Notes

[alt text]

A black-and-white cartoon shows two men at a desk, one typing while the other critiques a slogan about fatty acids. The ad promotes Harchem chemicals using humor and wordplay to highlight the company’s production of fatty acids.

[transcription]

#Harchem makes fatter fatty acids.

##“Missed again Cyril.”

###“…acidier fatty acids?”

PENNWALT HARCHEM CHEMICALS

HARCHEM DIVISION, PENNWALT CORPORATION, N.J. 079

[additional notes] - Violet Webber

Pennwalt Corporation was the result of a merger between Wallace & Tiernan Inc. and Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation in 1969. Pennsalt was established in 1850 by the quakers to produce lye. By the 1940s, the company was producing hydrofluoric acid and organic peroxides. After the merge, Pennwalt became the world’s leading producer of methyl and ethyl mercapatans. Today, the chemical business resides under the name Arkema Inc.

Based on the timeline of the company, this was likely one of the first ads run by Pennwalt after the merger and name change. Given this, this ad may have functioned as an introduction to the market for Pennwalt, framing them as a modern producer of fatty acids, and presenting the company as innovative and approchable for manufacturers.

• https://www.arkema.com/usa/en/united-states/arkema-united-states/arkema-inc-history/

• https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv972518