Hagley Museum and Library Opens Records of Equal Rights Activist Lois Herr

CONTACT: Meg Marcozzi, Marketing Manager

                         (302) 658-2400, ext. 238    mmarcozzi@hagley.org

Hagley Museum and Library Opens Records of Equal Rights Activist Lois Herr

                Wilmington, Delaware – June 2013 – Hagley Museum and Library announces the papers of Lois Herr are available for research. Herr’s papers document the anti-discrimination case brought against AT&T and its aftermath. When AT&T applied for a rate increase in 1970, the National Organization for Women asked the Equal Economic Opportunity Commission to intervene and deny the rate increase as long as the company discriminated against women. Proceedings began in December 1970 and were settled by agreement on January 18, 1973. Access to the collection is permitted on site. Researchers may view the finding aid online: http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/docs/2462.pdf.

                Lois Herr was a founder of the women’s rights committee at Bell Telephone Laboratories, founding member of the AT&T Women’s Alliance, and a member of the National Organization of Women’s AT&T task force. Her papers provide a detailed description about the process by which Herr and other leaders of the women’s rights movement and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) influenced changes in corporate policy to create more equal opportunities for women in the work place. Herr describes this action in her 2003 book, Women, Power and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Work Place.

Hagley’s Library is the nation’s leading business history library, archives, and research center. Current holdings comprise 37,000 linear feet in the Manuscripts and Archives Department, 290,000 printed volumes in the Imprints Department, 2 million visual items in the Pictorial Department, and more than 300,000 digital images and pages in the Digital Archives Department.  Hagley’s Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society organizes conferences, research seminars, and a public lecture series; it also operates a research grants-in-aid program.

Hagley Museum and Library

                At Hagley, we invite people of all ages to investigate and experience the unfolding history of American business, technology, and innovation, and its impact on the world, from our home at the historic DuPont powder yards on the banks of the Brandywine.

For more information, call 302-685-2400 weekdays or visit www.hagley.org.

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Get Outside and Get Moving with Hagley’s Summer Bike and Hike Program

CONTACT: Meg Marcozzi, Hagley Museum and Library Marketing Manager

                         (302) 658-2400, ext. 238    mmarcozzi@hagley.org

Get Outside and Get Moving with Hagley’s Summer Bike and Hike Program

                Wilmington, Delaware – July and August 2013 – When the summer sun starts heating up, cool down at Hagley Museum and Library during Bike and Hike, every Wednesday evening, 5 to 8 p.m., in July and August. Our 235-acre riverside landscape offers a shady retreat for walkers, hikers, and bikers. Admission is $2 per person and free for members. Dates are July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 and August 7, 14, 21, and 28.

                Wander along the most beautiful mile on the Brandywine or through wooded trails above the powder yard. During Bike and Hike, visitors will have access to the entire three-mile loop from the Visitor Center to Eleutherian Mills, the du Pont ancestral home. 

                Bring your family! Hagley’s 235-acre property is open to walkers and bikers but closed to traffic so it is an ideal spot for kids biking with training wheels and riding in strollers. Throughout the season there will be fun family activities like scavenger hunts, leaf rubbings, and other nature-related activities. Hagley will also host other local community organizations that will provide education and fun for families: Urban Bike Project on July 10 and August 21, Delaware Bicycle Council on July 17, and Woodside Creamery on July 24.

                Picnic in one of our wooded areas or enjoy dinner on the porch of the Belin House Organic Café. The Belin House Organic Café is located on Workers’ Hill approximately half a mile from the Visitor Center. The café features seasonal menus that include simple, prepared items made from farm-fresh, locally-grown, organic ingredients.

                Worried about the weather? New this year are rain dates for Bike and Hike.  The rain dates are every Thursday in July and August (excluding July 4): July 11, 18, 25 and August 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. Weather postponement decisions  will be made by 3 p.m. and will be posted at www.hagley.org.

