Inventive Minds: Endangered Species - Seeking An Ivory Substitute Sparks the Plastics Revolution

By Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

nventive Minds: Inventing Green features the stories of historic and contemporary inventors whose work on socially-responsible technologies creates profound change for the common good.

Celluloid billiard ball manufacture (1920/1929) by Lemelson Center and Albany Billiard Ball Co.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Elephants in Danger

“An enormous number of elephants are destroyed . . . for the ivory of the tusks. . . . Long before our human story is over the elephant will be numbered with extinct species.” —The People’s Magazine, 1867

Ivory Billiard Ball (1800/1900) by Lemelson CenterLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Ivory was the preferred material for billiard balls in the 19th century and the search for substitutes, whether motivated by economics or ethics, informed the invention of early plastics.

- Ivory billiard ball, late 1800s.

Celluloid Billiard Ball (1868) by Lemelson Center and John Wesley HyattLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

John Wesley Hyatt created a successful business making billiard balls with his invention of Celluloid in 1868.

- Celluloid billiard ball, 1868.

Bakelite Billiard Balls (1910) by Lemelson Center and Leo BaekelandLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Bakelite, announced by inventor Leo Baekeland in 1909, found many uses, from billiard balls and jewelry to electrical insulators.

- Bakelite billiard balls, after 1910.

Vitalite Billiard Balls (1935) by Lemelson Center and Max KoebnerLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Vitalite billiard balls, made of a cast resin originally invented in Germany in the 1930s by chemist Max Koebner, were popular during the 1930s–1950s.

- Vitalite billiard balls, about 1935.

Billiard ball polishing lathes (1920/1929) by Lemelson Center and Albany Billiard Ball Co.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Celluloid billiard ball manufacture, 1920s.

"The balls next go to the polishing lathes illustrated in photograph 75, where they are sanded and polished."

- From "Manufacture of Celluloid Billiard Balls," Albany Billiard Ball Co. Records.

Final polishing of billiard balls with wax (1920/1929) by Lemelson Center and Albany Billiard Ball Co.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

"The manufacture of the celluloid balls is completed by a final polishing with wax in the polishing lathe."

- From "Manufacture of Celluloid Billiard Balls," Albany Billiard Ball Co. Records.

Inspecting freshly-manufactured billiard balls (1920/1929) by Lemelson Center and Albany Billiard Ball Co.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Celluloid billiard ball manufacture, 1920s.

- Albany Billiard Ball Co. Records.Celluloid billiard ball manufacture, 1920s

Billiard balls ground on a merry-go-round (1920/1929) by Lemelson Center and Albany Billiard Ball Co.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

"After their final turning, the balls are ground in a merry-go-round illustrated in photograph 81."

- From "Manufacture of Celluloid Billiard Balls," Albany Billiard Ball Co. Records.

"The balls are ground by being made to roll in a race between oppositely revolving surfaces in contact with water and fine abrasive."

Buffing billiard balls on a buffing wheel (1920/1929) by Lemelson Center and Albany Billiard Ball Co.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

"The manufacture of the synthetic balls is completed by buffing on a special buffing wheel, illustrated in photograph 84, where the final polishing is applied."

- From "Manufacture of Celluloid Billiard Balls," Albany Billiard Ball Co. Records.

Celluloid billiard ball manufacture (1920/1929) by Lemelson Center and Albany Billiard Ball Co.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

Celluloid billiard ball manufacture, 1920s. Albany

- Billiard Ball Co. Records.

Credits: Story

Endangered Species

Story by Joyce Bedi and Alison Oswald
of the
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
at the
National Museum of American History

Presentation by
Marc Bretzfelder
<a href="https://www.si.edu>Smithsonian Institution</a><br>Office of the Chief Information Officer</p>

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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