Bakelite

The Story Of Bakelite

Belgian chemist, Dr Leo Baekeland discovered a hard, brittle plastic substance around 1908 that he named Bakelite. Bakelite did not readily conduct electricity or heat and consequently it was used extensively in the manufacture of electrical products. It could be moulded into extravagant shapes, perfect for the period and probably most famously, for the manufacture of radio casings. It was once even considered as a substitute for metal in the production of the one-cent coin.

Manufactured in a variety of colours from the familiar dark brown of early electrical fittings, the reds and greens of vintage picnic sets to the black of kitchen appliances. It was common to find black Bakelite handles or knobs on furniture or coupled with silver, silver plate or chrome – particularly on tea and coffee sets – as decorative knops or handles. It was very popular on dressing tables too, where it made a very good substitute for tortoiseshell.

Bakelite Table - Mottled Brown

$1550.00 Free Delivery Within England, Wales & Scotland

A very rare Vintage Bakelite – Round Topped Table – Mottled Brown Colour.

The round top supported on a central segmented column and four feet the Bakelite a mottled brown colour all over. This table probably dates from the 1930′s and is in excellent condition.
Dimensions: 23.5inches(60cm) diameter x 18inches(45.5cm) high.

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Bakelite Cigarette Box

The two examples on this page, of a very familiar and collectable plastic box, tell an interesting story about the dating and attribution of collectable plastics. The moulded lid on each box is identical. It bears a fantastical Art Deco stylised landscape scene depicting a mounted lancer, his horse rearing, piercing the mouth of a rampant lion with his lance, watched from the air by a vulture (parrot?) on the wing. An example is illustrated by Sylvia Katz in Classic Plastic, pages 58 – 59 and dated to 1936.

Cigarette Box

$350.00 Free Postage Worldwide

A moulded thermoplastic cigarette box circa 1962 bearing an impressed mark to the base “Plessey Components”.

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ELO Ware

The black and green box is definitely Bakelite. It is stamped on the base with the very well known trademark: ELO WARE, REGD and Made In England. The brown and white box is marked on the base: Plessey Components.

The first interesting thing I noticed was the difference in weight. The ELO box was definitely heavier. When I checked, it weighed 280 grams. The Plessey box weighed only 220 grams. Also, the box with the white lid usually has a black base and you don’t need to look too far on the Internet to find an example. I’d had one myself and sold it some time ago. I was intrigued by these discrepancies and decided to investigate.

Cigarette Box

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Birkbys

ELO was a trademark of Birkbys, a plastics manufacturer, founded at Liversedge, West Yorkshire in 1867. In the early years of the 20^th century Birkby brothers, Arnold and Freddie decide to get to know all about the new material, Bakelite, recently invented by Dr Leo Baeckeland. They developed their own processes for moulding under the trade name ELO and produced components for the fast-growing car industry. They manufactured telephone casings and Bakelite wireless cabinets in wonderful Art Deco designs, including the then largest know wireless cabinet, using a one and half ton press.

Bakelite Cigarette Box

$850.00 Free Postage Worldwide

A mottled black and green Bakelite cigarette box circa 1936.

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Birkbys moved into injection moulded thermoplastics after the war and became a major manufacturer of telephone components before it was sold to AT & E in 1959, only to be acquired by Plessey 1962. Therefore dating the white and brown box to the 1960′s. The hot water test confirmed that it is not Bakelite.

Bakelite Cigarette Box

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Although I was disappointed, to begin with, I would never have bothered to research the origins of the boxes if they had both been stamped ELO and, as I have not seen another example of this design stamped Plessey before, I wonder if it may not be quite rare?