General view of the Printing Department at the Althouse Chemical Company Customer Service and Quality Control Laboratory in Reading, Pennsylvania. Omer Bixler (left) is seen cutting fabric samples while technicians near the right wall prepare sample books to illustrate dye properties for customers. Norma Bodey is the technician seated nearest the camera on the right-hand side.

Based in Reading, Pennsylvania, the Althouse Chemical Company was founded in 1915 by C. Scott Althouse (1880-1970) as a small, family-owned firm specializing in fabric dyes of a superior quality and class. In 1954, the Crompton & Knowles Corporation of Worcester, Massachusetts acquired Althouse, which continued to operate as a division of Crompton & Knowles and a leader in the specialty dyes industry.