstract:
Bulletins, circulars, notebooks, color cards, printed materials, and photographic materials regarding dyes and the dye industry in the United States. The materials in this collection were collected and maintained by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) is an American non-profit association for textile and materials industry professionals. Originally established for textile chemists and colorists, the AATCC was founded in 1921 by Louis A. Olney, a professor of chemistry at Lowell Textile School in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was founded in response to the World War I "Dye Crisis", during which the United States was cut off from its supply of European dyes and the American dye industry struggled to manufacture products of consistent quality. It was also founded in response to a need for American textile test methods.

Initially headquartered at Lowell Textile School, the AATCC grew quickly after its founding and proceeded to make a number of notable contributions to the textile and materials industries. Since 1923, the AATCC has developed and published numerous textile-related standards, including the first four color fastness tests (1923), the flammability test apparatus for synthetic fibers (1946), and evaluation procedures. To recognize excellence by textile and materials industry professionals, it established the Olney Medal (1944) and the Chapin Award (1958). To accommodate its growth and to better serve the changing interests of its membership, the AATCC relocated to its present headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina in 1964.

In addition to textile chemists and colorists in the private business sector, the AATCC's membership includes, but is not limited to, employees of consumer organizations, state and federal government agencies, and universities. The AATCC also continues to develop and update standard methods of fiber testing and quality control. It is also active in training textile and materials industry professionals in the United States and abroad.

Sources

Records of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Records of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists contain materials regarding dyes and the dye industry in the United States. The materials in this collection were collected and maintained by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. The collection is arranged into the following seven series:

  1. American Cyanamid Company Bulletins
  2. General Dyestuff Corporation Circulars
  3. Notebooks
  4. Miscellaneous
  5. Oversized
  6. Artifacts
  7. Photographic Materials

The Records of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists were donated to the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists in two accessions: April 2000 and February 2001.

The Records of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists were processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in April 2018.

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists Sample Card Collection is preserved at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Organization
Subject

Publisher
Science History Institute Archives
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid was created by Andrew Mangravite and encoded into EAD by Kenton G. Jaehnig.
Finding Aid Date
2018
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 Records of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Collection Inventory

Series Description

Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains bulletins created by American Cyanamid Company, an American chemical company and dye manufacturer, which were collected and maintained by the AATCC. The materials in this series provide technical information regarding dyes manufactured by American Cyanamid's Calco Chemical Division.

The series' contents consist of Application Research Department bulletins, Application Sales bulletins, Dyes Technical Service Laboratory bulletins, and Technical Service Bulletins. A noticeable number of the bulletins have fabric samples attached to them. One bulletin with leather samples attached to it is present in this series as well.

American Cyanamid Company – Application Research Department Bulletins, 1951.
Box 1 Folder 1
American Cyanamid Company – Application Sales Bulletins, 1935.
Box 1 Folder 2
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Note

Contains leather samples.

American Cyanamid Company – Application Sales Bulletins, 1936-1937.
Box 1 Folder 3
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

American Cyanamid Company – Dyes Technical Service Laboratory Bulletins, 1949.
Box 1 Folder 4
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

American Cyanamid Company – Technical Service Bulletins 34-A thru 52-L, 1937-1938.
Box 1 Folder 5
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

American Cyanamid Company – Technical Service Bulletins 109-B thru 179-D, 1937-1939.
Box 1 Folder 6
American Cyanamid Company – Technical Service Bulletins 202-A thru 287, 1937-1938.
Box 1 Folder 7
American Cyanamid Company – Technical Service Bulletins 313-C thru 398-A, 1937-1939.
Box 1 Folder 8
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

American Cyanamid Company – Technical Service Bulletins 400 thru 497, 1937-1938.
Box 1 Folder 9
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

American Cyanamid Company – Technical Service Bulletins 500-A thru 600, 1939-1941.
Box 1 Folder 10
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

Series Description

Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains circulars created by General Dyestuff Corporation, which were collected and maintained by the AATCC. General Dyestuff was an American marketing arm of I.G. Farben A.G., a German chemical company and dye manufacturer. The materials provide technical information regarding dyes manufactured by I.G. Farben and its subsidiaries Grasselli Dyestuff Corporation, General Aniline Works, Incorporated, and Bayer Company, Incorporated, which were marketed in the United States by General Dyestuff.

The contents of this series consist mainly of information circulars. A large number of color cards with fabric samples attached to them are preserved in this series as well.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Cotton – General, 1927-1940.
Box 1 Folder 11
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Cotton – Green, 1913-1939.
Box 1 Folder 12
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Cotton – Orange, 1927-1939.
Box 1 Folder 13
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Cotton – Red, 1922-1940.
Box 1 Folder 14
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Blue, 1921-1940.
Box 1 Folder 15-16
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Brown, 1921-1940.
Box 1 Folder 17
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Green, 1925-1939.
Box 1 Folder 18
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Orange, 1927-1939.
Box 1 Folder 19
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Red (Folder 1 of 2), 1921-1939.
Box 1 Folder 20
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Red (Folder 2 of 2), 1921-1939.
Box 2 Folder 1
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Violet, 1921-1939.
Box 2 Folder 2
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Circulars – Wool – Yellow, 1923-1939.
Box 2 Folder 3
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Miscellaneous, 1930-1939.
Box 2 Folder 4
General Dyestuff Corporation – Naphtols – Rapid Fast Bases – Salts – Black/Brown/Violet/Yellow, 1925-1937.
Box 2 Folder 5
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Naphtols – Rapid Fast Bases – Salts – Blue, 1925-1939.
Box 2 Folder 6
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Naphtols – Rapid Fast Bases – Salts – Chemicals, 1921-1940.
Box 2 Folder 7-8
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Naphtols – Rapid Fast Bases – Salts – General, 1925-1939.
Box 2 Folder 9
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Naphtols – Rapid Fast Bases – Salts – Green/Orange, 1927-1937.
Box 2 Folder 10
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Naphtols – Rapid Fast Bases – Salts – Red, 1925-1939.
Box 2 Folder 11-12
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

