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James M. Priest was a formerly enslaved person who moved permanently to Liberia, where he served as Presbyterian missionary in King Will's Town, and later Greenville. Collection comprises a letter in a newspaper and five other letters writen by Priest, primarily to members of the Board of Missions of the Presbyterian Church, but also to a ship's captain, and a fellow minister.

The American Catalin Corporation was founded in New York, N.Y., in 1927; it developed the light-colored, transparent, filler-free Bakelite resin in a wide range of colors. Bakelite is the first synthetic plastic, developed by Dr. Leo Baekeland between 1907 and 1909. American Catalin Corporation used its form of the resin for costume jewelry, fashion accessories, radios, and other products. By 1942, the company suspended its manufacture of jewelry and cast items to concentrate on wartime production. After the war, petroleum-based plastics gained favor. Collection comprises a salesman's sample book in a black leather album used to provide a visual guide for the company's products. The album contains primarily 34 black-and-white 8x10 photographs (8 photographs are laid in, all but two are linen backed, those not laid-in are stamped on the back with "Johnston & Tunick Commercial Photographers"), as well as 17 typeset pages containing inter-office memos, sales tips, information regarding the company's competition, and customer testimonials. Several of the memos are written to the attention of D. J. Kelly, who was the salesman for whom the sample book was prepared. There is also a two-page key to the main group of 19 photographs, identifying the Bakelite products in each photograph, as well as the item's final producer. Seven of the laid-in photographs show the corporation's factory, including three of factory workers on the job. The American Catalin Corporation was founded in New York, N.Y., in 1927; it developed the light-colored, transparent, filler-free Bakelite resin in a wide range of colors. Bakelite is the first synthetic plastic, developed by Dr. Leo Baekeland between 1907 and 1909. American Catalin Corporation used its form of the resin for costume jewelry, fashion accessories, radios, and other products. By 1942, the company suspended its manufacture of jewelry and cast items to concentrate on wartime production. After the war, petroleum-based plastics gained favor.