Instruments & Innovation

General view of an unidentified employee operating a machine used to produce shell cartridges used in the manufacture of dynamite at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Kenvil, New Jersey. Formed in 1912 as part of an…

General view of an unidentified employee operating a machine used to sort time cards at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Kenvil, New Jersey. Per an article in the August 1919 edition of the Hercules Mixer, time…

General view of an unidentified female employee inspecting a treating tub used to purify ethyl cellulose at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The Hopewell plant commonly produced ethyl cellulose,…

General view of a washing tub in use at the Hercules Powder Company's Ethyl Cellulose plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, constant agitation and continual charges of water were used…

General view of the interior of a portion of the Hercules Powder Company plant facilities in Hopewell, Virginia, with view of assorted industrial apparatus and machinery and several unidentified employees. The Hopewell…

General view of a female employee cutting strands of .50 caliber powder extruded from a press to the proper length at the Radford Ordnance Works in Radford, Virginia. The Radford Ordnance Works was operated by the…

Close-up view of ethyl cellulose being transferred to a storage bin at the Hercules Powder Company's Ethyl Cellulose plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The employee visible in the photograph is unidentified. Ethyl cellulose…

General view of an unidentified employee inspecting the control board for a Solvent Recovery system at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the system was…

General view of an unidentified employee inspecting control switches at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the control switches were explosion-proof, one…

General view of weigh-tanks for caustic soda and ethyl cellulose at the Hercules Powder Company's Ethyl Cellulose plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, caustic soda and ethyl cellulose…

Close-up view of several rolls of sheeted cotton linters mounted on spindles at the Hercules Powder Company's Ethyl Cellulose plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the cotton was…

General view of an unidentified employee examining a control panel used in the production of ethyl cellulose at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Ethyl cellulose manufactured by the Hercules…

General view of an unidentified employee inspecting the Hydrochloride Rotary System at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The system was likely used during the production of so-called "chemical…

General view of an unidentified employee examining a control panel used in the production of ethyl cellulose at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Ethyl cellulose manufactured by the Hercules…

Close-up view of an unidentified employee removing a sample of ethyl cellulose from a machine at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the sampling was one…

Two views of an unidentified employee adjusting the Stern Shredder machine at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The shredder was used to process linter sheets of cellulosic fibrous materials, such…

General view of employee Felix G. Nakielny operating a two-roll mill in the Experimental Plastics laboratory at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Parlin, New Jersey. According to the caption that accompanied this…

Close-up view of sheets of so-called "chemical cotton" moving through a Layboy No. 2 Paper Machine at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified cellulose obtained from…

General view of employee Andrew Roberts operating pulping equipment at a Hercules Powder Company pilot plant in Hopewell, Virginia. This pulping equipment was likely used to produce dissolving pulp, also known as…

Detail view of the side of a paper machine used in the production of so-called "chemical cotton" at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified cellulose obtained from…

General view of employee W.L. Caricofe, Jr. discharging loose pulp from a dryer at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. The loose pulp dryer was likely used to process cellulosic fibrous materials,…

General view of employee Jim Kennedy operating a press machine used to fill electric blasting caps with an explosive charge at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The operation was…

General view of employee H.M. McClure discharging sheets of so-called "chemical cotton" from a Layboy No. 2 Paper Machine at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Chemical cotton, a type of purified…

General view of the machine shop at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York, showing employees at work on a variety of machines, including planers, milling machines, and lathes. Formed in 1912 as part…

General view of employee Elizabeth Booth operating a hydraulic press in the Viscose Laboratory at a Hercules Powder Company pilot plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Several stacks of viscose, a semi-synthetic fiber, are…