Bakelite Exhibition


			Introduction
	Cast phenolic rods. Courtesy Amsterdam Bakelite® Collection, © Reindert Groot		Every day we come into contact with all kinds of synthetic materials that are so familiar to us that life without them would be hard to imagine. They all have mysterious chemical names and yet can be grouped under a single word: plastic. Bakelite is also a kind of plastic, and it was the first fully synthetic resin to become commercially successful.
			See an interview with Hugh Karraker Leo Baekland's great-grandson!
	Leo Baekeland in his Laboratory, 1909 Image Courtesy Amsterdam Bakelite® Collection		Bakelite was named by its inventor, Leo Henricus Arthur Baekeland, who was born in Belgium in 1863. He graduated cum laude in the natural sciences, married, and then emigrated to the United States. Baekeland first invented a revolutionary photographic paper, Velox, selling its patent rights in 1899 to Eastman Kodak Company. Now a rich man, he was free to undertake research aimed at creating a substitute for shellac, a quest that eluded many chemists of the time. Through the use of a catalyst, Baekeland found that he could control the reactions of phenol and formaldehyde under heat and pressure to produce a new phenol polymer with remarkable characteristics: Bakelite. On July 13,1907, he filed his ‘heat and pressure patent’ in the United States.
	First Semi-Commercial Still of the General Bakelite Company, c. 1910-1917 8 x 10 in. Hudson River Museum Collection		This steam pressure vessel is similar to the “Bakelizer,” which was used by Leo H. Baekeland to produce commercial quantities of the first totally synthetic plastic, Bakelite. Bakelite was produced by reacting phenol and formaldehyde under pressure at high temperatures. It was dubbed "Old Faithful" by its early operator.
	General Bakelite Company. c. 1917 5 5/8 x 8 5/8 in. Hudson River Museum Collection		In Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Leo Baekeland found the ideal place for his first commercial-scale plant to produce Bakelite. On September 29,1910, the General Bakelite Company went into business under the ownership of Dr. Baekeland and Roseeler & Hasslacher, an importer of phenol and cresol, two ingredients in addition to formaldehyde essential to the production of plastic. By 1917 this plant was abandoned for more modern facilities.
	Drawing of Bakelite Plant, Bound Brook,NJ B/W mounted 9 ½ x12 in. Hudson River Museum Collection, Gift of the Estate of Armour Smith		This illustration, taken from the Bakelite Review of 1935, shows the Bakelite Factory, which was built of concrete, steel and brick in 1932. Not a single piece of timber was used in the construction. Bakelite plants were eventually set up in Germany near Berlin, with others in Europe Japan, Australia, South Africa and South America. By 1944, the year of Baekeland’s death, global production of phenoplastics exceeded 175,000 tons.
			Bakelite: A New Material of a Thousand Uses
	Image: Jason J. Weller Eight Color Samples from British Industrial Plastics Ltd Great Britain, UF		“Wherever wheels whirr, wherever women preen themselves in the glitter of electric lights, wherever a ship plows the sea or an airplane floats in the blue – wherever people are living in the Twentieth Century sense of the word – there Bakelite will be found rendering its enduring service.” - John Kimberly Mumford in The Story of Bakelite, 1924
			Phenolic Jewels
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Four Bracelets, c.1940s-1950s United States, cast phenolic resin, carved
	Image: Jason J. Weller		The Amber Colored Bracelets, c,1940s-1950s United States, cast phenolic resin, carved
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Necklace, c.1950s Dark jaded green cast phenolic resin
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Dice, 1940s-1950s United States and European, various color cast phenolic resin
			Home and Office
	Image: Amsterdam Bakelite Collection, © Reindert Groot		Kitchen Scale, “Magener”, c.1928 Germany, dark red PF, metal
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Radio, “Tesla Talisman", mid 1950s Czechoslovakia, maroon PF, glass metal Manufactured by Tesla
	Image: Amsterdam Bakelite Collection, © Reindert Groot		Gio Ponti for Ducati Corporation Desk Intercom, “dufono”, c. 1940s Italy, black PF, metal, rubber, cotton, felt
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Duplicator, “Duplicard”, c. 1940 United States, black PF, metal, painted wood, flannel, rubber Made by PAC Manufacturing Corporation, Terre Haute, Indiana, Designed by William B. Petzold.
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Weather Station, “Barometer and Thermometer” c.1930s United States, black PF, metal, glass Publicity article for Joy Chemical Co., Pawtucket, R.I.
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Typewriter, early 20th century Germany, brown PF, metal, rubber
			Children
	Image: Amsterdam Bakelite Collection, © Reindert Groot		Word Game, c. 1930s Austria, PF, carton box 80 black and red pieces with alphabet and original box.
	Image: Amsterdam Bakelite Collection, © Reindert Groot		Toy Racing Car, “Talbot”, 1950s Czechoslovakia, dark red PF, metal and rubber
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Fire Truck, mid 20th c. East Germany, red sprayed PF, metal, rubber
	Image: Amsterdam Bakelite Collection, © Reindert Groot		“Time Teacher”, mid-20th c. England, brown PF, metal, and original box
	Image: Amsterdam Bakelite Collection, © Reindert Groot		Toy Projector, c. 1960s Bulgaria , baby blue UF with off white stripe and black lens mount, metal circular holder
			Fun and Flair
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Pool Table Balls USA, cast phenolic resin
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Cigar Cutter, “Gibus”, c.1950s Denmark, brown PF, metal Place a cigar in the laughing clown's mouth, press the hat, and your cigar tip will be clipped.
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Cigarette Box, c.1930s France, black PF with silver inlay Produced by G.O.P., Paris
	Image: Jason J. Weller		Ashtray, Cigarette Box, Matchbox Holder, c.1930s-1940s Czechoslovakia, black PF, metal, cord Produced by Gummon-Werke, Bratislava Art Deco-style, publicity ashtray produced for a cable manufacturer. A cable sample is held by the elephant in his trunk.