Dow Chemical Company Historical Image Collection

Six-page photographic reproduction of a typewritten proposal concerning the formation of the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan. The proposal begins with general remarks concerning the commercial market for…

Illustrated depiction of the production of Saran Wrap at the Dow Chemical Company in three stages. Stage 1 depicts the harvesting of raw materials, including petroleum and brine, and the manufacture of assorted…

Two views of the vertical retort and wood loading conveyor at the Cliffs Dow wood sawmill and distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of raw material for its new plastic, ethylcellulose, the…

General view of a section of the wood storage at the Cliffs Dow sawmill and wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. The employee visible in the photograph is unidentified.

Seeking a source of raw…

General view of an unidentified employee standing on top of a pile of logs at the Cliffs Dow sawmill and wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. An Insley Excavator is visible on the right-hand side of…

General view of an unidentified employee standing on top of a pile of logs at the Cliffs Dow sawmill and wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. An Insley Excavator is visible on the left-hand side of…

Elevated view of the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan taken from the perspective of the vertical retort, with view of wood storage in background. Seeking a source of raw…

General view of three unidentified employees poling and transferring logs from a hot pond to the washer and sawmill conveyor at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Invented around…

General view of the vertical retort and wood loading conveyor at the Cliffs Dow sawmill and wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Providing a sense of scale, two unidentified employees are visible in…

General view of the interior of the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan, with view of various employees and machinery. The employees pictured in the photograph are…

General view of an unidentified employee loading logs into a machine in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of raw material for its new plastic,…

General view of an unidentified employee filing a band saw in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of raw material for its new plastic, ethylcellulose,…

General view of an unidentified employee feeding cants (logs with one or more squared sides) into a band saw in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of…

General view of an unidentified employee filing circular saws in the sawmill at the Cliffs Dow wood distillation plant located in Marquette, Michigan. Seeking a source of raw material for its new plastic,…

Close-up view of a newly-installed reproduction of the Dow Chemical Company's diamond emblem on the roof of the South Power Station at the Company's headquarters in Midland, Michigan. An unidentified Power Division…

Three views of the installation of a new sign on the roof of the South Power Station at the Dow Chemical Company's headquarters in Midland, Michigan. Installed in 1950, the sign measured 217 feet long and was visible to…

General view of an unidentified man posed with a sculpture of Paul Bunyan carved out of Styrofoam. Invented in 1941 by researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab, "Styrofoam" properly refers to the Dow Chemical Company’s…

General view of a young boy posed with a ball and baseball bat made out of Styrofoam. Invented in 1941 by researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab, "Styrofoam" properly refers to the Dow Chemical Company’s trademarked…

General view of two unidentified women posed behind a work bench with assorted objects made out of Styrofoam. Both women are wearing Styrofoam fascinators and an audience is visible in the background, indicating the…

General view of Dow Chemical Company engineer Ray McIntire (1918-1996) posed with a Santa Claus figurine carved out of Styrofoam. McIntire invented foam polystyrene in 1941 while working in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab.…

General view of a female model posed on a log of Styrofoam situated on an unidentified body of water. Likely used in advertisements and promotional materials, this scene was designed to emphasize the buoyant and…

General view of an unidentified employee examining assorted pieces of Styrofoam at a Dow Chemical Company facility. Invented in 1941 by researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab, "Styrofoam" properly refers to the Dow…

General view of a young boy posed holding a block of Styrofoam over his head to demonstrate the product's buoyant and lightweight properties.

Invented in 1941 by researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab, "Styrofoam"…

General view of an unidentified worker transporting a log of Styrofoam at a Dow Chemical Company facility. A sign for Building 2-432 is visible in the background.

Invented in 1941 by researchers in Dow's Chemical…