                At Hagley, we invite people of all ages to investigate and experience the unfolding history of American business, technology, and innovation, and its impact on the world, from our home at the historic DuPont powder yards on the banks of the Brandywine.Hagley is located on Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware. GPS Address: 200 Hagley Road. For more information, call (302) 658-2400 weekdays or visit www.hagley.org.

Hagley Creek Kids Family Programs Feature Hands-on History, by Kids, for Kids

CONTACT:  Meg Marcozzi, Marketing Manager

                                (302) 658-2400, ext, 238  mmarcozzi@hagley.org

Hagley Creek Kids Family Programs Feature Hands-on History, by Kids, for Kids

Wilmington, Delaware – May through August 2013 – Hagley Museum and Library’s youth leadership program, Creek Kids, returns to Hagley this summer for six dates of family programming.  Join these high school students for afternoons filled with fun like exploring river wildlife in leaf packs, fishing in the Brandywine, and launching bottle rockets! Summer programs include A Day in the Life on May 18, The Natural World on June 15, Black Powder on July 16 and July 20, and Innovation and Power on August 13 and 17. Activities are 1 to 4 p.m., and are included in regular admission. Members are free.

                Hagley Creek Kids Youth Leadership program offer hands-on activities that explore history, science, technology, and innovation.   In A Day in the Life (May 18), families can imagine themselves living in the nineteenth century and try doing chores and playing games. Get down and dirty with Hagley’s natural resources during The Natural World on June 15. Families can fish in the Brandywine and learn about river ecology. Black Powder on July 16 and 20 will focus on the science behind black powder.  A cannon will be fired, and kids can explore a military camp. The heat of August brings Innovation and Power on August 13 and 17. Kids can shoot bottle rockets and learn about innovation in the Hagley Powder Yards.

                Creek Kids is sponsored, in part, by PBF Energy/Delaware City Refinery Company, Mercer Health & Benefits Company, and Nordstrom, Inc.

About Hagley Creek Kids Program

                Hagley Creek Kids program started in 2001 as a youth volunteer program and was developed into today’s youth leadership and development program in 2007. Currently, there are twenty two high school students, six mentors, and one intern in the program. Students work approximately ninety hours to plan, develop, and implement six public programs.

About Hagley Museum and Library

The museum is located on Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware. Admission to the entire 235-acre museum is $14 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens, $5 for children six to fourteen, and free for members and children five and under.

                At Hagley, we invite people of all ages to investigate and experience the unfolding history of American business, technology, and innovation, and its impact on the world, from our home at the historic DuPont powder yards on the banks of the Brandywine.

For more information, call 302-685-2400 weekdays or visit www.hagley.org.

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Hagley Museum and Library Presents a Symposium on Intellectual Property

CONTACT: Meg Marcozzi, Marketing Manager

                         (302) 658-2400, ext. 238    mmarcozzi@hagley.org

Hagley Museum and Library Presents a Symposium on Intellectual Property

                Wilmington, Delaware – May 2013 – Hagley Museum and Library presents Catherine Fisk, Chancellor’s Professor of Law in the School of Law at University of California-Irvine, and Paul Duguid, School of Information at the University of California-Berkley, at its spring symposium on Historicizing Intellectual Property. On May 16, these speakers will discuss the complicated history behind the creation of intellectual property. The symposium begins at 3 p.m. in the Copeland Room at Hagley Library.  This program is free and open to the public. Reservations are required: clockman@Hagley.org or 302-658-2400, ext. 243. Use Hagley’s Buck Road entrance off Route 100.

                “Intellectual property is one of the most controversial and complex arenas of contemporary litigation and legislation,” says Dr. Roger Horowitz, Director, Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society at Hagley. “By turning ideas and creative products into property that can be bought and sold -- and serve as a source for profits -- intellectual property has become ever more important in our information economy.”

Catherine Fisk: “Authors Anonymous”

                Dr. Fisk will contrast the norms of attribution in twentieth-century advertising with that of motion picture and television writing. Writers in Hollywood, through their union, the Writers Guild of America, created the screen credit system that regulated compensation and gave writers public recognition for their activities. In advertising, by contrast, there was no union and as a result no formal system of attribution.

