General view of the heating tubs at the Althouse Chemical Company manufacturing plant in Reading, Pennsylvania. At left, an unidentified employee is seen using a Hastelloy pipe and jet to pump high-pressure steam into the tub. At right, an unidentified employee is seen shoveling dyestuffs into an open heating tub. A portable mixer, ice buggy, skid of raw materials, and a portable centrifugal pump are also visible throughout the room.

Based in Reading, Pennsylvania, the Althouse Chemical Company was founded in 1915 by C. Scott Althouse (1880-1970) as a small, family-owned firm specializing in fabric dyes of a superior quality and class. In 1954, the Crompton & Knowles Corporation of Worcester, Massachusetts acquired Althouse, which continued to operate as a division of Crompton & Knowles and a leader in the specialty dyes industry.