The extensive collection of Hercules advertising materials, covering the years 1913 through 1952, documents the company's growth as a major manufacturer of chemical products. A portion of the 1950 edition is digitized here with content covering CMC (sodium carboxymethylcellulose), Toxaphene insecticide as well as pine oil.

Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the Hercules Powder Company (later Hercules Inc.) initially specialized in the manufacture of explosives and smokeless powders and subsequently diversified its business to encompass a variety of industrial products, including pine and paper chemicals, synthetics, pigments, polymers, and cellulose.