October, 2022 - The Cambridge Historical Commission Blog

Dewey and Almy Chemical Company Records, 1919-1994

Posted on October 28, 2022October 18, 2022 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Hello! My name is Phillip Wong, and I am a graduate student from Simmons University volunteering with the Cambridge Historical Commission. I am happy to say that there is a newly processed collection at the CHC! Say hello to the Dewey and Almy Chemical Company Records, 1919-1994. Bradley Dewey (1887-1971) and Charles Almy Jr. (1888-1954) established the company at 66 Whittemore Avenue in 1919, having specialized in chemical treatments and processes as students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dewey assumed the role of president, and Almy took charge of sales.

Bradley Dewey (left) and Charles Almy, Jr. (right), ca. 1950

Inspection Certification for the site at 62 Whittemore Ave., 1954

Aerial photograph of the 62 Whittemore Ave. location, ca. 1990

The firm’s main outputs were sealing compounds for the food industry and new machinery to help with production. Their early products included Wilson Soda Lime, stronger labeling adhesives, and shoe cements, and with these early successes the Dewey and Almy Chemical Company established plants in Illinois, California, Canada, Italy, France, England, Germany, and Argentina.

Account book covering finances in Naples, Italy, ca. 1942

The company was acquired in 1954 by W.R. Grace Inc.; the newly formed Dewey and Almy Research Division developed weather balloons, brake bands, and Cryovac® shrink film. The company’s evolution is detailed in the many company histories in the collection.

Advertisements for Dewey and Almy’s products, including a balloon for advertising and toys

Decoy Duck (left) and Experimental Weather Balloon (right)

One of the interesting aspects of the collection is the thorough documentation of the company’s and their peers’ machinery. The ‘Machinery Photographs’ files contain images that trace the evolution of and improvements to the company’s processes, including examinations of other company’s machinery (one example is their research into the Hawaiian Pineapple Company)

Photograph of factory worker demonstrating proper stirring methods, 1928

Photograph of factory worker alongside a lacquer machine for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company

Other items of note include the technical bulletins, in which research into new technologies is presented to and considered by the heads of the division. These reports include summaries of new technologies, informational pamphlets and articles, and researcher suggestions for how the technology could be introduced into existing work processes.

Technical Bulletin for handling contaminated materials along with supplementary pamphlet, 1946-1948

Organizing the collection wasn’t difficult, despite its size, as a lot of the documentation could be easily categorized based on its function within the company. Those in charge of documentation made sure everything was properly labeled and kept together (be it with screw posts, tiny brass fasteners, or rusty nails). For example, if someone were to come in and view the Machinery Photographs, they would see that most of the folders are marked with the date the photo was taken, the name of the part or process, the specification number of the part, and whether the part or process was obsolete.

To end this post, I would like to take a moment to talk about my favorite piece of ephemera: a short case study called Causes of Industrial Peace Under Collective Bargaining: The Dewey and Almy Chemical Company.

Published in December 1948 and written by Douglas McGregor and Joseph N. Scanlon (both lecturers at MIT), the case study details how the relationship between upper management and union workers developed into one of peace and health after initial conflict. It provides interesting insights into how the company worked from an outsider’s perspective and is an early example of giving a voice to those not always represented by the company image. Worth a gander!

Real Estate Revelations | Introduction

Posted on October 20, 2022October 17, 2022 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

“My previous experience in Cambridge is that it is somewhat like Egypt, in the way that it is subject to various pests, particularly rats. These rats of course, cause a great deal of damage in the house, and the only way to get rid of them is to hire a rat exterminator; if this becomes necessary, through no fault of our own, I expect to deduct the cost of this sort of thing from the rent…”

That was written in 1919, in reference to #225 Brattle St. This account gives a slightly humorous sense of the many demands and expectations of those looking for housing in Cambridge.

Exterior of 225 Brattle St as it appeared in The American Architect, vol. 105, no. 2006 (June 3, 1914)

This post will serve as an introduction to a new series on the many aspects of late 19^th and early 20^th century Cambridge life revealed in the correspondence of William R. Ellis (1846-1903), real estate broker—expectations being one of them. Ellis founded his real estate firm in 1888. He dealt in sales, rentals, mortgages, and insurance. As you see below, he was also a Justice of the Peace.

