Colin Williamson collection of plastics trade literature, circa 1930-1997, undated

View only results with digital items
Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:
Williamson, Colin and Imperial Chemical Industries, ltd.
Abstract:
This collection of trade literature consists of technical information, manufacturing and design texts, and marketing materials dating from the 1930s to 1997.
Extent:
44.5 Linear Feet (94 boxes)
Language:
Collection material is in English and German with some Russian.
Preferred citation:

Colin Williamson collection of plastics trade literature, circa 1930s-1997, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2022.M.8.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2022m8

Background

Scope and content:

This collection houses technical, trade, and industry print, marketing materials, and grey literature, collected over several decades by Colin Williamson from the libraries, archives, and offices of companies and business entities active in the plastics and rubber industries, and donated to the Getty in 2019.

Dating from the 1930s to the 1990s, it consists largely of such papers and records from the library of Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, with additional sources from competitors and various professional organizations. The documents evidence a rich material and industrial history, provide substantive technical data on a wide range of polymers, resins, manufacturing processes and equipment, and feature prominent examples of Consumer Era advertising.

The collection contains resources for the discipline of cultural heritage conservation, addressing the role of plastics and rubbers in chemistry, technology, environment, industry, marketing, health, art, design, architecture, and other sectors. Though the majority of the collection is paper-based, a small quantity of plastics samples and plastic objects of a variety of types are also present. The collection allows researchers, scientists, and conservators numerous access points to explore material, technical, advertising, and trade information for an exceptional range of plastics, resins, brands, applications, and manufacturing processes.

Biographical / historical:

Colin Williamson is a British technologist in the polymer raw material and additives sectors. An authority on the manufacture and development of early plastics, he is deeply involved in the conservation issues of plastics objects in museum collections. Williamson joined the plastics industry in 1969 as a colorist and additives specialist. In 1971 he began collecting early plastics, and rescued many archival records of companies who were active in the plastics and rubber industries.

Through the 1980s, Williamson focused on the environmental and historical aspects of plastics. Williamson co-founded the U.K.-based Plastics Historical Society in 1986, launched Smile Plastics Ltd. in 1987 with an emphasis on recycling, was the founder chairman of the Plastics Recyclers' Trade Association and the Plastics Consultancy Network, and became a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Horners in 1988. Williamson lectured internationally on plastics history, design, technology, business, and environmental impacts. He made public appearances on television and radio as the 'plastics expert.' Part of a long-term initiative, Williamson contributed as a consultant to the Getty Conservation Institute's Preservation of Plastics project.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Colin Williamson. Acquired by the Getty Conservation Institute in 2019 and transferred to the Getty Research Institute in 2022.
Processing information:

Acquired by the Getty Conservation Institute in 2019.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into the following three series:

Series I. Imperial Chemical Industries marketing library, 1947-1989; Series II. Imperial Chemical Industries technical service documents, 1943-1993; Series III. Plastics design and manufacturing: Imperial Chemical Industries and competitors, circa 1930-1997.

Physical location:
Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.

Preferred citation:

Colin Williamson collection of plastics trade literature, circa 1930s-1997, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2022.M.8.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2022m8

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website