Paul Duguid: “Brands in Chains” 

                Dr.  Duguid will challenge the general assumption that wars between companies’ brands (such as Pepsi vs. Coke, or Apple vs. Samsung) only take place between these competing firms. Drawing on historical evidence, his presentation argues these conflicts also play out along the supply chains used to create particular branded products. 

                Commentary following the talks will be given by Philip Scranton, Rutgers University, and

David Suisman, University of Delaware.

About the Library

Hagley Library is the nation’s leading business history library, archives, and research center. Current holdings comprise 37,000 linear feet in the Manuscripts and Archives Department, 290,000 printed volumes in the Imprints Department, 2 million visual items in the Pictorial Department, and more than 300,000 digital images and pages in the Digital Archives Department.  Hagley’s Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society organizes conferences, research seminars, and a public lecture series; it also operates a research grants-in-aid program.

Hagley Museum and Library

                At Hagley, we invite people of all ages to investigate and experience the unfolding history of American business, technology, and innovation, and its impact on the world, from our home at the historic DuPont powder yards on the banks of the Brandywine.

For more information, call 302-685-2400 weekdays or visit www.hagley.org.

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Hagley Museum and Library Displays Fashion Collection for the First Time in Exhibit Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Nylon’s Introduction to Market

CONTACT: Meg Marcozzi, Hagley Museum and Library Marketing Manager

                         (302) 658-2400, ext. 238    mmarcozzi@hagley.org

                Wilmington, Delaware – April 2013 – Hagley Museum and Library is displaying a portion of its fashion collection for the first time in its newest exhibit, “Fashion Meets Science: Introducing Nylon.”  This exhibit shows how nylon revolutionized the fashion industry and influenced how people have dressed since its launch in 1938 by the DuPont Company. “Fashion Meets Science: Introducing Nylon” opens on April 6, 2013, and runs through March 31, 2014. The exhibit is included in admission and free for members and children five and under.

                “Fashion Meets Science: Introducing Nylon” celebrates the 75^th anniversary of nylon’s introduction to market. On October 27, 1938, a brand new material named nylon was announced to the public.  Created in DuPont’s labs, nylon replaced silk in the ladies hosiery industry.  Nylon was so popular that its early sales created near riots. The highlight of the exhibit is the early development of nylon and its impact on the fashion industry, but it includes other uses for the discovery such as parachutes, toothbrushes, and carpet.

An Exhibit of Firsts

                “Fashion Meets Science: Introducing Nylon” highlights “firsts” of this discovery from pure science. Visitors will be able to view the first polyamide fiber sample (basis of nylon) and first souvenir sample of nylon thread, first all-nylon woven fabric, one of the first pairs of stockings manufactured at the Experimental Station, and the first pair of seamless stockings. The first wedding dress made of nylon (1942), first dress made of 100 percent spun nylon (1949), and first nylon football pants will also be on display in addition to other nylon “firsts.”

Fashion Industry Forever Changed

                Nylon and other related synthetic fibers made clothing that was durable, washable, stretchable, stain-resistant, and affordable. Visitors can see the first nylon overlay lace dress (1940) and a prototype black nylon nightgown from Vanity Fair (1947). Clothing made from Qiana, a silky nylon fiber that debuted in the late 1960s and influenced fashion of the disco era, will also be displayed. Featured Qiana items include a Bill Blass Qiana Boudoir Robe (1968-1969), William Travilla Qiana evening gown (1968-1969), Oscar de la Renta Qiana wrap dress (1968-1969), Charles Kleibacker Qiana cocktail dress.

                The exhibit is sponsored, in part, by W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., and Lyons Companies.

At Hagley, we invite people of all ages to investigate and experience the unfolding history of American business, technology, and innovation, and its impact on the world, from our home at the historic DuPont powder yards on the banks of the Brandywine.

