Celluloid (Mourning-Jewellery Imitation)
Celluloid is the first industrially produced plastic in history (1869) and became, in the late nineteenth century, the cheap imitation of jet, ivory and amber in the mass mourning jewellery of the late Victorian middle and working classes - the first “democratisation” of mourning jewellery and, at the same time, the beginning of the decline of the noble mourning materials.
Written by Dr. Helene Vasall
Celluloid marks a technical and cultural break in the history of mourning jewellery. With its invention in 1869 and its industrial mass production from the 1880s onwards, the plastic imitation of noble jewellery materials began on a large scale for the first time. Whitby jet (see Whitby Jet), vulcanite (see Vulcanite (Ebonite)), amber (see Amber) and ivory (see Ivory) - all were imitated in celluloid en masse between 1880 and 1920. The result: a democratisation of mourning jewellery (poorer classes too could now comply with the mourning dress code) and, at the same time, the beginning of the industrial decline of the workshops that made the noble mourning materials (the Whitby jet industry, the Berlin iron manufactories, the traditional amber carvers of Königsberg).
Material and properties
Celluloid is a compound of nitrocellulose and camphor with the following properties:
- Base substance: nitrocellulose (guncotton with a reduced nitrate content)
- Plasticiser: camphor (5–20%) - which gives the material its workability
- Pigments: additives for the particular colour being imitated
- Density: around 1.3–1.4 g/cm³ - lighter than jet in feel (jet is in fact comparable at 1.3 g/cm³, but seems heavier because of its material density) and than ivory (1.8 g/cm³)
- Hardness: around 2 on the Mohs scale; markedly softer than the materials it imitates
- Melting behaviour: softens at around 70–80 °C, melts at about 90 °C
- Flammability: readily flammable, burning with a bright light and an aroma of camphor
History
Invention (1869). John Wesley Hyatt, an American inventor, was looking for a substitute for ivory - prompted by a prize offered by the firm Phelan and Collender for a cheap alternative to the ivory billiard ball. Hyatt developed a mixture of nitrocellulose and camphor, which he patented in 1869. In 1870 he registered the trade name Celluloid - the first industrial plastic in history.
Early production (1870s). Celluloid was used at first for billiard balls, combs, buttons and spectacle frames. Jewellery applications were initially incidental.
The mourning-jewellery boom (1880s–1890s). With the height of ritualised Victorian mourning fashion (see The Victorian Era (1837–1901)) and the pressure on broader sections of the population to comply with the mourning dress code, a huge market for cheap mourning jewellery emerged. Celluloid became the dominant solution. Birmingham, Pforzheim, Idar-Oberstein and Paris became centres of industrial celluloid mourning-jewellery production.
Heyday (1890–1914). Celluloid mourning jewellery was produced by the million each year. Typical products: black celluloid mourning chains (see Mourning Necklace), celluloid mourning brooches with a stamped mourning symbol (anchor, weeping willow, cross), celluloid mourning earrings (see Mourning Earrings). The pieces primarily imitated Whitby jet and vulcanite; secondarily also amber (in honey to brown tones) and ivory (in cream-white celluloid).
The First World War and decline (1914–1925). Ritual mourning fashion collapsed with the industrialised mass dying of the First World War (see The Middle Classes and Mourning Jewellery in the Nineteenth Century). Mourning was privatised; the mourning dress code largely disappeared. With it went the market for celluloid mourning jewellery. Production shifted to general costume jewellery and everyday objects.
The interwar years (1920s–1940s). Celluloid remained present in general costume jewellery (Art Deco jewellery used it extensively), but no longer in mourning jewellery. From the 1940s onwards it was increasingly replaced by other plastics (cellulose acetate, Bakelite, polystyrene) because of its flammability.
Today. Celluloid is no longer actively used for jewellery. Antique celluloid mourning pieces from the 1880s to the 1920s are collectors' objects with a small but loyal following.
