Perkin-Elmer Corporation

Perkin-Elmer was founded by Richard S. Perkin and Charles W. Elmer on April 19, 1937. At the outset, Perkin-Elmer was an optics design and consulting business operating out of a small Manhattan office. Within a year, Perkin-Elmer began to fabricate precision optical components in Jersey City, New Jersey. As young as Perkin-Elmer was, its expertise soon became a vital asset to the Allied effort in World War II, becoming the main American source of precision optics through its production of tank periscopes and the first high-performance lenses for aerial reconnaissance.

In 1944, Perkin-Elmer entered the new field of analytical instrumentation with its first commercial infrared spectrophotometer, the Model 12 IR Spectrometer. This new technology, the forerunner of what is now a basic tool in chemical analysis, launched Perkin-Elmer as a leading supplier of analytical instrumentation. In May 1955, Perkin-Elmer began to sell America's first commercial gas chromatograph, the Model 154, based on the technique pioneered by A.J. Martin, a British researcher. 1957 marked another significant event in the analytical instrumentation industry when Perkin-Elmer introduced the Model 137 Infracord at that year's Pittsburgh Conference. The Model 137 was the first commercial double-beam IR instrument and represented the beginning of low-cost IR analysis.

During the same time period, Perkin-Elmer established integrated manufacturing facilities in West Germany and the United Kingdom and became the first scientific instrumentation firm to move into international markets.

The 1960s saw the rise of atomic absorption (AA), much as gas chromatography had gained prominence as an analytical technique in the late 1950s. During this time, Perkin-Elmer captured a leadership position with the launch of its first atomic absorption instrument, the AA Model 303.

For Perkin-Elmer, the 1970s were a period of diversification and reflected a general industry trend towards computerization of instrumentation. 1972 marked the year that Perkin-Elmer entered the liquid chromatography (LC) market, with the 1220, the earliest LC analyzer with solvent gradient capability. In 1975, Perkin-Elmer marketed its model 460 AA spectrophotometer along with a microcomputer that brought ease and efficiency to AA analysis.


Certificate: Common Stock, issued in the 1970’s

Printer: American Bank Note Company

Dimensions: 8” (h) x 12” (w)

State: NY-New York

Subject Matter: Lasers and Optics

Vignette Topic(s): Male Subject | Electronics Featured

Condition: Vertical fold lines, punch hole cancels in the signature areas and body, and some toning and edge faults from age.