Bakelite
was the product of the 1950's. We had bakelite radios,
bakelite telephones and bakelite washing machines. In fact, before
mainstream plastics there was only bakelite and lino, the latter of
course having nothing to do with bakelite itelf.
Anyone
born in the early 1960's will have been very familiar with bakelite
since homes at this time would still be full of products made with
bakelite.
Bakelite
is a heat-resistant product and a chemically stable resin which is
actually the first plastic ever made. It was invented in Belgium by an
American chemist by the name of Dr. Leo Baekeland. Easy to see where it
got its name then.
Although
bakelite has been used since 1907 when it was invented, it really came
into its own in the forties and fifties. No longer confined to dull and
boring colours it became a product that everyone would have been
familiar with, much like modern plastics are today.
In
1928 a bakelite factory opened in Reddings Lane, Tyseley in Birmingham,
formed by the amalgamation of three suppliers, trading under the name
Bakelite Ltd. The factory was demolished in 1998 but bakelite by this
time had long ceased to be used in consumer products.
Bakelite
has become quite collectable. The Bakelite Museum in Williton, Someret,
has a vast collection of bakelite goods in all shapes and sizes for
every conceivable type of product.
