104 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1923. 



Pyralin, toilet table articles, such as comb, brush, hand mirror, and 

 powder box. The third section includes a great number of finished 

 articles, such as toilet sets, combs, buttons, handles of various styles, 

 toys, games, etc., selected to illustrate the wide field of usefulness of 

 this material. A particularly interesting specimen in this collection 

 is a model of an automobile constructed entirely of Pyralin, show- 

 ing the wide range of adaptability of this plastic material. The 

 same company contributed from its plant at Newburgh, N. Y., 

 twelve specimens illustrating the manufacture of " Fabrikoid," a 

 leather substitute made by coating specially woven and finished 

 cotton fabrics with a nitrated cellulose compound, and finishing 

 to represent regular types of fancy leathers known to the trade. 

 This material is used in upholstery, bookbinding, etc. 



About a decade and a half ago. Dr. L, H. Bakeland conducted a 

 series of researches on the action of carbolic acid and formaldehyde, 

 and by using certain special conditions he obtained a resin-like sub- 

 stance which when further heated under pressure turned to a hard 

 mass which was no longer affected by heat or chemicals. Thus an- 

 other class of plastics, known as phenolic condensation products, was 

 discovered, and this particular one named Bakelite. During the past 

 year the General Bakelite Company, of Perth Amboy, N. J., has pre- 

 pared and contributed a series of specimens showing the manufac- 

 turing process involved in making Bakelite, and illustrations of its 

 various uses, such as enamel varnishes, amber pipes, cigarette holders, 

 and miscellaneous radio parts. Later the Condensite Company of 

 America, Bloomfield, N. J., contributed a series of specimens of Con- 

 densite, another phenolic condensation product, to supplement the 

 Bakelite collection. 



It has not been so many years ago that explosions and fires in 

 motion picture theaters caused by faulty films were not uncommon. 

 Since then cellulose acetate which is not explosive has been developed 

 on a commercial scale and is now used in manufacturing motion 

 picture films, thus eliminating this former hazard. A series of 

 specimens prepared and contributed by the Eastman Kodak Com- 

 pany, of Rochester, N. Y., illustrates the method of treating tissue 

 paper with acetic acid and acetic anhydride to obtain cellulose acetate, 

 and the use of this substance in making film support for the motion 

 picture industry. 



The overweighting of silk fabrics with solutions of certain metallic 

 salts or organic materials is a form of adulteration which has brought 

 certain goods into disfavor. Tlie American Home Economics Asso- 

 ciation has endeavored to acquaint buyers of silk fabrics with the 

 importance of purchasing unweighted fabrics, and its Committee on 

 the Standardization of Textile Fabrics arranged through the coopera- 



