Welcome to Bakelite Collector
When Bakelite first appeared in the early 1900s it was the result of an accident -- just the type of "accident" that today's collectors love.
Known as the "material of a thousand uses," Bakelite was a cast resin that first proved itself as a heat-resistant material. It was used for electrical insulation and other industrial purposes and was available in a limited number of colors.
But by the 1930s phenolic resins were available in a stunning range of opaque, translucent, transparent, and marbleized colors. This range of colors, combined with the fact that Bakelite was easy to work with and cheap to produce, meant that Bakelite and its relatives* soon appeared virtually everywhere.
Women carried Bakelite purses. Their shoes and belts featured Bakelite buckles. Bakelite buttons and dress clips adorned their clothing. Seamstresses stored their supplies in Bakelite sewing kits.
Bakelite was used to make a fantastic and fabulous range of costume jewelry: whimsical Bakelite pins and brooches brightened the day. Bakelite rings, earrings, necklaces, and beads were inexpensive and fun to wear. And Bakelite was used to make bracelets of every sort: bangles, hinged bracelets, link bracelets, cuffs, stretch bracelets, and charm bracelets. Because Bakelite could be carved and was easy to polish, it was the ideal medium for inexpensive jewelry, especially during the Great Depression.
Bakelite napkin rings and salt and pepper sets joined flatware with Bakelite handles on the dining table where meals that had been prepared with Bakelite kitchenware were served.
People spoke on Bakelite telephones and listened to radios with Bakelite cases. They used Bakelite lamps and had Bakelite desk sets and clocks. Bakelite chess pieces, poker chips, dice and billiard balls featured in adult leisure time activities while their children played with Bakelite toys.
Bakelite was popular in the production of vanity items too – men’s razors were packaged in Bakelite boxes and often had Bakelite handles. Vanity boxes and hatpins made of Bakelite were popular, as were hand mirrors and hair brushes with Bakelite handles.
Those of us who have succumbed to "Bakelite fever" are lucky that Bakelite was so widely used throughout Europe and North America during the first half of the twentieth century – there’s still a lot of Bakelite out there to be found. And a lot of it is here at BakeliteCollector.com, with new auctions and listings appearing every day.
So if you have been diagnosed with “Bakelite fever,” you’ve come to the right place. Good luck and happy hunting!
* In addition to the products made by the Bakelite Corporation, cast phenolic thermosetting plastic products were manufactured under a variety of brand names. These include: Agatine, Catalin, Durez, Durite, Fiberlon, Gemstone, Ivaleur, Joanite, Marblette, Monsanto Phenolic Resin, Phenolia, Prystal, Trafford. To keep things simple, Bakelite is used as a generic term on this site, with individual brand names used when known.