Bakelite: Collectible Plastic

Bakelite, a chemically-invented varnish substitute now collected by vintage and antique jewelery enthusiasts, was initially given the name oxybenzylmethyleneglycolanhydride during its inception in 1907. Dr. Leo Henrick Baekeland, the creator of Bakelite, was a Belgian-born immigrant whose first invention was actually a special type of photo paper called Velox, a paper which could be developed under natural light. Sold to Eastman Kodak in 1899, Velox made Baekeland extremely wealthy, so he started his own company.

Baekeland’s second invention, Bakelite, was originally created for use as insulator varnish for transistors and electrical parts in radios. The actual moment of Bakelite’s invention is said to be an accident caused by pressure-mixing two chemicals Formaldehyde and Carbolic Acid. What resulted was the one of the most versatile thermoset, or phenolic plastics of the time, which was then patented in 1909.

Due to the product’s versatility, Bakelite was used for a number of items from cameras to toys. It was durable, did not melt like Celluloid (another early plastic), was virtually nonconductive, waterproof, and in addition, Bakelite was an easy medium for manufacturing consumer goods. It was even eventually used to make records and telephone parts.

The first versions of Bakelite were very dark in color due to a lack of refinement in the process and the necessity of additives in the solution to provide sturdiness. Later, after the introduction of special processes to produce an array of colors, Bakelite became a common inexpensive material used for jewelry and accessory creation.

Though versatile and often pleasing in appearance, Bakelite did not become trendy until the 1930’s when designers like CoCo Chanel used Bakelite accessories in her fashions. The fad continued into the late sixties when pop icon Andy Warhol started his massive collection, which when sold in the late eighties incited a definite rebirth of retro Bakelite enthusiasm.