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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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!