Manufacture of blueprint paper at Keuffel & Esser Co.

In the early twentieth century, K&E began selling materials for making blueprints, just in time for the boom in skyscraper construction in major American cities. The development of this new product line was an extension of the company’s focus on drafting tools. The blueprint paper line continued to be refined in the 1920s and 1930s, and it led the company into more applied scientific research and development and, eventually, to the creation of a research and development (R&D) department. Source: “Partners in Creating. The First Century of K+E 1867/1967,” p. 22.