Working the material
Celluloid can be worked in many ways.
Pressing. Hot celluloid (60–80 °C) is pressed in steel moulds. This is how pendants, brooch heads, buttons and beads were produced in their millions. A standard jewellery form takes 10–30 seconds per piece.
Casting. Liquid celluloid is poured into moulds - above all for larger pieces (bangles, large pendants). This variant is rarer and was carried out in specialised workshops.
Carving. Celluloid can be carved with fine tools - above all for imitations of carved jet. The quality of carving ranges from simple profiles to very fine detail work.
Pressing with negative reliefs. Mourning symbols (anchor, weeping willow, cross) were worked into the press mould as a negative relief; the finished piece carries the symbol in relief on its front.
Colouring. Celluloid can be coloured in almost any shade. For mourning jewellery a deep black with a slightly violet sheen dominates (imitating jet), but dark brown (imitating vulcanite), honey-amber tones and ivory cream-white were also produced.
Painting. Coloured accents were sometimes applied afterwards - gold inscriptions, white weeping-willow reliefs or coloured angel motifs.
Strategies of imitation
Celluloid imitated several jewellery materials at once.
Jet imitation (Whitby jet, see Whitby Jet). Deep black celluloid with a polished gloss. The difference: celluloid is markedly lighter than jet, warms under friction, but shines just as intensely.
Vulcanite imitation (see Vulcanite (Ebonite)). Matt black celluloid with a slight sheen. The difference: celluloid ages differently (yellow-brown discolouration rather than the browning typical of vulcanite).
French jet (see French Jet). Before celluloid, French jet (black-dyed glass from Paris) was the most important industrial imitation of jet. With the arrival of celluloid, French jet was largely displaced - celluloid is easier to work and cheaper.
Amber imitation (see Amber). Honey to golden-yellow celluloid with a slightly translucent appearance. It imitates above all pressed amber, not genuine natural amber with insect inclusions.
Ivory imitation (see Ivory). Cream-white celluloid with fine lines worked in to suggest the grain of ivory. Often marketed as “vegetable ivory” or “French ivory”.
Social and cultural history
Celluloid has two opposing significances in cultural history.
The democratisation of mourning jewellery. For the first time in history, broader sections of the population - including workers and servants - could comply with the socially prescribed mourning dress code. A cook, a stable boy, a day labourer could afford a celluloid mourning brooch for a few pence and thus grieve respectably in society's eyes. Within the Victorian class system, this democratising effect was significant.
The decline of the noble mourning materials. At the same time, celluloid initiated the decline of the traditional mourning-material industries. The Whitby jet workshops (see Whitby - Jet Workshops on the Yorkshire Coast) lost market share dramatically from 1890; most closed between 1900 and 1920. The Berlin iron manufactories (see The Berlin Iron Manufactories) reduced their mourning production accordingly. The Bohemian garnet industry lost its half-mourning market to cheap glass and celluloid imitations.
Celluloid today
In the modern jewellery market, celluloid no longer plays any active part - its flammability and chemical decay make the material unusable for modern jewellery applications. In the collectors' market, antique celluloid mourning pieces are a small but loyal category:
- A simple celluloid mourning brooch (1880s): 20–80 €
- An elaborate celluloid mourning chain with carved links: 60–250 €
- A celluloid jewellery set (brooch + earrings + pendant): 150–500 €
- Exceptional pieces with provenance or unusual design: up to 1,500 €
Authentication is usually carried out with the tests named above (weight, behaviour under warmth, UV fluorescence). Where genuine mourning materials (jet, vulcanite) are suspected, a specialist assessment is worthwhile - the price differences between authentic and imitated material can be considerable.
