One of the important factors in the success of the Arlington Company was its highly competitive approach to marketing. In the early 1900s they established sales offices in Toronto, New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Detroit, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
     In 1913 Arlington constructed a branch facility in Poughkeepsie, New York, to produce Pyralin combs, collars, cuffs, and toys. In that same year they also formed the Florida Essential Oils Company with the intent to raise  camphor trees on 12,000 acres of land near Waller, Florida.

DuPont

     By 1915, the Arlington company was the largest manufacturer of pyroxylin plastic in the United States, producing nearly 40% of the total American output (Celluloid produced 25%; Fiberloid 25%; and Viscoloid 10%). In December of 1915, E.I. DuPont de Nemoures and Co. purchased the Arlington Company for the cash price of $6,700,000. At the same time, DuPont also bought the Norwich Paper Company of Connecticut; as tissue paper was the form of cellulose used in the making of Pyralin. 
     In June of 1916, over one million pounds of cellulose nitrate burned in an inferno of flames that reached one hundred feet into the air above the Arlington plant in New Jersey. The following year DuPont dissolved the Arlington facility and production of Pyralin was transferred to other DuPont departments.
     In the 1920s, DuPont also purchased the Della Celluloid Company of Italy from its owner Dr. Silvio Mazzuchelli. However, political situations in 1936 concerning Benito Mussilini, who took a dim view of foreigners controlling companies in Italy, caused DuPont to resell the company to its original owner.

Viscoloid Company, 1901 - 1977

     The story of the Viscoloid Company of Leominster, Massachusetts is an important one and of particular interest to collectors, especially those who specifically collect such items as fancy celluloid hair ornaments or blow-molded dolls and toys.
     Viscoloid is somewhat unique in its beginnings since all of its founders had been involved, in one way or another, with the natural plastic material, horn. During the early 1880s four businessmen, Alexander Paton, Bernard W. Doyle, Ludwig Stross and Paul Rie became familiar with one another through various connections in the horn industry. Stross and Rie were partners in the Albert Ochse Company of Paris, the largest dealer of horn in the world.
     Bernard Doyle, a Leominster native, had traveled extensively throughout South America, Mexico, and Europe with Albert Ochse in the quest to buy quality horn. When supplies in America began to dwindle, Ochse and Doyle joined forces and founded the Horn Supply Company with the intent of processing cattle horn for the manufacture of natural plastic articles. Alexander Paton had organized the Paton Manufacturing Company in Leominster in 1879 to produce horn combs, buttons, and jewelry.
     This quartet of businessmen formed the Sterling Comb Company for the manufacture of hair ornaments, dressing combs, and novelties. As the demand for hair ornaments grew, especially the high back Spanish style, a second business, the Harvard Novelty Company, was formed to help meet production needs.

This turn-of-the-century photograph shows a drilling crew as they worked on the Viscoloid well in Leominster, Massachusetts. The job was completed prior to the manufacture of pyroxylin plastic at a cost of $600. When finished, an unlimited supply of 60-gallons of pure water per minute was available through a 4" pipe. A storage tank with a capacity of 20,000 gallons was also installed when the well was drilled.