Celluloid Toys Product Of Inexpensive Manufacturing Process

BOOK REVIEW

Celluloid was one of the greatest manufacturing discoveries of the 1800s.  It was used as an affordable replacement for many natural materials, such as tortoiseshell and ivory. It worked well and inexpensively for such products as men’s detachable cuffs and collars. It could be made in many colors, was easy to work with and could be mass-produced.

Among the items that were produced in quantity in celluloid were dolls and toys. These are the subject of  Celluloid Dolls, Toys & Play things, a 2006 publication of Collector Books, written by Julie Pelletier Robinson.

There are three main sections to the books: American Manufacturers, Foreign Manufacturers; and Repairing Celluloid Toys. The introductory information also includes several pages of how to care for a collection of celluloid toys.

Many, if not most, of the celluloid manufacturers chose a specific name for their version of celluloid, which can be a point of confusion for collectors. For example, the Parsons-Jackson Company, originally a maker of celluloid cuffs and collars, patented a doll in 1914 made from their brand which they called Biskoline.

The Arlington Manufacturing Company, which was one of the strongest makers of celluloid by the late 1890s, called its product pyralin. It added toys to its line in 1913, making such products as toy bath sets and sets of dishes.

Viscoloid, another version of celluloid, was actually used as the company name. It began business in 1901, and its first products were fashionable hair combs. However, when that market began to disappear a few years later, they expanded into the manufacture of vanity items, and in 1914, added toys to its line.

As can be seen from the dates above, the manufacture of toys of celluloid became important as World War I interrupted the importation of toys from Germany. Prior to the war, that country had been a major producer of toys of all kinds being sold in the United States.

The book includes celluloid toys made in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Eng land, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Poland.

The primary drawback to products made of celluloid is their flammability. It was the introduction of non-flammable plastics that eventually put the end to the manufacture of most celluloid products, including dolls and toys.

While Celluloid Dolls, Toys & Playthings (ISBN 1-57432-464-0) will be of special interest to collectors of those items, it also contains a wealth of information that will benefit collectors of other celluloid products, as well. The book is priced at $29.95. Contact Collector Books at PO Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002 or online at www.collectorbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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Machine To Make Mesh A Great Achievement

BOOK REVIEW

For over 100 years, Whiting and Davis have been making beautiful mesh purses. They are pictured in over 700 photographs in the Schiffer publication Whiting & Davis Purses, The Perfect Mesh, written by Leslie Pina & Donald-Brian Johnson.

The  company’s history can be traced to 1876, and it was originally a manufacturer of jewelry. In 1892, Charles Whiting, then just an employee of the company who was seeking to increase sales, created the first mesh handbag. It was a laborious process, originally; all the links that formed the mesh had to be connected by hand. It was tedious, tiresome and not very cost effective, even though the work was farmed out to needy families in the area.

The real breakthrough came in 1909, when an automatic mesh-making machine was invented. By that time Whiting had bought into the company and he, with his partner Edward Davis, purchased the patents for this machine. With the implementation of these processes, which could produce mesh at the rate of 700 rings per minute, the company was well positioned to meet fashion’s demand for the very popular mesh purses.

But they were more than just purses; they were works of art. The finest of materials, including precious metals and gemstones, and designs by some of the leaders of fashion, such as Elsa Schiaparelli, combined to make the purses extremely desirable. They were  sold in high end jewelry stores, but they were advertised extensively in women’s magazines and with displays in major retail outlets.

Today, after going through numerous ownership changes in recent years, the Whiting & Davis brand name is licensed to Indolink, and all new handbags and similar items are designed by Inge Christopher and manufactured overseas. The company of Whiting & Davis itself is still located in Massachusetts as a division of Bacou-Dalloz and is a world leader in the production of stainless steel mesh safety products, as well as providing mesh fabric to designers such as Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan to use in specialty items from dresses to tablecloths.

In addition to the hundreds of purses shown in the book’s photographs, advertisements, catalog pages and some mesh jewelry are also pictured. A price guide is included.

 Whiting & Davis Purses, The Perfect Mesh, by Pina & Johnson, is priced at $59.95. Check with your local bookseller or visit Schiffer online at www.schifferbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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Book On Native American Fetishes In Second Edition

BOOK REVIEW

The second edition of Native American Fetishes, by Kay Whittle, is available from Schiffer Publishing. Although fetishes have been made and used by many tribes, the author has chosen to specialize in those made by the tribes of  the American Southwest: Zuni, Navajo and other pueblo tribes.

True fetishes, which are carvings of small animals, have great significance in the daily lives of the tribal members, having religious, hunting and curing uses. They are sacred objects.

However, today fetishes are also being made for retail purposes by skilled carvers within the tribes. These have not been blessed by a shaman or used in cultural rituals which give them power. Never the less, these small carvings have great appeal, and there are even collectors outside of the Native American tradition who believe in the power they hold.

There are several reasons for collecting fetishes. Some people enjoy them for aesthetic reasons, as affordable, hand-crafted sculpture. Others enjoy the natural materials from which they are made, whether it be bone, shell, wood, stone or some other naturally occurring product. Since almost all fetishes are animals, they also appeal to animal lovers. Others purchase and carry them to ward off bad luck. And finally, some buy them as they search to understand the meaning and life styles of those who made them.

Whether the fetish is a badger made of turquoise or a buffalo made of marble, these small carvings  appeal to a growing number of collectors.

Native American Fetishes (ISBN: 0-7643-2516-7), by Kay Whittle is priced at $14.95. It contains hundreds of color photographs, with values, and information on what each animal represents in the culture of the Southwest. Contact Schiffer Publishing at (610) 593-1777 or online at www.schifferbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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