Art deco

1930 · réf. 135058 — Germany: c. 1930s-40s. Plastic fantastic A flamboyant example of Bakelite - or possibly casein plastic - being used to eye-catching effect for a souvenir album here repurposed and comprising illustrations of art deco furniture and interiors: a perhaps incongruous use for a binding redolent of the marbling in Bavarian baroque churches. Few such fragile and fascinating albums could have survived repeated handling. Bakelite a synthetic resin was invented in 1907 by Belgian-born American chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland. It was widely used in the 1920s and by the 1930s "enjoyed a vogue in colourful costume jewellery and novelties" Ency. Brit. Casein plastics - the product of formaldehyde and the milk protein casein - readily absorbs dyes and can therefore often be coloured. "It can be made translucent and opaque … and is used mainly for jewellery buttons brushes and handles for example umbrellas. In the early 20th century it served as an imitation of natural materials such as ivory tortoiseshell and horn" Plastic Identification Tool website. The single smaller halftone print present here bears the logo of "AVVR" presumably a Spanish furniture company and is titled "Comedor No. 63" "Dining room No. 63". In commerce we trace a similar binding being used as a photograph album by GIs in early 1950s Germany differing in colour and labelled "Murnau-Bavaria". Landscape octavo album 195 x 272 mm. With 14 hand-coloured photographs of drawings printed on white card 166 x 228 mm numbered in pencil mounted on recto of 14 brown card leaves with cobweb-pattern tissue guards remaining leaves blank the whole wite-stitched; halftone photographic illustration 122 x 167 mm mounted on verso of first leaf. Original marbled Bakelite post binder front cover marbled in orange back cover in greens and browns lettered "Souvenir of Germany" on front cover in raised blue-green Bakelite below this lettered "Bavaria" on a dark green label within a yellow Bakelite ornamental frame both mounted with adhesive stitched at the spine with orange plastic twine posts with marbled dark blue and orange Bakelite caps. Large pictorial Bakelite device sometime removed from front cover a couple of chips to front larger chip to fore edge repaired with adhesive rear board lifting at foot where adhesive has dried; prints a little toned creased and finger-soiled the odd tear to guards some repaired with opaque tape: a very good example. unknown