Inventor Name
Eddystone Manufacturing Company
Repository
Hagley Museum & Library
Manuscripts & Archives Department
P.O. Box 3630
Wilmington, DE 19807-0630
302-658-0545
https://www.hagley.org/research
Physical Description
11 linear ft.
Summary
The Eddystone Manufacturing Company, Ltd., was formed under the limited partnership laws of Pennsylvania in 1877. It was reincorporated as the Eddystone Manufacturing Company, Inc., in 1895. The firm operated a cotton prints factory at Eddystone, Pa. It became the Print Works Division of Joseph Bancroft Sons & Company in 1929. The corporate organization was maintained as a shell company until 1959. The company grew out of a textile mill built at the Falls of Schuylkill near Philadelphia in 1836 by William Simpson and John Halliday. The firm continued with several changes in partners, and by 1869 it was known as William Simpson & Sons. The Eddystone factory was built by Simpson as a collateral enterprise for the manufacture of their line of cotton prints. Eddystone offered plenty of open space for a large, steam-powered factory, in contrast to the constricted water power site at the Falls. The firm of William Simpson & Sons was dissolved in 1892, and Eddystone became the main operation. The company expanded its product line to offer wide goods, percales and draperies in 1896; custom printing in 1909; wash goods in 1915; and plissé and printed warps in 1922. The firm introduced its "Fast Color" line of dyed and printed cottons in 1924 and its "Everglaze" permanent glazed finish in 1937. Rayon processing began in 1929. The records of the Eddystone Manufacturing Company are relatively complete and offer a good picture of the of medium-sized textile firm that was typical of the mid-Atlantic states. The administrative records include incorporation papers, charters, bylaws, directors' minutes (1877-1959), executive committee minutes (1943-1957); president's reports (1927-1933), reports of sales representatives (1934-1943) and treasurer's reports (1877-1903, 1927-1955). There are also deeds, mortgages and agreements, trademark and patent papers, and papers relating to the sale of the Eddystone & Delaware River Railroad Company. The production and labor records include payroll and salary books (1877-1937), payroll and time records (1892-1947), and miscellaneous employment records (1910-1958). There are statements of the amounts and costs of production, as well as machinery and repair records. The correspondence and related records include a 1930 report on the consolidation with Bancroft and the files of Vice President Frank Bromley, which include customer and special correspondence, with production reports, orders, memoranda, etc. There are also dispensary report cards (c. 1928-1942) and patent and trademark material relating to "Everglaze". Sales and shipping records include mill orders, sales books and docmentation of production costs compared to sales value. The miscellany includes design books for dress goods (1914-1916), a small number of fabric samples, historical articles and clippings about the company and an employees' quarterly (1929-1931).