Bois Durci
Perhaps
the best Victorian achievement with a 'plastic'
based on animal polymer was patented in France in
1856 by Francois Charles Lepage, 'literary man of
Paris'. He claimed 'A New Composition of
materials which may be employed as a substitute
for wood, leather, bone, metal and other hard or
plastic substances'. His composition was made up
from blood (from the Paris slaughterhouses) and
powdered wood, mixed with colouring to simulate
wood. He heated and stirred the mixture until it
acquired the 'correct consistency' and then
moulded it in a heated mould. The mixture was cured
under heat and pressure yielding a hard, dense, glossy,
moulding.
His claim refers to small household items, combs,
pipe stems, etc. The
SOCIETE DU BOIS DURCI was established to produce desk items, especially
decorative inkwell stands and plaques. The
factory was at Grenelle in Paris and products
were sold through A Latry & Cie. of 7 Rue du
Grand-Chantier, (Au Marais) in Paris.
By the end of the 20th century, the firm had been taken over by
MIOM (La Manufacture d’Isolants et Objets Moulés) which was
founded in 1898. They continued to make Bois Durci until about
1920, by which time it had been superseded by newer plastics
materials, such as bakelite.
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