Vintage view: Collectible 20th century plastics

A chemical wonder at the time of its creation, Bakelite has a devoted following, writes Kya deLongchamps.

It’s one of those happy survivors you can look for at boot sales and online, but keep in mind that not all early plastics are equally desirable and early resinous plastic is notoriously hard to identify and date.

One of the first commercial plastics to replace the Victorian rubber composites along with Banadalista and Beetleware, Vulcanite and Celluloid — phenol formaldehyde — trading as Bakelite, was patented in 1907.