Melba's Floral Paste Hair Pins with Celluloid Combs
A pair of paste and celluloid hair pins, early 20th century the arch design millegrain set with rose-cut paste in a pierced floral pattern, completed by celluloid combs, length approximately 4.17 in. Property from the Collection of Dame Nellie Melba GBE
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- Celluloid - In 1864 an American scientist by the name of Parkes mixed camphor with nitrocellulose, etc. The result was what came to be known as "celluloid", the first form of plastic, and a product for which Parkes could find no use.
Some time later when the supplies of ivory for making billiard balls were becoming difficult to obtain, an inventor produced a perfect billiard ball from a mould using "celluloid".
Toys, dolls and other products such as combs, cutlery handles and costume jewellery made from celluloid began appearing on the market from 1913 and continued to do so until the early 1950s by which time it was superseded by more modern products due to safety concerns because it was highly flammable and brittle product.
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