Inventory of the Talalay Foam Rubber Archive
Title:
Talalay Foam Rubber Archive
Repository:
Archives and Special Collections, University Libraries, The University of Akron
Phone: 330-972-7670
http://www.uakron.edu/libraries/archives
Creator:
Talalay, Michael
Dates:
1920-1994
Bulk dates:
1940-1975
Quantity:
12 cubic feet
Abstract:
 Joseph Talalay and his sons, Leon and Anselm, were integral players in the history of rubber. They developed and perfected a process to make latex sponge rubber that was more sustainable than other processes also developed in the mid 1900's. Much of their work occurred at the B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio during the 1950s and '60s. The process was used by over 20 countries across the world and has continued to be used to create mattresses, pillows and other products comprised of foam rubber. The archive contains material relating to the Talalay Foam Rubber Process and the Talalay Family. It consists of agreements, correspondence, patents, products, processes, reports, blueprints and photographs of plants and machinery and detailed descriptions of how to construct a foam rubber factory as well as foam rubber samples.
Identification:
MSS2008.30
Location:
Collection is house at F-9.
Language:
The records are in English
Sample Image:
To view the Talalay finding aid

Biography of Biography

Dr. Joseph A. Talalay, rubber scientist and inventor of a process used throughout the world to make latex foam rubber, was born in Russia in 1882. He earned a Ph.D. in physics and mathematics from the University of St. Petersburg and a mechanical engineering degree from the Imperial Institute of Technology in Moscow. He married Sophie Brusterman of Gomel, Russia and had four children: Naum, Anselm, Leon, and Paul. During the First World War, Dr. Talalay was the technical director of Bogatyr Rubber Company in Moscow. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Talalay moved his family to Germany where he worked for the North German Rubber Company in Berlin. Once the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, the Talalay family immigrated to Belgium and then Great Britain where Joseph found employment with the Magna Rubber Company in Bedford, England. While there he invented a process to make latex foam rubber. In 1940, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Joseph and several members of his family immigrated to the United States where he worked with numerous interests, including the Converse Rubber Company in Malden, Massachusetts, serving as director of research. Joseph Talalay was the author of numerous scientific papers on rubber and latex and held some fifty patents in the general field. Dr. Talalay's patents mostly concerned the creation or improvement of methods for processing and developing latex foam rubber and foam rubber products. Dr. Talalay also received numerous patents with his sons, namely Naum, Anselm, and Leon. Among them the Talalays held about 50 patents in the United States and abroad. During World War II, Joseph, Anselm, and Leon collaborated to develop a new process for producing latex foam rubber. Known as the Talalay process it is one of two chief methods of producing molded pieces of latex foam rubber used in mattresses, pillows, cushions, and home furnishings. The process consists of introducing a liquid latex rubber base to a closed mold, vacuuming the mold of air, and then freezing the mold to stabilize the cell structure. Carbon dioxide gas is then introduced and the mold is heated to cure the rubber. While similar to the rival Dunlop process, the Talalay process is marketed as a healthier or "natural" alternative to petroleum-based foams that off gas volatile organic compounds as they age. In addition, Talalay latex is naturally hypoallergenic, toxin and chemical-free, and inherently resistant to mold, mildew, and dust mites. The Talalay process was improved and perfected over the years in numerous countries, but mostly by Anselm and Leon while working at the Sponge Rubber Company in Shelton, Connecticut during the 1940s and '50s. In 1954 the Sponge Rubber Co. was acquired by the B. F. Goodrich Company and Anselm and Leon continued working in the newly created Sponge Rubber Products division of B. F. Goodrich until the sale of the division in 1973. By the early 1960s the process that carried their name accounted for approximately 40 percent of all the foam rubber manufactured in the United States and Canada and was practiced on varying scales in many countries throughout the world. Today, it is still one of the two leading processes for producing foam rubber and is mostly used in mattresses and the home furnishings industry. Joseph Talalay sold his American patents in his latex foam rubber invention to the Dayton Rubber Company of Dayton, Ohio and the Sponge Rubber Products Company in Shelton, Connecticut. In 1956 he assigned his patent rights in foam rubber in Israel to Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. Dr. Talalay died in New Haven, Connecticut on October 15, 1961 at age 79. Naum Talalay, Joseph and Sophie's first son, was born in Russia in 1909. He received his degree in chemical engineering and worked in Bedford, England. Naum's work focused on the manufacture of artificial aqueous dispersions of natural and synthetic rubbers, thermoplastic, rubber substitutes, and rubber-like substances. He worked for a time at the Dayton Rubber Manufacturing Company, but later settled in Toronto, Canada where died in 1984. Joseph and Sophie's second son, Anselm, was born in Moscow on January 10, 1912. He received a degree in physics from Technical University in Berlin and worked in London before coming to the United States in 1939. Anselm joined the Sponge Rubber Products Company in Shelton, Connecticut and rose to the position of general manager before becoming Vice President of Research and Development at the B.F. Goodrich Industrial Products Division in Akron, Ohio in 1966. His early work as an inventor focused mainly on foam rubber products, although he also held patents for products such as synthetic leather, rubber, plastics, and a compound for cleaning closed water systems. Anselm married his wife, Marjorie, in 1944 and had three daughters. He died of heart failure on June 23, 1994 in Cleveland, Ohio. A third son, Leon, was born in Russia on October 16, 1918. He was educated in England where he graduated with a degree in chemistry from University College in London. Leon immigrated to The United States in 1940 and worked as a chemical engineer and inventor. During World War II, he developed a device that reduced the risk of fuel fires in bombers. However, like his brothers and father, Leon was best known for contributions to the development and manufacture of latex foam rubber products. In 1943, he followed in brother Anselm's footsteps and joined the Sponge Rubber Products Company in Connecticut. Two years later, Leon Talalay was named head of the division, which was then part of the Sponge Products Division of the B.F. Goodrich Company. That same year he developed a quicker, less expensive method of making the type of synthetic rubber latex needed by foam rubber manufacturers. The process, known as "freeze agglomeration," created an improved latex having properties particularly suited to the manufacture of latex foam rubber for upholstery, bedding, and other uses. Goodrich offered the method to other manufacturers under a uniform licensing arrangement. Over the years, the important work done by the Talalays reached many countries around the world and continues to influence the sponge rubber market today.