Dealing primarily with properties in “Old Cambridge” west of Central Square, Ellis’s offices were always in the Harvard Square area: 910 Main Street, (the building that now houses the Hong Kong Restaurant at 1236 Mass. Ave), 440 Harvard Street, and, by 1893, the “Lyceum Building” (demolished in 1924, now the location of the Harvard Coop.) He also kept an office in Boston.

By 1890, Ellis had added “Auctioneer and Notary Public” to his resume. Note that he also maintained a registry of “Student’s Rooms and Boarding Places”:

In 1893, fellow realtor Robert J. Melledge (1855-1917) joined the firm, now called “Ellis & Melledge.” The firm dropped “Mortgages” from their advertising to focus on real estate and Insurance.

*Cambridge Chronicle* September 23, 1893

Above: Exterior of Lyceum Hall in Harvard Square (March 22, 1907). Boston Elevated Railway Collection. Below: detail of Robert J. Melledge and Benjamin P. Ellis advertisements in upper windows.

After the deaths of principals Ellis and Melledge, the firm went through several name changes as its management was taken over by the sons of both men in conjunction with other partners. But the name “Ellis” was always part of the company’s name. Under each of these iterations, the firm was active in Cambridge for over 100 years. In 1994, the Cambridge Historical Commission received a collection of the firm’s business correspondence covering the years primarily between 1893-1936. The collection provides extraordinary insight into the development of Cambridge, and the changing social, cultural, and economic forces at work in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Here’s a portion of another letter from a prospective renter (June 8, 1907):

“Allow me to ask if you have a small house for Sale at a Bargain cheaply on a hill even if it is out aways. I own a large library of about 2000 books & I must move them this Summer. …I wish to rent a small place that I buy & put all my Books in the attic, or one small Room…. I can pay down $250.00 or so & may be $490.00 to $500.00 & the Balance in payments. I own a farm in Oklahoma & whenever my share of Rent falls due I can pay that on my house – if I can get something for $1000 or $1200 – I don’t want anything where negroes live…I prefer Cambridge on account of Harvard University…”

Apart from the eccentricity of the request, this letter also reveals one aspect of the prejudices all too common during this era. Intolerances abounded against othered groups such as Jews, Italians, Catholics, and large families. We’ll revisit such biases in a later post.

Other topics revealed in the correspondence include: expectations for renting houses fully furnished, often counting china, linens and a stable; owners stipulations about to whom they will rent; rental unit complaints (“the tank in the Water Closet has bursted and we are without water…”); the effects of WWI on housing and the post war recession; housing arrangements for Harvard students (boarding houses, tea rooms); health concerns (renting a unit after an occupant suffered from scarlet fever); and the cost of insuring pigeons or Cadillacs. The list goes on!

Let’s close this edition of Real Estate Revelations with a reassuring excerpt from a letter written in 1910 by Harvard physics professor Harry W. Morse. Professor Morse worked at the Jefferson Physical Laboratory, and planned to rent property at #42 Church Street, where he expected to do work in “…experimental electro-chemistry. There will be no work on a large scale and no explosives will be used nor will our stock of chemicals be any more dangerous than that of a drug store…” Whew! Quelle relief.

30-42 Church Street (demolished ca. 1927) was originally built as a stable and was later used as a gymnasium. Photo: detail of 1921 Harvard Square aerial with 32-40 Church St circled. U.S. Army Air Service photo, Harvard University Archives.

Today’s post was written by CHC volunteer Kathleen Fox

“Spectacular Fires” – National Fire Prevention Week

Posted on October 13, 2022October 13, 2022 by Meta Partenheimer

In honor of National Fire Prevention Week, check out the description below and accompanying images of “Spectacular Fires” that ravaged Cambridge buildings in the 20th century. The account appeared in the January 16, 1969 edition of the Cambridge Chronicle: