Vintage Du Pont Gun Powder Label

Here we have a paper gun powder label manufactured by E. I. Du Pont. De Nemours and Company. This label is 3 7/8 in diameter. This is a vintage label and not a reproduction.Throughout the years Du Pont made gun powder for a variety of different companies.

In July 1802 E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company was founded on Brandywine Creek as a gun powder mill by Eleuthere Irenee Du Pont. All this had taken place near Wilmington, Delaware, USA. This was 2 years after he and his family had fled France to escape the French Revolution. He found that the industry of gunpowder in North America was lagging behind the market in Europe and he decided that it would be a good business to pursue. His company grew very quick and by the mid-nineteenth century he had become the largest supplier of gunpowder to the United States Military. He soon was supplying as much of half of the gunpowder to the Union Army during the American Civil War. His company continued to grow and he then also moved into the production of dynamite and smokeless powder. In 1902 Eugene Du Pont died and his surviving partners sold the company to Du Pont’s 3 great grandsons. Throughout the years Du Pont continued to be a major producer of war supplies during World War 1 and world War 2.