Scope and Content

The Talalay Foam Rubber Archive covers the years 1920-1994 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1940-1975. The papers contain material relating to the Talalay Foam Rubber Process and the Talalay family in general. The main members it refers to are Joseph, Leon, Anselm and Naum Talalay (Joseph may have spelled his name as “Talalai” until he moved to the United States). The archive consists of agreements, correspondence, patents, products, processes, reports, blueprints and photographs of plants and machinery and detailed descriptions of how to construct a foam rubber factory. The archive also includes two boxes of rubber samples from the 1920s. This collection would be of value to those interested in the history of the B.F. Goodrich Company, latex foam rubber, and the business dealings of the Talalay family.

Statement of Arrangement

The archive is divided into three naturally-occuring sub-groups. The first Sub-group, entitled Talalay Family Papers, contains writings, blueprints, correspondence and inventions created by the Talalay family. This does not include the work the family did while employed by B.F. Goodrich or Sponge Rubber Company, only the independent work done by Joseph, Anselm, Leon and Naum Talalay. The papers include correspondence and financial papers dealing with Joseph Talalay’s estate after his death in 1961. Sub-group 2 consists of materials created by or related to Sponge Rubber Products both before and during being owned by B.F. Goodrich Sub-group 3 includes materials related to the international companies the Talalay’s worked with. Also included in this group are the English companies that Joseph Talalay was first employed by in the 1930s and ‘40s. As this is a large and historically valuable part of this collection, Great Britain is separated from the rest of Europe. This sub-group contains the largest amount of material, including correspondence, reports, blueprints and agreements with international companies. The Great Britain series is where the early days of Joseph’s research can be found. (British spelling is used when applicable i.e. “moulds.). It also houses information on the Howard Family who are joint patent holders with the Talalays. Their associated companies are Moulded Hair, Texfoam and Hairlok. Texfoam records are also filed according to country in question, if that was their provenance. One of the arrangement limitations of the international subgroup is that the countries were not kept all together in the original order of the documents, and so the original order was not kept for large chunks of the materials. Many of the original folders were redundant and so they have been incorporated into a larger country folder and arranged by date. Over 20 countries are represented in this subgroup, with agreements, correspondence and factory specifications. The countries are broken into specific companies wherever possible. The original order was rather scattered as far as recognizing individual companies goes, and so this was not possible in every situation, and there may be documents that are directly related to a company that are not separated out and are instead mixed into a general folder.

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Restrictions on Access

No restrictions on access; except not available through interlibrary loan. Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Related Material: Related Material

The B. F. Goodrich Company records


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Foam Rubber

Persons:

Talalay, Anselm (1912-1994)
Talalay, Joseph (1882-1961)
Talalay, Leon (1918-1994)

Organizations/Corporations:

B. F. Goodrich Company

Family Names:

Talalay, Naum (1909-1984)

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Talalay Foam Rubber Archive, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio

Acquisition Information

The Talalay family, particularly Michael Talalay of London England, donated the materials to the University of Akron.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Ellen Mitchell in 2017.