Blasting Items/Dupont Triple

Blasting Items

Dupont Triple.jpg - DUPONT TRIPLE - Very rare rect. tin, 1 1/4 x 2 1/8 x 2 1/2 in. box, 1900-1920,held one hundred No. 3 strength blasting caps, embossed lid marked E.I. du PONT CO. TRIPLE WILMINGTON DEL. U.S.A. tabbed bottom (Dupont was founded by Eleuthere Irenee Dupont de Nemours, or E.I. Dupont, a French refugee who came to the U.S. in 1800 to escape growing instabilities in France. Two years later, Dupont opened a gunpowder factory near Wilmington, Delaware that transformed a burned out, abandoned cotton mill into a complex of isolated powder making shops known as the Eleutherian Mills . By early 1804, he was turning out the highest quality powder in America. Although a few domestic powder plants existed in 18th century America, most of it was imported. The French, sharing a dislike for the British, and holding a claim on much of the North American continent, furnished 90% of the powder that enabled America to gain independence in the Revolution. Eleuthere Dupont can attribute the initial success of his venture to his training in explosives manufacture in France (under the renowned chemist, Lavoisier, who was superintendent of the French government’s gunpowder plant), financing from his father’s contacts, and the good fortune to be in production at the time of Jefferson’s 1807 embargo of trade with Europe, the only other source of quality powders. By 1811, the Dupont mills were the largest mills in America. When Dupont died in 1834, his two sons Alfred and Henry took over the business. At the time of his death, the plant produced a million pounds of powder for the first time. In the Civil War it was protected by Union troops, and was the largest supplier of powder for their cause. Throughout the 1800s, the company diversified into other explosive materials such as dynamite, nitroglycerine, guncotton and smokeless powder, building plants and acquiring smaller companies. In 1867, Alfred Nobel patented dynamite, a stable form of formerly unstable nitroglycerine. The improvements this brought with it changed not just the explosives industry, but industries of all kinds. Gunpowder, or “black powder,” which is what was made at Eleutherian Mills, only burns when ignited. This works fine for cannons and guns, but for tearing up the earth, it has its limitations. Dynamite detonates. Immediately following its introduction into the US, transportation projects accelerated, mining projects multiplied their output, and new materials, previously inextractable, became available, creating new industries and products. Lammot Dupont, grandson of the company’s founder, led the company into dynamite production, building a new plant for it in Repauno, New Jersey. In 1884, an explosion at the plant killed Lammot and five others but the plant remained. By the turn of the century, Dupont dominated the U.S. explosives market. But an antitrust ruling during the Teddy Roosevelt administration forced the company to divest some of its dynamite and black powder business in 1912 into two spin-offs, Atlas and Hercules. Nevertheless, Dupont remained a force in the explosives industry, and the outbreak of World War I resulted in a profits windfall for the company. It’s estimated that Dupont supplied Allied forces with as much as 40 percent of the explosive material used in the production of munitions during World War I. After the war, the company used the influx of cash from its government ties to expand into new industries. In 1902, with the death of Eugene Dupont, 100 years of dynastic family control ended, and the family partners put the company up for sale. Though it was bought by a new group of Duponts, the company began a drastic transformation, and was reorganized into a more modern, diversified company. Research facilities were established to investigate new product lines that lead to rayon, nylon, teflon and dacron. The increasingly antiquated Eleutherian Mills, still producing black powder, finally became obsolete, and closed in 1921. During 117 years of operation, the Eleutherian Mills exploded hundreds of times killing over 200 workers. After each explosion, the damaged parts of the plant were rebuilt, and production resumed. By 1971, black powder was a very minor product in the world, used mostly by historical reenactments, and Dupont stopped making it altogether. See Van Gelder and Schlatter, History of the Explosives Industry in America, pp 174-218)

Dupont Triple | DUPONT TRIPLE - Very rare rect. tin, 1 1/4 x 2 1/8 x 2 1/2 in. box, 1900-1920, held one hundred No. 3 strength blasting caps, embossed lid marked E.I. du PONT CO. TRIPLE WILMINGTON DEL. U.S.A. tabbed bottom (Dupont was founded by Eleuthere Irenee Dupont de Nemours, or E.I. Dupont, a French refugee who came to the U.S. in 1800 to escape growing instabilities in France. Two years later, Dupont opened a gunpowder factory near Wilmington, Delaware that transformed a burned out, abandoned cotton mill into a complex of isolated powder making shops known as the Eleutherian Mills . By early 1804, he was turning out the highest quality powder in America. Although a few domestic powder plants existed in 18th century America, most of it was imported. The French, sharing a dislike for the British, and holding a claim on much of the North American continent, furnished 90% of the powder that enabled America to gain independence in the Revolution. Eleuthere Dupont can attribute the initial success of his venture to his training in explosives manufacture in France (under the renowned chemist, Lavoisier, who was superintendent of the French government’s gunpowder plant), financing from his father’s contacts, and the good fortune to be in production at the time of Jefferson’s 1807 embargo of trade with Europe, the only other source of quality powders. By 1811, the Dupont mills were the largest mills in America. When Dupont died in 1834, his two sons Alfred and Henry took over the business. At the time of his death, the plant produced a million pounds of powder for the first time. In the Civil War it was protected by Union troops, and was the largest supplier of powder for their cause. Throughout the 1800s, the company diversified into other explosive materials such as dynamite, nitroglycerine, guncotton and smokeless powder, building plants and acquiring smaller companies. In 1867, Alfred Nobel patented dynamite, a stable form of formerly unstable nitroglycerine. The improvements this brought with it changed not just the explosives industry, but industries of all kinds. Gunpowder, or “black powder,” which is what was made at Eleutherian Mills, only burns when ignited. This works fine for cannons and guns, but for tearing up the earth, it has its limitations. Dynamite detonates. Immediately following its introduction into the US, transportation projects accelerated, mining projects multiplied their output, and new materials, previously inextractable, became available, creating new industries and products. Lammot Dupont, grandson of the company’s founder, led the company into dynamite production, building a new plant for it in Repauno, New Jersey. In 1884, an explosion at the plant killed Lammot and five others but the plant remained. By the turn of the century, Dupont dominated the U.S. explosives market. But an antitrust ruling during the Teddy Roosevelt administration forced the company to divest some of its dynamite and black powder business in 1912 into two spin-offs, Atlas and Hercules. Nevertheless, Dupont remained a force in the explosives industry, and the outbreak of World War I resulted in a profits windfall for the company. It’s estimated that Dupont supplied Allied forces with as much as 40 percent of the explosive material used in the production of munitions during World War I. After the war, the company used the influx of cash from its government ties to expand into new industries. In 1902, with the death of Eugene Dupont, 100 years of dynastic family control ended, and the family partners put the company up for sale. Though it was bought by a new group of Duponts, the company began a drastic transformation, and was reorganized into a more modern, diversified company. Research facilities were established to investigate new product lines that lead to rayon, nylon, teflon and dacron. The increasingly antiquated Eleutherian Mills, still producing black powder, finally became obsolete, and closed in 1921. During 117 years of operation, the Eleutherian Mills exploded hundreds of times killing over 200 workers. After each explosion, the damaged parts of the plant were rebuilt, and production resumed. By 1971, black powder was a very minor product in the world, used mostly by historical reenactments, and Dupont stopped making it altogether. See Van Gelder and Schlatter, History of the Explosives Industry in America, pp 174-218)

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