Stories From The Stacks

Jesus Ruiz (Ph.D. candidate at Tulane University) discusses his research on the ideological origins of the Haitian Revolution. He explains the historical significance of the war and describes the Hagley materials that are pertinent to his research. These sources include journals from Louis de Tousard, Cambefort and others.

In this author talk on "Industrial Design for Modern Life," Dr. Danielle Shapiro explores the life and career of John Vassos, a Greek émigré who rose from anonymity as an advertising artist to become one of the pioneering founders of the industrial design profession. As the Radio Corporation of America's (RCA) leading designer, Vassos shaped the aesthetics of modern technology in the postwar era and became one of the most influential industrial designers of the twentieth century.

Ryan Tate (Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University) discusses his research on the development of coal mining in the Fort Union coal formation in the American West during the 1970s. See more at hagley.org/storiesfromthestacks

Cari Casteel (Ph.D. student at Auburn University) discusses her research in the cultural and technological history of deodorants and anti-perspirants. Why was deodorant marketed solely to women at first and how did the consumer boon after WWII changed that? Casteel explains how she is using Hagley Museum and Library's collections of old advertisements and the papers of designers and marketers like Irv Koons, Raymond Loewy, and Ernest Dichter.

Linda (University of Montana) and Marsha (Kansas State University) Frey discuss their use of the du Ponts' family letters to support their research on the French Revolution. In the interview they discuss some of the challenges the du Ponts faced as a family during the French Revolution, such as Pierre Samuel's imprisonment in France and the problems of getting mail in and out of a country in a near constant state of war.

Davor Mondom (Ph.D. candidate in the history department at Syracuse University) discusses his research on the politics of the Amway corporation and the Chamber of Commerce. He describes how both organizations supported free market ideals and the Reagan administration. Mondom also describes the ties between the two organizations and discusses how Jay van Andel, a founder of Amway, led the Chamber of Commerce.

Listen to the full interview in the Hagley Digital Archives (digital.hagley.org)

A clip from a longer interview available in the Hagley Digital Archives (digital.hagley.org)

Laura Perry {Ph.D. candidate, English department, University of Wisconsin} discusses her research on cellophane in the poetry of Sylvia Plath. Perry's research seeks to understand why Plath used cellophane imagery instead of other similar materials. To engage with this issue she is consulting DuPont's cellophane advertisements as well as the findings of consumer focus groups.

Dr. David Kinkela (professor of history at the State University of New York: Fredonia) discusses the history of plastics and plastic ocean waste. Kinkela traces the impact of plastic products from their initial stages of development and advertisement as a new modern convenience to the realization that the world's oceans are full of floating pieces of plastic garbage.

In this episode, Nicholas Osborne discusses the history of savings banks in America that served the emerging middle class in the nineteenth century. He traces the difference between how these banks were supposed to encourage their customers to handle their money and how they actually did. More at hagley.org

Dr. Ana Maria Otero-Cleves (assistant professor at the University of the Andes in Bogota, Colombia) discusses her use of correspondence from the Lanman and Kemp company and their business deals with Latin America, especially Colombia.

Eva McGraw (Ph.D. candidate in art history at CUNY) discusses her research on the Civil War naval art of Xanthus Smith. Smith painted naval engagements of the Civil War and during the war he was a sailor and the personal secretary of Samuel Francis du Pont. Smith tried to make his naval engagement paintings as accurate as possible, he did this by corresponding with the officers of the ships that he painted. Many of his works featured then new ironclad ships.

Jesse Tarbert discusses a time in the 1920s when good government meant big government. He explains how the Republican party sought to make the federal government run like a large corporation while the Democrats attempted to keep the federal government small and state level government strong. Tarbert is a Ph.D. candidate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. Roger Horowitz discusses at the Hagley Museum and Library the history of modern kosher food and the growth and development of the kosher food industry in the 20th century. In explaining how Coke became kosher he talks about how rabbis used Jewish law and modern chemistry to determine what food products were kosher and how food manufacturers could change their ingredients and methods to adhere to Jewish dietary law. Horowitz also discusses the mass appeal of kosher foods to non-Jewish consumers. He cites a statistic that at one time only one quarter of kosher food purchasers were Jewish. Horowitz concludes with a brief section on kosher meat production and how the output of a once large industry has become a specialty product due to issues of economy and changes in the meat industry. Throughout the lecture Horowitz discusses his own family history and personal background, having grown up in an observant Jewish household.

Dr. Conn discusses his research into the history of American business schools. He talks about how he is using Hagley's materials to answer questions about how business schools react to economic crises and tensions on college campuses.

Dr. Kaufmann Buhler, an assistant professor of design history at Purdue University, discusses her research into the evolution of open plan offices and her use of trade catalogs from systems furniture manufacturers from Hagley's stacks.

Dr. Christopher Magra, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee specializing in early American history, discusses his research into chocolate in colonial America. He discusses the business papers of Mifflin and Massey at the Hagley Museum and Library and how Mifflin and Massey manufactured and sold chocolate in the city of Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

Dr. Tanaka discusses her research on the correspondence between Pierre-Samuel du Pont de Nemours and Madame Lavoisier and the language of debt (intellectual and financial) in their letters. Dr. Tanaka is an adjunct professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. Stories from the Stacks is an ongoing program from the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society featuring interviews with researchers who share the excitement of discovering the rich and varied historical materials in the Hagley Library’s collections. Listen to additional episodes at www.hagley.org/storiesfromthestacks.

Rachel Lance discusses her use of Lammot du Pont's notes on black powder explosions and how they may relate to her broader research on the sinking of the H.L. Hunley. Rachel Lance is a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering at Duke University. Stories from the Stacks is an ongoing program from the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society featuring interviews with researchers who share the excitement of discovering the rich and varied historical materials in the Hagley Library’s collections. Listen to additional episodes at www.hagley.org/storiesfromthestacks.