Celluloid Corporation Records
name: label: Creator
content: Hyatt, John Wesley (inventor)
label: Creator
content: Celluloid Corporation.
label: Names
content: Celluloid Manufacturing Company.
label: Names
content: Nepera Chemical Company.
topic: label: Topic
content: Celluloid
label: Topic
content: Chemistry
label: Topic
content: Plastics -- Molding
label: Topic
content: Physical sciences
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
creator: label: Creator
content: Hyatt, John Wesley (inventor)
label: Creator
content: Celluloid Corporation.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Celluloid Corporation Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection consists of trade catalogs, price lists, notebooks, promotional literature, patents, a salesman's kit (including samples), photographs and prints of plant buildings, personnel, celluloid molds and by-products documenting the Celluloid Corporation.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Celluloid Manufacturing Company is the original corporate name of the present Celluloid Corporation.  It was founded in 1872 to present celluloid to the world.  The word "celluloid" was registered as a trademark in 1873 by its inventor, John Wesley Hyatt.  This registration marked the beginnings of the plastic industry.  The first efforts were directed to supplying the dental trade with plates for artificial teeth.  In 1882 the corporation began to use amyl acetate as a nitro cellulose solvent, which paved the way for the development of the lacquer industry.  In 1910 non flammable "safety film" was made from cellulose acetate.  In 1912 the corporation invented Lumarith, a true thermoplastic, meaning it could be molded or cast into any conceivable form without undergoing a chemical change.  It came in powder form (granules) for the new injection molding processes.  It was injected into the mold and in a matter of seconds the finished article was ejected.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3 Cubic feet (3 boxes )
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1883 - 1943
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Transferred from the Division of Physical Sciences (now the Division of Medicine and Science) on April 5, 1983.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0009
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Catalogs
label: Type
content: Notebooks
label: Type
content: Price lists
label: Type
content: Patents
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into four series. 

Series 1: Publications, 1891-1935 

Series 2: Trade Catalogs, 1883-1928

Series 3: Salesman's Kits, 1937-1943

Series 4: Photographs, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Robert S. Harding, archivist and E.S. Etuk, 1985.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Notebooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Price lists
label: Genre/Form
content: Patents
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: These records are divided into four separate series: Series 1: Publications, 1891-1935, including news clippings, notebooks, promotional literature, and patents; Series 2: Trade Catalogs, 1883-1928, including price lists; Series 3: Salesman's Kits, 1937-1943, including samples; and Series 4: Photographs, undated, including photo prints of plant buildings, personnel, celluloid molds and other by-products.