WHAT IS BAKELITE? Bakelite, also known as phenolic plastic, is created from a mixture of formaldehyde and carbolic acid developed by Dr. Leo H. Baekeland circa 1909. Generally manufactured between 1929 and 1941, bakelite, which is inflammable, has a substantial quality, as compared to its predecessor, celluloid. When two objects clunk together, they resonate with an almost musical sound, never flat, dead or tinny-sounding. Bakelite was molded into tubes, rods, and sheets, and then sliced, drilled, and sometimes carved by machinists. Initially, bakelite was used for industrial purposes, replacing celluloid, an older and previously popular synthetic material, which was highly flammable. Many people will remember kitchen items made of cheerfully colored bakelite, including napkin holders shaped like animals, salt and pepper sets, and flatware handles. With the advent of the Depression, skilled craftsmen used tools to carve out individual and sometimes intricate designs on pieces of bakelite, turning it into pins, necklaces, bracelets, belt and shoe buckles, dress clips, and buttons. Though few could afford diamonds and gold in that era, almost everyone could buy bakelite pieces, which ranged in price from a few cents to several dollars. However, with the entry of the United States into World War II, bakelite manufacturers focused their production on items useful to the armed forces, and the brightly hued pieces created for jewelry and other purposes yielded to a somber, simple, multi-purpose black. After the war, lucite and acrylic surged into fashion, and bakelite and catalin virtually disappeared. Catalin and Marblette are trade names for slight variations on the original bakelite chemical formula. All are commonly referred to as bakelite today. Bakelite plastics fall into two types: molded general-purpose phenolic plastic, and cast phenolic plastic. Molded bakelite has a natural amber color which prevents it from being created in very light colors. It commonly is found in shades of brown, black, maroon, scarlet red, dark blue, dark green, mottles, and yellow (known as "butterscotch"). A transparent form of bakelite could be tinted red, green and amber, or could be created with mottled or cloudy effects. Catalin, or cast phenolic plastic, was introduced to the public in 1930 and disappeared from the scene by the late 1940's due to the prohibitively high production costs and high toxicity during manufacture. Catalin production was labor-intensive, and the relatively expensive lead molds used to cast it could only be used once. Cast phenolic plastics are as hard as brass and can be carved, filed and ground. They buff to a high, lasting shine. Cast phenolic pieces tend to be thick and are all translucent except in the darker colors. Catalin also tends to be brightly colored and can have a highly figured swirl pattern in it. Catalin colors include yellow, tan, green, turquoise, red, orange, white, pink, dark green, maroon, dark blue, black and brown. Bakelite acquires a patina within months to years, and the originally white, yellow, and blue pieces of bakelite are now yellow/butterscotch, green, and black. TESTS FOR BAKELITE Two tests are commonly used to identify bakelite and catalin (please avoid the "hot needle" test, which can damage non-bakelite items like celluloid): The Simichrome and 409 test: apply a small quantity of either 409 General Purpose Cleaner or a dab of Simichrome metal polish to a cotton swab. Rub the swab against the plastic in question (it's best to do this on the back/less visible portion of the item you are testing). With the 409 you will detect a slight yellowish to dark brown color on the swab, while simichrome will turn from pink to yellow. If you have rubbed for 10 seconds with no yellowing, the material is most likely not bakelite or catalin. However, while this test generally works on uncleaned pieces of bakelite, it will tend to fail if the piece has been recently cleaned or machined (removing the patina), and may not work on black bakelite, either. The hot water test: run the piece under hot tap water. If it smells a little like your old high school chemistry lab (formaldehyde), it's bakelite. If it smells like camphor (familiar to many of us Vicks Vapo-Rub), it's celluloid. If it smells like burnt milk, it's Galalith, a French milk-based form of bakelite created in the 1920's; galalith will not test using the Simichrome or 409 method, due to use of milk as an ingredient. If it smells clean, or like nothing at all, it's most likely lucite or acrylic, newer plastics. CLEANING BAKELITE Since bakelite scratches easily, treat it gently.  If you find a dusty or dirty piece of bakelite jewelry, wipe it with a damp soft cloth.  If dirt is deeply ingrained in carving, try using an old, soft toothbrush - dry - to work out the grime.  Bakelite utensils should be washed by hand, never in the dishwaher. OXIDIZATION Over time, the newly polished pieces you buy from us will oxidize as it is exposed to the air.  White will become butterscotch, green will become brown, and so on.  