 The museum is located on Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware. Admission to the entire 235-acre museum is $14 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens, $5 for children six to fourteen, and free for members and children five and under. Exhibit-only Admission is $6 for adults, $2 for children six through fourteen, and free for members and children five and under. Call (302) 658-2400 weekdays for more information or visit www.hagley.org.

A two-ton model of actress Marie Wilson’s leg, produced to advertise a Los Angeles hosiery shop, 1945-1950

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Think&Drink with Delaware Historical Society, Hagley Museum and Library, and World Cafe Live at the Queen

with the Delaware Historical Society, Hagley Museum and Library, and World Cafe Live!  Thursday, March 21, 2013 Evening begins at 6:00 p.m. Enjoy a short talk on the history of Delaware breweries, a short historic walk on Market Street, and a grilled cheese & beer tasting by World Cafe Live. $20/members and $25/non-members Reservations required  Click here for more information and to register or call (302) 295-2382 Old Town Hall 5th & Market Streets, Wilmington, DE 19801 Delaware Historical Society 505 N. Market Street Wilmington, Delaware 19801 (302) 655-7161  - www.dehistory.org

Hagley’s New Family Event Celebrates the Fiber that Changed the World

CONTACT: Meg Marcozzi, Hagley Museum and Library Marketing Manager

                         (302) 658-2400, ext. 238    mmarcozzi@hagley.org

Hagley’s New Family Event Celebrates the Fiber that Changed the World

                Wilmington, Delaware – April 2013 – Hagley Museum and Library invites families to a new event celebrating the invention of nylon, Fashion, Sports, and Fun with Nylon!, on Saturday, April 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The synthetics revolution began at DuPont and spread throughout the world.  From fishing line and racquet sports to tooth brushes and tents, nylon, the first synthetic textile fiber, changed lives. Activities are free with museum admission. Use the main museum entrance off Route 141.

Kids and parents can discover the science behind nylon and learn about its many uses from textiles to toothbrushes!  Families will delight in watching a hovercraft built using nylon, plywood, and a leaf blower move around. Visitors can try their hand at badminton with the Brandywine Badminton Club using nylon stringed racquets and shuttlecocks or play games with a giant parachute. The Boy Scouts of America Troop 601 will demonstrate nylon at work in knot-tying and camping.  Families can learn about sailing and admire a nylon spinnaker at the New Castle Sailing Club demonstration. The University of Delaware Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies will have a display of fashion before and after nylon. Visitors can see a lab demonstration by Delaware Academy of Chemical Sciences. Additional activities include flying kites, playing cornhole toss, jumping rope, and watching fly fishing demonstrations. 

                Don your funkiest nylon outfit or wear all natural materials! These fashion-forward visitors will be entered into a drawing for a prize.

                The Belin House Organic Café will be selling $1 hotdogs and $1 blueberry lemonades in addition to their regular menu. Visitors will receive a 10% discount at the Hagley Store.

                This family program celebrates the opening of Hagley’s latest exhibit in honor of the 75^th anniversary of nylon, “Fashion Meets Science: Introducing Nylon.” Seventy-five years ago on October 27, 1938, a brand new material named nylon was announced to the public.  Created in DuPont Company’s labs, nylon replaced silk in the ladies hosiery industry.  Nylon was so popular that its early sales created near riots because demand was so high.  Hagley’s exhibit will discuss the early development of nylon and its impact on the fashion industry. The exhibit is sponsored, in part, by W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., and Lyons Companies.

                Hagley thanks our community partners for their help: Boy Scouts of America Troop 601, Brandywine Badminton Club, Delaware Academy of Chemical Sciences, DuPont Country Club, New Castle Sailing Club, University of Delaware Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies.

Hagley Museum and Library collects, preserves, and interprets the unfolding history of American enterprise. The museum is located on Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware. Admission to the entire 235-acre museum is $14 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens, $5 for children six to fourteen, and free for members and children five and under. Call (302) 658-2400 weekdays for more information or visit www.hagley.org.

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