CelluloidIn 1869, John Wesley Hyatt and Isaiah Hyatt were issued a U.S. patent for the first plastic, which they called "Improved Method of Making Solid Collodion" (No. 91,341). In their method, soluble cotton, pyroxyline, or prepared cellulose was placed into a strong cylinder or suitably-shaped mold. Then "the employment of a very small quantity of ether or other appropriate solvent, and dissolving pyroxyline therewith, under a heavy pressure, so that a comparatively hard and solid product is obtained, with great economy of solvents and saving of time." A filler may be mixed with the pyroxyline such as ivory-dust, bone-dust, asbestos, flake-white, or any other desirable substance, according to the nature of the product required.« |
