Audio recordings of interviews with members of the Plastics Pioneers Association about the plastics industry, its origins, and evolution.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of four 1/4 inch open-reel audiotapes produced from 1952-1968.
Biographical / Historical:
The Plastic Pioneers Association (PPA) was formed in the 1940s to provide individuals involved with plastics invention, innovation, and manufacturing an opportunity to meet with colleagues to share stories about the history of plastics. In 1948 the PPA became a formal organization "of individuals who are persons of accomplishment in the Plastics Industry, and who wish to foster the bonds of friendship and fraternalism among them." At the time, in order to be a member an individual had to have made "a contribution to the growth of the industry and worked at least fifteen years plastics. According to the PPA webiste, membership currently "is capped at 250 active members, and the term of service in the industry required is 25 years or more."
The PPA is dedicated to education as well as documenting and preserving the histories of people who contributed to the plastics industry. The Plastic Pioneers Interviews represents part of this effort
Albany Billiard Ball Company Records (NMAH.AC.0011)
Leo H. Baekeland Papers (NMAH.AC.0005)
Celluloid Corporation Records (NMAH.AC.0009)
Earl S. Tupper Papers (NMAH.AC.0470)
Grace Jeffers Collection of Formica Materials (NMAH.AC.0565)
Provenance:
Audio tapes given to the Division of Manufacturing (now Division of Medicine and Science), by J. Harry DuBois, date unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Copyright status unknown. No releases exist. Collecion items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply.
[Plastic Pioneers Association Interviews, September 18-20, 1968], Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Tape number x.
[Women polishing billiard balls in Albany Billiard Ball factory]
Creator:
Albany Billiard Ball Company (Albany, New York) Search this
Collection Creator:
Albany Billiard Ball Company (Albany, New York) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on paper, 4.6" x 6.4")
Container:
Box 24, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1930
Local Numbers:
AC0011-0000001.tif (AC Scan No.)
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protecte by sleeves.
Collection 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.
Sandford, Bell & Lahm, 61 Fourth Avenue, New York (opposite Wanamaker's), manufacturers of and dealers in billiard and pool tables, and billiard supplies