Chemical Heritage Foundation
Specialty: History and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies and industries
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present and inspiring the future. CHF maintains and encourages research in a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies and industries. CHF also carries out a program of outreach and interpretation to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies and industries in shaping society.
Collections
The Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Library of Chemical History houses more than 100,000 print volumes and more than 37,000 volumes in microform equivalents that form an unrivaled resource for the history of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies and industries. The collection contains primary sources from the 15th through the 20th century. The library houses approximately 1,800 journal titles, totaling 59,000 volumes. Several titles span nearly 200 years. Collections also include: paintings and works on paper from the 17th through the 19th century; hundreds of 20th-century chemical instruments; artifacts ranging from some of the first pre-production nylon stockings to early batteries, glassware, and apparatus; photographs; and personal papers and organizations records (e.g., the unpublished records of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Chemists’ Club).