Series Description

Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains four notebooks collected and maintained by the AATCC. Its contents consist of notebooks created by the following individuals: Albert I. Darbey (a textile chemist and colorist at Esmond Mills in Greystone, Rhode Island), Le Roy C. Lewis (a student at Lowell Textile School), Paul E. Morrow (a student or faculty member at North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts), and an unidentified student at Lowell Textile Institute (the successor of Lowell Textile School).

The Albert I. Darbey notebook includes fabric samples, which are attached to its pages. The Le Roy C. Lewis notebook includes leather samples, which are attached to its pages. The Paul E. Morrow notebook includes fabric samples, which are attached to its pages. The unidentified student's notebook includes brochures for Beckman Instruments spectrophotometers and articles from American Dyestuff Reporter.

Albert I. Darbey – Color Sample Notebook, 1935-1937.
Box 2 Folder 13
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

Le Roy C. Lewis – Dyeing of Leather – Notebook with Leather Samples, 1908.
Box 2 Folder 14
General Note

Contains leather samples.

Paul E. Morrow – North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts – Dyeing Laboratory Notebook, 1901.
Box 2 Folder 15
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

Unidentified Student – Lowell Textile Institute – Chemistry 501 – Applications of Color Measurement – Class Notebook, 1933-1950.
Box 2 Folder 16

Series Description

Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains files collected and maintained by the AATCC that do not readily fit elsewhere in the collection. The files in this series concern a small number of subjects, including, but not limited to, dyes, dye manufacturers, and test methods.

The contents of the Miscellaneous series consist of a variety of materials. Color cards with fabric samples attached to them make up the largest part of the series. A few photocopied newspaper clippings, product bulletins, brochures, and instruction manuals are also found in this series. A small amount of correspondence, a testimony outline, and a bound volume of dye colors are preserved here as well.

Carbic Color & Chemical Company, Incorporated – Color Card, undated.
Box 2 Folder 17
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

CIBA-Geigy Corporation – Cibacron Exhaust System – Color Card, 1981.
Box 2 Folder 18
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

Albert I. Darbey – Correspondence – Re: Books Donated to ATCC Archives, 1992.
Box 2 Folder 19
Fadeometer Tests – Color Cards, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1-3
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

Geigy Chemical Corporation – Indicator SYN and Indicator #1 New – Color Card, undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

General Dyestuff Corporation – Color Cards, undated.
Box 3 Folder 5
General Note

Contains fabric samples.

International Organization for Standardization – Committee on Color Fastness Tests – Meeting at AATCC Technical Center – Clippings (Photocopies), 1964.
Box 3 Folder 6
Instrument Development Laboratories – Product Bulletins, 1965, undated.
Box 3 Folder 7
Louis A. Olney – Outline of Probable Questions for Testimony at Cluett Peabody vs. Dominion Textile Patent Case, 1936.
Box 3 Folder 8
Pre-War Color Index – Bound Volume, undated.
Box 3 Folder 9
Tintometer Limited – Lovibond-Schofield Tintometer – Brochures and Manuals, 1966, undated.
Box 3 Folder 10

Series Description

This series contains a dye sample listing compiled by an unidentified entity (possibly the AATCC) between 1948 and 1957. The information listed in this dye sample listing includes sample number, date, amount, manufacturer, product, and source.

MK Sheets (Dye Sample Listing), 1948-1957.
Box 4 Folder 1-2

Series Description

This series contains a clipboard paperweight from Dyersburg Fabrics, a defunct American textile manufacturer.

Dyersburg Fabrics – Clipboard Paper Weight, undated.
Box 5 Object 1

Series Description

This series contains the photographs from three examples of the AATCC commemorative photo album AATCC Silver Jubilee Convention – Photographs of Exhibits – 1921-1946. Its contents consist of black and white photographs.

Note – Item level cataloging may be available, consult Image Archives.

AATCC Silver Jubilee Convention – Photographs of Exhibits – 1921-1946, 1946.
Box 6 Folder 1
General Note

Contains 33 black and white images.

AATCC Silver Jubilee Convention – Photographs of Exhibits – 1921-1946, 1946.
Box 6 Folder 2
General Note

Contains 33 black and white images.

AATCC Silver Jubilee Convention – Photographs of Exhibits – 1921-1946, 1946.
Box 6 Folder 3
General Note

Contains 34 black and white images.

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