These records include documents relating to John Hyatt and include legal documents, 1871-1966; bank books; patents; patent certificates; patent assignments; memoranda and articles of association; union contracts; balance sheets; profit and loss accounts; journals and cash books; ledgers; time books; invoices; photographs; and correspondence to and from the company.
Scope and Contents:
The records include documents relating to John Hyatt and consist of articles of agreement; articles of association; contracts; bills of sale; by laws; deeds; licenses to manufacture; memoranda; bank books; patents; patent certificates; patent assignments; union contracts; balance sheets; profit and loss accounts; journals and cash books; ledgers; time books; invoices; minutes; photographs; and correspondence to and from the company, 1870-1974.
Biographical / Historical:
The Albany Billiard Ball Company is possibly the earliest successful plastics firm and certainly one of the oldest plastics companies in the world. The business was started in 1868 on Albany's South End. The company was renamed in September, 1977 the Albany-Hyatt Billiard Ball Company. John Wesley Hyatt was one of the company's founders and the American inventor of celluloid. Celluloid, besides being the base of photographic film, was a substitute for ivory, long the prime substance in billiard ball manufacture. The Hyatt "composition" ball, with a celluloid base, dominated the sport until the 1960s.
Related Materials:
New York State Library
Albany Billiard Ball Company Records, 1894-1944, bulk 1914-1944
The records of the Albany Billiard Ball Company consist chiefly of account books detailing its finances. The cash journals detail the quantity and cost of goods sold to various firms and individuals. Costs and fees for shipping and handling are also noted. The journals of income and disbursements provide a more detailed record of administrative and production costs of the company as well as income derived from sales. Principle expenditures include labor, raw materials, maintenance of equipment and facilities, and taxes.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.