If you own older bakelite pieces, they are rarely the colors with which the original craftsmen worked   If you have any questions, please contact us at geckoevan@sbcglobal.net.   Some information about Catalin and Catalin radios The first thing you should know about valuable Bakelite radios is that they are not made of Bakelite. This is a common misnomer. They are Catalin. Bakelite is relatively dull-colored molding plastic commonly encountered in early humdrum radios. Usually found in uninspired cases of brown, black or white, they seldom retail for more than $50. Catalin is a durable translucent plastic casting resin that, after the final production stage of polishing, lends itself to vibrant multihued coloring in combinations of chalk white, emerald, teal blue, neon orange, tomato red and other colors with marbleizing. Catalin began making appearances in radio cabinets around 1935. They are valued according to: vibrancy rarity and contrast of color, unabashedly modernistic design of the case, excellent condition with the original box being a plus and overall rarity and interest in the model and maker. Prominent manufacturers include: Addison, Air King, Arvin, Automatic Radio Mfg. Co., Bendix, Crosley, Detrola, Dewald, Emerson, Espy, Fada, Garod, General Electric, Halston, Kadette, Lafayette, Motorola, N. M Company, RCA, Sentinel, Sonora, Sparton, Stewart Warner, and Symphony. Prices in mint condition range from $25,000 for a Symphony Model 1939 "Split Grille" in marbled yellow with bright green grill, handles, and knobs to $600 for a yellow 1946/47 FADA Model 700 with white trim. Because they were commonly discarded, Catalin radios are rarely found today. CATALIN When the last of Leo Baekland's patents expired in 1926, several chemists began experimenting with the phenol-formaldehyde compound and by 1928 had the resin refined to a clear mixture. But the problems still lingered with the heat and pressure requirements, and the fillers. The clear material couldn't stand up to the rigors of pressure molding and the fillers needed to make the material less brittle would always show through. Chemists around the world experimented for several years trying to find dyes that would hold color under the conditions needed to "set" the material. Finally, a group of chemists from a German company devised a way to make dyes directly from coal tar. Combined with varying amounts of water the dyes could be added to the resin to create a range from clear to opaque and with a variety of colors. The new dye-laden resin still couldn't stand the molding process, so instead they used a method called "casting." Casting differed from molding in several ways; the most important being that when the casting process was completed, the product still required much more work to rend the piece into its final shape. Milling, sanding, buffing and tumbling were the usual steps to a finished product. In 1928, the American Catalin Corporation purchased the rights import the German companies dyes to the United States. Soon after, Catalin was licensed to several firms such as Marblette, Joanite, Fiberloid, Du Pont and even Bakelite. These companies sold resin mostly to be used in costume jewelry, novelty items, decorative, handles, napkin rings, and other small products. The fact that considerable milling was involved kept the products simple and usually small. The popularity of bakelite and plaskon with radio consumers and their demand for color variety brought Catalin to the manufacturers' attention. In 1937 Emerson, Fada and other radio manufacturers started to use Catalin and its licensed suppliers to produce cabinets. The milling required on such complex pieces was intense and damage by handling occurred often. Another factor of concern to catalin radio manufacturers was the inherent unstable characteristics of the material. Early on, the Germans found out that their dyes would change color within a few years and tried unsuccessfully to solve the problem. That's why today we see yellow instead of a pearl white and a dull dark green instead of bright blue on our radios. As a note of interest, the Bakelite Corporation claimed to have discovered the same dye and casting process as the Germans (catalin), but due to its fragile nature and its instability problems, they deemed the resulting material not suitable for production. Today, we can see other problems that catalin and its dyes have by examining our radios. As with urea, by not letting the compound set, the material is somewhat unstable and is subject to frequent stress lines. Additionally, again in part, because of the non-setting issue, catalin has the unfortunate characteristic of shrinking. Most catalin radios have shrunk up to one-half inch in the last sixty years. This is why glass dials in catalin radios are often cracked and stress lines emanate from their various holes. Also, the cabinet commonly has shrunk around the rigid metal chassis, causing more stress lines in the plastic, as well as sometimes rendering the chassis nearly impossible to remove without damaging the cabinet.

