Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Related Materials

Administrative Information

Inventory of Collection

Subject Headings

Inventory of the New Bedford Rayon Company Records

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

The New Bedford Rayon Company was established in June 1928 as an offshoot of Delaware Rayon Company of New Castle, Delaware. Formed to meet a growing demand for rayon fiber on the part of New England textile manufacturers, the company commenced operations one year later in the former Manomet Mills buildings at New Bedford (Massachusetts). New Bedford Rayon Company grew at a steady rate from 1930 to 1950, supplying an international market with different types of rayon yarn. The firm also manufactured rayon-based synthetic fabrics during this period, particularly through its subsidiary, New Bedford Knitting Company. In 1951, New Bedford Rayon Company became a division of Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc., of Amsterdam (New York) and shifted its focus to producing rayon for use in carpets. The company remained associated with the Amsterdam firm, reorganized as Mohasco Industries, Inc., in 1957, until 1969, when it became a part of Empire Synthetics Corporation of Mt. Vernon (New York). Under the name of New Bedford Rayon, Inc., the company attempted to combat growing competition from other types of synthetic fiber producers by manufacturing dyed yarns as well as novelty and regular commercial grades of yarns. Sales, however, continued to decline, and this factor, when combined with increasing labor costs, high tax rates, and a serious fire at the mill, led to the liquidation of New Bedford Rayon, Inc., in September 1970.

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Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of records relating to the operation New Bedford Rayon Company during the years 1928 to 1971. The bulk of the collection centers around the years 1950 to 1970 and primarily focuses on Leo F. St. Aubin’s involvement with the company. Correspondence in the collection dates from 1929 to 1971 and concerns the company’s business affairs including employee contracts, settlements, business contacts, products, and relations with business associates. Correspondence from 1965 deals primarily with the promotion of St. Aubin Leo’s promotion from Plant Superintendent to General Manager of New Bedford Division of Mohasco Industries. Correspondence from 1966 to 1967 is primarily between Leo F. St. Aubin and Arthur F. Brown of the Delaware Rayon Company. Brown was requested to investigate New Bedford Rayon’s cratering problems in relation to the use of Hicolor G but includes commentary on overall production.

The bulk of this collection consists of documentation related to the plant operations of the New Bedford Rayon Company during the years 1928 to 1971 with notes relating specifically to its operating procedures spanning from 1930 to 1971. These operating procedures include procedural notes, blueprints, designs, product catalogs, schematics, and notes related to plant processes, in addition to a 1931 scrapbook with photographs of fiber samples, property notes, and calendars for the years 1966 to 1969. Plant operation documentation also contains written assessments conducted between the years 1949 to 1967 and consist primarily of workload studies but also include a 1951 study compiled by Herman Martin related to staple fibre manufacture, a report authored by Dr. Robert Steigner in 1964, and an analysis of union contracts in the Wilmington (Delaware) area from 1949 to 1956. These papers also include human resource training manuals from 1943 to 1979 on a variety of topics ranging from supervision, management, training, building morale, and women in the workforce. Personnel documentation ranges from 1928 to 1970 and consists of documentation related to employees and benefits. These papers consist primarily of employment contracts, job applicant resumes, and personnel directories. Financial information dates from 1946 to 1970 and includes the company’s yearly financial statements from the years 1964 to 1969 in addition to a list of the company’s stockholders from 1946 to 1947.

This collection also contains documentation related to arbitrations, settlements, and agreements negotiated between the New Bedford Rayon Company and various other parties between the years 1929 to 1969. Arbitration documents date from 1955 to 1969 and consist primarily of wage disagreements, work disputes, and workload cases in need of resolution. In 1962, Joseph Beadsworth filed a grievance against New Bedford Rayon Company, and these papers include the case notes and resolution documentation from said grievance. Agreements and settlements date from 1928 to 1965 and consist of primarily of contracts signed between New Bedford Rayon Company and textile workers unions and stockholders in addition to other companies and corporations including Delaware Rayon Company, McKay Products Corporation, the New Bedford Knitting Company, and the American Viscose Company.

One final set of items in this collection include Leo F. St. Aubin’s personal papers compiled between the years 1932 and 1967. The bulk of these documents relate to his textile school work from 1932 to 1958 and consist primarily of his school notebooks laboratory notes, and coursework notes on a variety of subjects from pulp paper analysis, rayon processing, and viscose fibers. These papers also include a 1932 course syllabus from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Textile School in addition to newspaper clippings from 1952 highlighting several Textile Institute lectures St. Aubin delivered. St. Aubin’s papers also include notes he took while visiting Europe and Rome (Georgia) from 1966 to 1967 on business trips in addition to membership cards for various affiliations St. Aubin joined during the years 1940 to 1945.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to Collections

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 195, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Related Materials

Related Items

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Materials in this collection were donated to the New Bedford Whaling Museum by David K. St. Aubin on 9 November 2005 as part of Accession 2005.62.

Processing Information

Processed by: Mark Procknik, 2021

Encoded by: Mark Procknik, 27 December 2021

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Inventory of Collection

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Subject Headings

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