Renowned for its bold colors and striking 1930s designs, plastic tableware is growing in popularity with collectors who appreciate its unusual visual appeal.
Because collecting plastic tableware is a relatively new phenomenon, it is still widely available and may even be found at jumble sales. A whole collection can be worth a thousand dollars (USD) or a single plate $10.
Early plastics are relatively new to the collector, but they are becoming more popular, both for their stylish deco designs and for what they reveal about the development of the plastics industry.
Some plastic collectibles are now surprisingly expensive and out of the reach of the average collector, although tableware is still accessible. Some of the cheaper items includes napkin rings, ashtrays and picnicware.
Plastics can be defined as natural or synthetic materials tat can be moulded by heat pr pressure. Natural plastics like horn have been used for snuff boxes and decorative trinkets since the 18th century, and the modern plastics industry evolved from the 19th century experiments to find cheap substitutes for such rare and expensive natural materials.
Alexander Parkes invented Parkesine, the first
semi-synthetic plastic, in 1862. However the first real breakthrough came
with the introduction of Bakelite, a
plastic with good insulating and water-resisting properties which was patented
by Leo Baekeland in 1909.
This was the first totally man-made plastic and
the trade name 'Bakelite' is now used to
describe all formaldehyde plastics (where a by-product of the coal industry is
mixed with phenol to form a resin). They all share its distinctive
mottled brown, red or green appearance.
BAKELITE AND BEETLE
Bakelite was suitable for a vast range of goods
including hair dryers and radios, its heat resistance making it ideal for
anything electrical. But there were drawbacks - the first Bakelite
beakers gave an unpleasant smell and flavour to hot liquids, and they were
restricted to dark colours because of the special wood fillers needed to
strengthen the resin.
It was the introduction of 'Beetle' or thiourea
formaldehyde (a cast resin without filler, made of urea formaldehyde and thiourea),
that finally satisfied the need for a plastic suitable for food. It was
tough, clean smelling and available in a wide range of colors.
Plastic goods first reached the mass market
between the wars. In 1926 the Harrods department store has a window
display of the latest range of plastic tableware known as Linga Longa and
Bandalasta. It caused a sensation. By the early 1930s, plastic
tableware had proved to be an acceptable and hardier alternative to ceramics
and companies everywhere were making it. Plastic was used for everything
from condiment sets to cocktail shakers.
Plastic tableware soon graced every fashionable
kitchen, perfectly complementing a whole new range of other plastics, including
draining boards, toasters, utensils and plate racks.
TABLEWARE COLLECTOR'S NOTES
Street markets are one of the best places to search
for plastic tableware. You'll usually find plenty of small mouldings such
as egg cups, napkin rings and beakers.
The larger and often more decorative items of
tableware, including cake stands and fruit bowls are becoming increasingly
difficult to find. This is partly because interest in collecting plastics
has escalated in the last few years and also because decorative arts tableware
is prized above the more utilitarian pieces.
Unfortunately a lot of plastic tableware has been
relegated to the garbage bin and it was not manufactured on a scale to rival
the most popular ceramic lines. Many surviving pieces have been cracked
or chipped and some have even partially disintegrated after heavy use or
prolonged contact with hot liquids.
Bandalasta
Bandalasta ware is undoubtedly the top
of the range of the plastics industry and is the most sought after trade
name. It has a certain solidity and substantial feel which some of the
later paper filled urea plastics lack.
Brooke & Adams, who manufactured
Bandalasta also used extremely good quality steel dies; the pieces were given a
high degree of finish. The thin lines of plastic which seeped out at the
joints, known as flashings, were tooled away unlike other companies' models.
The beautiful marbled colorings were
unmatched by any other manufacturer and because of the way it was produced,
with different colored powders mixed in varying proportions and sprinkled into
the mounds, no two pieces were exactly the same.
Bandalasta is often twice as
expensive as other makes - look for the trademark on the base. You should
also expect to pay high prices for large fruit bowls and rose bowls.
Color also affects the price - Bandarouge, a rich mixture or red, orange, blue,
green and yellow, is more collectible and more expensive than other colors.
Other high quality trade names are
Beaconware and Beetleware, both moulded by the Streetly Manufacturing Company, and Linga Longa.
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Fantastic Plastic Tableware