In the early days... Bakelite (phenolic resin) is most often actually a product called Catalin. Both, along with Plaskon, are formaldehyde based plastics. Allow me to expand (with liberal borrowing from Dr. Stephen Z. Fadem - a true expert). Around the turn of the century, the Belgian born scientist Dr. Leo Baekeland, working as an independent chemist, came upon the compound quite by accident. He sold his rights to Velox to Eastman Kodak for three quarters of a million dollars and started developing a less flammable bowling alley floor shellac; bowling was becoming the latest rage in New York City. Dr. Baekeland soon realized that a resin that was both insoluble and infusible could have a much wider appeal when used as a molding compound. He obtained a patent and started the Bakelite Corporation around 1910. Phenolic resin could be produced in a multitude of colors, commonly yellow, brown, butterscotch, green and red. Omitting the pigment could produce a transparent or translucent effect. The resin could be molded or cast, depending on variations in the formula. For molding, the formula was cooked until resinous, spread out in thin sheets to harden, then ground to a fine consistency. At this point, powdered fillers and pigment were added, to enable the resin to be molded and to add color. This mixture was then put through hot rollers which created large sheets of colored, hardened resin. These sheets were then ground into a very fine powder which was molded under high heat and pressure into the final product form. As a molded material the resin's drawback was the limited range of colors which could be created. For casting, the formula was modified slightly, enabling the resin to be poured into lead molds and then cured in ovens until it polymerized into a hard substance. The liquid resin could be tinted to any color or "marbleized" by mixing two colors together. For the first ten years or so after its introduction, the resin was used primarily to make electrical and automobile insulators and heavy industrial products. Eventually, uses for the resin spread into the consumer market. Castings were made in the shape of cylinders or blocks, and then sold to novelty and jewelry makers. Industrial designers began experimenting with the new material. Fine craftsmen sculpted the molded products on fast wheels with razor-like tools to carve out designs that the world has not seen since; after World War II, most companies switched to creating designs through the use of patterned molds, instead of hand-carving. Bakelite replaced flammable celluloid, previously the most popular synthetic material for molded items, as a major substance for jewelry production. The process to the collector of today may not be significant, as Bakelite is now treasured for its unique, unreproducible beauty. A deeply carved half inch bangle bracelet may sell for $225.00, and a two and one half inch bangle may command $900.00. Bakelite often acquires a patina within a few months to a few years of its date of production, and metamorphisizes into a completely different appearing color. The red, white and blue Bakelite designs of yesterday have mellowed into lovely yellows, reds and blacks, enhancing further the value of those rare pieces which have continued to maintain their original color and luster. Bakelite's many uses allowed it to become a standard item in the family home of the 1930s and 1940s. It was frequently found in the kitchen, in the form of flatware handles, rabbit or chicken napkin holders, salt and pepper shakers, or serving trays. During the Depression Bakelite sold more than any other commercial product, and was loved by the public for its brilliant and cheerful colors and its affordability. When the Bakelite patent expired in 1927, it was acquired by the Catalin Corporation that same year. They began mass production under the name "Catalin," using the cast resin formula which enabled Catalin to add 15 new colors to the original five produced by the Bakelite Corporation, which used the limited color range molded formula, as well as the now-famous marbleized effect. One of their most notable products was the Fada bullet radio. The Catalin Corporation was responsible for nearly 70% of all phenolic resins that exist today. Bakelite-Catalin was sold mostly by Saks Fifth Avenue, B. Altman and Bonwit Teller, but was also on the shelves of F.W. Woolworth and Sears. To the wealthy socialites, whose husbands had fallen on tough times during the Depression, with Tiffany diamonds and Cartier jewelry now well beyond their means, the vibrantly colorful carved jewelry adorned with rhinestones became de riguer for cocktail parties and formal dinners. Yet, Catalin and Bakelite were within everyone's reach with Depression prices ranging from twenty cents to three dollars. Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue, often spoke of the versatility of Bakelite, as did Elsa Schiaparelli, who was constantly contracting with the Bakelite and Catalin Corporations for exclusive buttons for her dress designs. But in 1942 Bakelite and Catalin suspended sales of their colorful cylinders to costume jewelry manufacturers in order to concentrate on the wartime needs of a nation which had totally shifted its focus. Defense phones and aviator goggles, as well as thousands of other Bakelite products, found their way to armed forces around the world. The scheme shifted from the 200 vibrant colors which brightened the dark days of the Depression to basic black, the no-nonsense symbol of a nation at war. By the end of the war, new technology had given birth to injection-molded plastics, and most manufacturers switched to less labor-intensive and more practical means of developing products. The next generation of plastics had been born - Acrylic, fiberglass, and vinyl - and they were molded into products commonplace in our everyday lives today.