ICI Dyestuffs Division

Scope and Content

The ICI section of the archive is very mixed in nature. Procedures by which the company selected material for retention are unclear, but it appears that relatively few Divisional minutes, files and reports were 'archived'. No obvious rationale is evident for those selected for retention.

There are very few legal documents in the collection, although this is to be expected as normal practice would have been to keep these documents at ICI HQ. Coverage of the Division's operations and its physical estate is also sparse.

There is a good collection of ICI publications, both general and Divisional, and produced both for internal and public consumption. This includes some useful information about the company's employee relations and its methods of marketing its product. Marketing is also covered in a small series of labels books. These striking labels were produced by an Indian branch of ICI to sell its products on the sub-continent. The labels followed designed previously used by German companies operating in Asian markets. The labels books are invaluable documents for the study of colonial advertising in the inter-war period.

The photographic section of the archive is not currently catalogued. The majority of photographs relate to the Blackley site and personnel.

Administrative / Biographical History

See collection headnote.

Arrangement

Arranged by series as follows:

  • ICI/1/1 - Minute Books
  • ICI/1/2 - Administrative Files
  • ICI/1/3 - Reports
  • ICI/1/4 - Legal Records
  • ICI/1/5 - Estates Records
  • ICI/1/6 - Production Records
  • ICI/1/7 - Financial Records
  • ICI/1/8 - Publications
  • ICI/1/9 - Labels Books
  • ICI/1/10 - Miscellaneous
  • ICI/1/11 - Photographs (not currently listed)