Inventor Name
Albany Billiard Ball Company
Repository
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution
Archives Center
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 601/Room 1100
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202-633-3270
http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives
Physical Description
8.0 cubic ft.
Summary
The Albany Billiard Ball Company of Albany, NY is possibly one of the earliest successful plastics firms and certainly one of the oldest. The business began in 1868 and at present is the only major billiard ball manufacturer. John Wesley Hyatt, one of the company’s founders, was the inventor of celluloid. Celluloid was used as a substitute for ivory, the favored substance in billiard ball manufacture. The “Hyatt” composition ball with a celluloid base, dominated the sport until the 1960s. Records include documents relating to Hyatt; legal documents, 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.
Finding Aid
http://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0011.html