Book:Illustrated catalogue of soft and hard rubber goods

In 1869 the H.G. Norton & Company of New York City prided itself as the country's foremost wholesaler of rubber goods, offering a vast assortment of rubber products from around the world. First introduced in Europe in 1735, rubber was named in 1770 by pioneering chemist Joseph Priestley, who used it to "rub out" pencil marks. The source of much fascination and experimentation, rubber first became commercially viable after Charles Goodyear accidentally discovered the process of vulcanization in 1839. Vulcanization controls rubber's elasticity and prevents it from becoming sticky and smelly in heat, and hard and brittle in cold. Though Goodyear never profited from his invention, the process made way for an explosion of rubber goods. By 1869 wholesaler H. G. Norton & Co. offered everything from combs, weatherproof boots and coats, balls, and air mattresses, to men's ties and a spectacular assortment of dolls. The world would have to wait until 1887 for John Dunlop to develop inflatable rubber tires.