Dupont 25 Years of Nylon
Years of prowling estate sales has taught Madge that one of the most neglected items are books. Unless the sale has been specifically advertised to book collectors, most buyers push past the shelves of dusty tomes to seek flashier treasures. But with a little bit of patience, one can find the occasional treasure among the Reader’s Digest Condensed and National Geographics.
My recent find is this book by DuPont commemorating the 25th anniversary of Nylon. Published in conjunction with the company’s pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, it’s chock full of gorgeous full color drawings and photographs. I don’t know how many of these books were published, but they must have cost a bundle in 1964 dollars.
The table of contents has a very cool graphics design that continues onto the adjacent page. Madge would love to get the name of this font if anyone knows.
The paper quality is unbelievable, very heavy and textured in a lovely shade of ecru. Each chapter has a full-page illustration.
The Early Years covers the invention of Nylon. A new synthetic product that DuPont introduced at their Wonder World of Chemistry pavilion during the New York World’s Fair in 1939.
The pavilion was a fabulous art deco/Flash Gordon spectacle including a tower with a beam of light shooting into the night sky.
DuPont devotes a lot of copy on one of their biggest moneymakers – hosiery. Here’s a wonderful photo of a group of comely lasses modeling said nylons.
The War Years covers all of the innovations essential to the war effort courtesy of Nylon.
There are many photos of actual products but the most striking image is this “Ode to a Parachute.” Printed on what looks like gray rice paper, this image of a solitary paratrooper is really striking. 
Of course DuPont figured out a way to take a look at those nylons again with a money shot of the favorite pinup of World War II – Betty Grable.
The Postwar Years chapter starts with another amazing drawing.
And of course DuPont has to give one more nod to those gams.
The final chapter The Years Ahead, has the most conventional chapter photo at first glance. But on closer inspection the children are holding a really interesting faceted orb.
This chapter covers many of the mid-century innovations that Madge just loves.
Coming full circle at the end of the book is a double-page foldout of the DuPont pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
While today’s younger readers may find this all a bit too much. There was a time when the wonder of a World’s Fair and modern science could really sell tickets.
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Love the photos from the book! Thanks so much for the informative article. I’ll keep a watch out for books like these. 🙂
Fascinating history. Smack in the middle of Madge’s wheelhouse! I remember nylons and garter belts when they were ordinary undergarments. Now they’re a Valentine’s present to your man 😉 Great find, Madge. I’m glad you migrate to the books in your estate sale haunts!!
Great read Madge! What a neat find. I will have to take a closer look at the books next time!