celluloid
ALTERNATIVE NAME/S: None
DETAILS/DESCRIPTION: Generally regarded as the first thermoplastic, celluloid was invented in the 1860s by Albany, NY printer John Wesley Hyatt* and, independently, by Englishman Alexander Parkes (who called his material ‘Parkesine’).
The new material was made of cellulose nitrate and camphor and its greatest advantage was that it softened when heated and so could be molded into shapes. The material also had great strength, was highly resistant to water, oils, and dilute acids and could be produced at low cost and in various colors.
Celluloid was the trademark of Hyatt’s Celluloid Manufacturing Company (in Newark, NJ) where they produced such celluloid articles as combs, piano keys, knife handles, fountain pens and toys, as well as detachable collars and cuffs for men’s shirts. As a substitute for ivory it solved the media-generated problem of the ‘Great Disappearing Elephant Scare’ (the story that elephants were being shot at such a rate there would soon be an ivory scarcity) when made into billiard balls. It also became the base for celluloid film*.
Celluloid was popular until the middle of the 20th century when it began to be replaced first by Bakelite and then the first vinyl polymer plastics. It is however still manufactured in Europe, the US, and Japan.
ONELINER: Celluloid. a proto-plastic material produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor
OTHER CONNECTIONS: None
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Multimedia:
Connections II #7 Photo Finish -