Manuscripts Collection
Alvin W. Boese was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 24, 1910. In 1925 Boese dropped out of high school and worked as a bell hop and drug store clerk before joining 3M as an office boy in 1930. He moved to the laboratory as a helper in 1933, and in 1939 he volunteered to assist in developing a noncorrosive backing for electrical tape. This assignment was the start of Boese's career in the research, development, and marketing of 3M nonwoven fiber products.
In 1953 Boese became technical director of 3M's ribbon laboratories and in 1958 he was promoted to general manufacturing manager of the gift wrap and fabric division. In June 1968 Boese was promoted to nonwoven products manager and a month later he was appointed as a research associate in 3M's new business ventures division. Boese retired in 1975.
Boese possessed a strong interest in art and art history, and was active in a variety of Minnesota art organizations. He was a member of the Saint Paul Art Center's board of directors and participated in the sales and rental programs at the Walker Art Center and the Saint Paul Gallery. Boese's interest in art combined with his work at 3M during the 1960s when he was appointed project manager for 3M art products and participated in the research and development of an art fabric constructed from nonwoven fibers.
The papers primarily document Boese's long association with the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of 3M nonwoven fabric products including lens tissue, decorative ribbon and gift wrap, filter face masks, and art fabric.
These documents are organized into the following sections:
A print version of this finding aid is available in the repository; filed as P2093.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should
Accession number: 15,052
Processed by: Frank Hennessy, April 1996
Catalog ID number: 09-00041293
The biographical data consists of a copy of Boese's birth certificate, a biographical sketch written by Boese's eldest son, Donald L. Boese, and press clippings detailing Boese's career at 3M. Boese's career is also documented in a group of correspondence (1953-1975) consisting of announcements of his promotions, anniversaries, and retirement and related congratulatory messages from colleagues.
The personal correspondence and related papers include photographs, newspaper clippings, and financial records related to Boese's family and social life. Boese's financial affairs are also documented in a group of correspondence concerning the salary and profit sharing increases associated with his promotions at 3M.
Boese's interest in art is reflected in correspondence, catalogs, and receipts related to his personal art purchases and rentals, and in a series of correspondence, minutes, and budgets related to the Saint Paul Art Center and its board of directors (1963-1969). There is also a folder entitled "Notes" containing brief essays by Boese on a variety of topics including art, anthropology, and ecology.
Includes correspondence, articles, minutes, diagrams, blueprints, laboratory logs, research reports, patents, product samples, contracts, and financial data. The first folder in this series contains articles and outlines, which serve as a general introduction and overview of the development of nonwoven fiber products. The records following this introduction begin with a log documenting experiments in paper making conducted in 1940 and proceed into detailed documentation of Boese's long and productive association with the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of several 3M nonwoven fabric products. These products included a lint-free lens tissue developed for the armed services during World War II, "Mistlon" and "Sasheen" brand ribbons, filter face masks, and art fabric.
The records also document Boese's activities as a research associate (1968-1973), a position which afforded individuals at 3M the opportunity to maintain their research career without administrative responsibilities, and his election to the Carlton Society (1968), an honorary organization which recognized individuals who made outstanding contributions to 3M's scientific and technical progress.