A brief history of the discovery of plastic – The early years.

Parkesine: The world’s first man-made plastic “Parkesine” was introduced in 1862 by Alexander Parkes, an engineer, metallurgist, and British inventor, at the London International Exhibition.  At the time it was showcased as an alternative to the use of ivory and horn.  His discovery was made whilst attempting to develop a synthetic substitute for shellac waterproofing and realised a sold material remained after evaporation of the solvent used. Parkes’s initial find failed to reach commercial success. However, he knew he was on to something, applying for a patent in 1862 before unfortunate bankruptcy in 1868 whilst attempting to grow his business.

Celiuloid – The material didn’t start to truly show its potential value and diversity of applications some years later.  John Wesley Hyatt in Albany, New York discovered a way to manufacture an improved version of Parkesine, most commonly known as celluloid.  With the intention of making billiard balls, previously made using ivory.  Following this their successful billard company ran until 1986, well over 100 years.  John and his brother Isaiah continued to experiment with Parkesine realising the potential of camphor as a plasticizer for cellulose nitrate.  Using a combination of heat and pressure the Hyatt brothers were able to begin manufacturing. They applied for a patent and formed the Celluloid Manufacturing Company.

BakeliteBakelite – the commercial success of plastic.

Known as the first fully synthetic plastic, invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907 and the beginning of the mass production of plastic.  Bakelite’s advantage was it was extremely durable, heat resistant and could be easily shaped or moulded into just about anything, a world of endless possibilities for this NEW plastic.  Bakelite became a commercial success.  It was widely used during both World Wars and continued to be used in the production of many household or useful items including phones, clocks, buttons, knife handles and most recognisably kitchenware until the late 1940’s.  Coco Channel even used it in the 1920’s for a costume bracelet design.

Bakelite was superseded by newer innovative materials. However still appears in a variety of applications, mainly precision-shaped components and electrics.  Billiard balls went on to be made using Bakelite and still are to this day.  Bakelite also has a collectable status with jewellery, clock radios and phones being popular collectable items.   So make sure you have a good rummage around your grandparent’s attic.  You might just find something worth auctioning on eBay.  I wish I had kept our old BT bright orange phone we had as kids.

Plastic is an incredible invention, it has transformed lives worldwide from the development of computers and mobile phones to modern medicine and aeroplanes.  However, the overuse of plastic, predominantly over the last 60 years has taken its toll on our wonderful world.  Plastic will continue to be a necessity, we cannot just rid of plastic completely as there is no other product that can be manufactured so cheaply and be so versatile.  We can however rethink our relationship with plastic by reducing, recycling and reusing where possible.

Thanks for reading.

Sources:
Celluloid – Wikipedia
John Wesley Hyatt – Wikipedia
Bakelite – Wikipedia

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