Scope and Contents note
This material consists primarily of advertising cards, bills/receipts, pamphlets, patents, shipping documents, envelopes, catalogues, scattered correspondence on letterhead stationery and printed advertisements from manufacturers and distributors of adhesives. These adhesives include glue, mucilage, cement and rubber cement, tape, paste and sealing wax. The adhesives were used for a number of trades such as glues for the carriage and furniture trades, rubber cements for the shoe, automobile, bicycle, engraving, millinery, harness and saddlery trades. There are a number of references to linoleum cements and glues for attaching linoleum to wood, steel, tile and cement floors. Most of the companies also tended to sell other products. Such products include sealing machines, gelatin, emery papers and cloths, sandpapers, curled hair, Neats foot oil, ink, soap and rubber slicing compounds.
There are a number of publications included among the materials. The Russia Cement Company, manufacturers of Le Page 's glue, produced pamphlets for the homemaker. "Home Workshop Book" (1928) demonstrated how to make attractive pieces of wood furniture. The "Craft Book" (1924) provided instructions for making doll furniture, shoe trees, wallpaper, waste paper baskets, broom holders, book ends and hat boxes and the "Gift Book" (1926) supplied information needed to make plagues jewelry and other gift items. Articles relating to adhesives include "Sticky Miracle in a Tube" written by Don Wharton and published in Reader' s Digest which discusses a handy new adhesive which does scores of household jobs. An undated article "Glue, Sand-Paper, Curled Hair, Cow-Hide Whips" discusses a variety of topics including the history of glue making, modern uses, the process of manufacture, the effect of glue making on the public health, the amount of business in the United States for the manufacture of these products. There are two reports including "Jeffery's Marine Glue, General advantages to the Royal Navy." and the "Report of the Commission Charged to Make Experiments on the Marine Glue at the Port Toulon" ( February 19, 1845).