Comb
ca. 1870 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This comb is made of Parkesine, an early form of plastic. Articles made of parkesine were exhibited by the chemist and inventor, Alexander Parkes (1813-90) in the 1860s, but the Parkesine Company, founded in 1866, went into liquidation in 1868. Parkes also had a considerable reputation as a metallurgist. He filed 66 patents over a period of 46 years.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Parkesine |
| Brief description | Comb of Parkesine imitating turtleshell, England, c. 1870 |
| Physical description | Decorative comb of translucent amber-coloured plastic. A curved foliate panel topped with a cresting of alternating discs and lozenge shapes rises above the vertical, meandering lines of thirteen teeth. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Mrs J. Hull Grundy |
| Object history | Alexander Parkes (1813-90) is described in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as 'the inventor of the first man-made plastic'. Parkesine was made from cellulose nitrate, which was plasticized with camphor. Parkes exhibited small articles made of parkesine at the London Exhibition of 1862 and the Paris Exhibition of 1867, but the Parkesine Company was liquidated in 1868. The successors of Parkesine were Xylonite and Celluloid. |
| Summary | This comb is made of Parkesine, an early form of plastic. Articles made of parkesine were exhibited by the chemist and inventor, Alexander Parkes (1813-90) in the 1860s, but the Parkesine Company, founded in 1866, went into liquidation in 1868. Parkes also had a considerable reputation as a metallurgist. He filed 66 patents over a period of 46 years. |
| Bibliographic reference | R. B. Prosser, ‘Parkes, Alexander (1813–1890)’, rev. Trevor I. Williams, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.18-1961 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
