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Celluloid
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==Uses== [[File:Bébé celluloïd.jpg|thumb|right|upright|An antique celluloid doll]] [[File:40mm table tennis ball Celluloid.jpg|thumb|right|Table tennis balls]] [[File:Seth Thomas Clock Company mantle clock 1880.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Seth Thomas (clockmaker)|Seth Thomas]] black mantel clock, a typical late 19th century American style. The "serpentine" and "stone" of the pillars are made of celluloid glued to wood.]] [[File:Celluloid Picks.jpg|alt=Assorted tortoiseshell celluloid guitar picks.|thumb|Assorted tortoiseshell celluloid guitar picks.]] Most movie and photography films prior to the widespread move to [[Cellulose acetate film|acetate films]] in the 1950s were made of celluloid. Its high flammability was legendary since it self-ignites when exposed to temperatures over 150 °C in front of a hot movie-projector beam. While celluloid film was standard for 35mm theatrical productions until around 1950, motion-picture film for amateur use, such as 16mm and 8mm film, were on acetate "safety base", at least in the US. [[File:Неваляшка.jpg|thumb|left|A late Soviet [[roly-poly toy]] from celluloid]] Celluloid was useful for producing cheaper jewellery, jewellery boxes, hair accessories and many items that would earlier have been manufactured from ivory, horn or other expensive animal products.<ref name=Ull>{{Ullmann |doi=10.1002/14356007.a05_419.pub2|title=Cellulose Esters|year=2004|last1=Balser|first1=Klaus|last2=Hoppe|first2=Lutz|last3=Eicher|first3=Theo|last4=Wandel|first4=Martin|last5=Astheimer|first5=Hans‐Joachim|last6=Steinmeier|first6=Hans|last7=Allen|first7=John M.|isbn=9783527303854}}</ref> In these applications it was often referred to as "Ivorine" or "French Ivory", after a form of celluloid developed in France with grain lines in made to resemble [[ivory]].<ref name=Grasso16>{{cite book |last=Grasso |first=Tony |date=1996 |title= Bakelite Jewellery A Collector's guide|publisher=The Apple Press |page=16 |isbn=1850766134 }}</ref> It was also used for dressing table sets, dolls, picture frames, charms, hat pins, buttons, buckles, stringed instrument parts, [[accordions]], fountain pens, cutlery handles and kitchen items. The main disadvantage the material had was that it was flammable. It was soon overtaken by [[Bakelite]] and [[Catalin]]. Soviet [[roly-poly toy|roly-poly]] dolls were made from celluloid on [[smokeless powder]] plants until 1996, and table tennis balls – until 2014. "[[Parker Brothers]]... made some versions {{bracket|of [[diabolo]]s}} out of hollow Celluloid--which, because of its 'frictionless' properties, spun even faster than steel."<ref>Orbanes, Philip (2004). ''The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers from Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit'', p. 48. Harvard Business. {{ISBN|9781591392699}}.</ref> Shelf clocks and other furniture items were often covered with celluloid in a manner similar to [[wood veneer|veneer]]. This celluloid was printed to look like expensive woods, or materials like marble or granite. The [[Seth Thomas (clockmaker)|Seth Thomas]] clock company bought rights for its use as a durable coating from Celluloid Manufacturing Company in September, 1880 and marketed it as, "Adamantine".<ref><https://clockhistory.com/sethThomas/products/adamantine/index.html>.</ref> Celluloid enabled clockmakers to make the typical late Victorian style of black [[mantel clock]] in such a way that the wooden case appeared to be black marble, and the various pillars and other decorative elements of the case looked like semi-precious stone.<ref>{{cite book|title= Seth Thomas Clocks & Movements|publisher= U.S. Books|author= Ly, Tran Duy|year= 1996|isbn=0-9647406-0-5}}</ref> [[File:Handharmonika.jpg|thumb|Flaming celluloid pattern on an accordion.]] Celluloid was also a popular material in the construction of [[slide rules]]. It was primarily used to coat wooden slide rule faces, such as in early [[Faber-Castell|A.W. Faber]] rules, as well as cursor end pieces, such as in [[Keuffel and Esser]] rules. Celluloid remains in use for musical instruments, especially accordions and guitars. Celluloid is very robust and easy to mold in difficult forms, and has great acoustic performance as cover for wooden frames since it does not block wood's natural pores. Instruments covered with celluloid can easily be recognized by the material's typical [[nacre]]-like flaming pattern. Thick celluloid panels are cooked in a [[bain-marie]] which turns them into a leather-like substance. Panels are then turned on a mold and allowed to harden for as long as three months.
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