For its October Object of the Month, the Institute Archives & Special Collections exhibits a small report issued by Arthur D. Little, Inc. in 1921, “On the Making of Silk Purses from Sows’ Ears.” The report describes the process used by the company’s chemists to make two “silk” purses from pork byproducts to disprove the old adage that “you can’t make a silk purse of a sow’s ear.” The report is part of the Arthur D. Little, Inc. Archives Collection (MC 579), which was given to MIT by the Arthur D. Little, Inc. Alumni Association in 2002. The collection is available for research in the Institute Archives, 14N-118.

During the month of October one of the two silk purses is on display in the Maihaugen Gallery (next to the Institute Archives) along with other objects from the collection or on loan from MIT and ADL alumni.