Inventor Name
Artillery Fuse Company
Repository
Hagley Museum & Library
Manuscripts & Archives Department
P.O. Box 3630
Wilmington, DE 19807-0630
302-658-2400
https://www.hagley.org/research
Physical Description
1 linear foot
Summary
The Artillery Fuse Company of Wilmington, Del., was a special venture formed for the purpose of supplying ordnance during World War I. The Manufacturers Contracting Company was formed in Delaware around 1908, and experimented with pressure valves and with developing fuses for artillery shells. The company came under the control of T. Coleman, Irénée and Pierre S. du Pont. In May 1915 they created the Artillery Fuse Company as a wholly-owned subsidiary to manufacture and install fuses at a plant at Church and F Streets in Wilmington. Through the mediation of J. P. Morgan, Jr., the company received contracts from both the British and Russian governments. The business was discontinued after the war in 1919. On January 22, 1920, the du Ponts formed the General Manufacturing Company. The Artillery Fuse Company assigned all its property to the manufacturers Contracting Company, and in June 1921 both the Manufacturers Contracting Company and the Standard Arms Manufacturing Companyh assigned all their property to the General Manufacturing Company. General was dissolved on December 15, 1926. Scope & Content Note: The records consist of miscellaneous materials for the Manufacturers Contracting Company, the Artillery Fuse Company, and the General Manufacturing Company. A ledger for the Manufacturers Contracting Company (1908-1921) includes accounts, equipment, investments, mortgage information, operating expenses and payroll. There are also a stock certificate book and stock ledger, papers convering the assignment of patents, and organization papers. The Artillery Fuse Company is represented by bylaws, minutes (1916), treasurer's reports (1918-1919), stock certificates, auditor's reports (1918-1919), and miscellaneous correspondence and reports. These give some detail on operating costs and problems and the settlement of contract disputes with the American Multigraph Company, General Electric, and the Russian government. The General Manufacturing Company is represented by stock certificates, organization and dissolution papers. The records also contain a photostatic copy of an architect's rendering of a proposed clubhouse for the Wilmington Country Club.