Alfred Critchlow
(1813-1881)
invented
Shellac moulding compound
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Alfred
P. Critchlow was born in 1813 in Nottingham,
England and manufactured horn buttons in
Birmingham. He emigrated to the US and continued
his trade in Haydenville, Mass., before moving to
Florence, Mass. where he began experimenting in
the early 1850s with shellac and gutta percha
moulding compounds. He claimed to have invented a
shellac-based moulding material (he called it
Florence Compound) which he, and others, used to
manufacture Union Cases. These highly decorated
cases, used to protect daguerreotype photographic
images, were among the first mass-produced
plastics mouldings. In an 1856 patent relating to
the manufacture of Union Cases, Critchlow merely
referred to the compound as being composed of
various materials, well known to those whose
business it is to manufacture such cases.
Critchlow entered into partnership with Samuel
Hill and Isaac Parsons in 1853 but in 1857, when
the popularity of Union Cases was approaching its
peak, he sold his interest in the business and
its name was changed to Littlefield, Parsons
& Company. However, by the mid 1860s,
ambrotypes had taken over from daguerreotypes and
the need for the Union Case was gone. In 1866,
Littlefield, Parsons & Co. changed their name
to the Florence Manufacturing Co. and produced a
number of beautiful shellac hand mirror and brush
sets.
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