Storing antique celluloid pieces
Antique celluloid jewellery needs careful handling:
- Store separately - decay products (nitrogen oxides) can attack other jewellery and packaging
- Breathable storage - paper boxes rather than airtight plastic bags
- Cool and dark - heat and UV light accelerate decay
- No sources of heat - because of the flammability, do not store near lamps, radiators or open flames
- Once discolouration or embrittlement begins - collector value falls sharply; the usable life of a celluloid piece is typically 80–120 years
Celluloid is an important material for understanding the industrialisation of jewellery production and the democratisation of mourning culture in the late nineteenth century. As an active jewellery material it plays no role today - but as a historical material it tells a central story about the transition from the hand-crafted mourning attire of the upper classes to industrially produced mourning goods for every class.
Questions about this entry
- How can celluloid be distinguished from real jet?
Several tests. Weight: celluloid is markedly lighter than jet - perceptibly “hollower” at the same size. Behaviour under warmth: celluloid warms quickly under friction and gives off a faintly aromatic smell of camphor; jet stays cool. Hot needle (a destructive test): a briefly heated needle sinks into celluloid and leaves a distinct smell of plastic; on jet it hisses without any characteristic odour. Fracture behaviour: celluloid breaks into splinters, jet more powderily. UV test: old celluloid often fluoresces yellow-green under UV light; jet does not.
- Was celluloid mourning jewellery cheap or high-quality?
Clearly cheap. Around 1890, a celluloid mourning brooch cost roughly a tenth of a comparable Whitby jet piece. Celluloid mourning jewellery was the material of the lower middle class and the working class - groups who could not afford genuine mourning jewellery but were nonetheless obliged to wear dark jewellery under the strict Victorian mourning dress code (see The Middle Classes and Mourning Jewellery in the Nineteenth Century). The pieces were made industrially in large quantities in Birmingham, Pforzheim and Paris - by the million each year at the height of production.
- Is celluloid safe to wear or to store?
With qualifications. Celluloid is highly flammable - the historical safety scandal around celluloid cinema film demonstrated that dramatically. Celluloid jewellery carries a lower fire risk, but should be kept away from open flames and sources of heat. Decay over time: celluloid degrades chemically across the decades - old pieces become brittle, discolour to yellow-brown and give off nitrogen oxides. These decay products can damage other jewellery and packaging. Antique celluloid pieces should therefore be stored separately, ideally in breathable paper boxes. For modern mourning use, celluloid is not advisable today - safer modern plastics and natural materials are available.
Further reading
- Plastic Jewelry of the Twentieth Century - Lyngerda Kelley (2003)
- Mourning Dress - A Costume and Social History - Lou Taylor (1983)
- Celluloid - The Material that Changed Industry - Robert Friedel (1983)
Related entries
- Core conceptsMourning Jewellery
Mourning jewellery is body adornment that signals a death, binds the memory of a deceased person, or does both at once - since the 17th century a jewellery type in its own right, with a material language of its own.
- Core conceptsMemorial Jewellery
Memorial jewellery is jewellery that deliberately binds itself to one particular person - through an inscription, a photograph, hair, ashes or, the defining medium today, a digitally captured fingerprint.
- MaterialsWhitby Jet
Whitby jet is jet from the North English coastal town of Whitby - by far the most important deposit worldwide in the 19th century and the gold standard of Victorian mourning jewellery.
- MaterialsFrench Jet
French jet is a misnomer - not jet at all, but deep black pressed glass which, from the 1860s onwards, conquered the Victorian widow's-mourning-jewellery segment as inexpensive mass-produced ware.
- MaterialsVulcanite (Ebonite)
Vulcanite is hardened, black-dyed natural rubber - an industrial invention of the 1840s which found wide use in Victorian mourning jewellery as an inexpensive alternative to jet.
- MaterialsAmber
Amber - fossilised tree resin, above all from the Baltic region - was worked in the 19th century as a light brown or reddish alternative to black Whitby jet and is today the bearer of its own East-Central and Eastern European mourning jewellery tradition, with casting-in techniques for modern memorial substances.
- MaterialsIvory
From the 17th to the 19th century ivory was an important material for memento mori carvings, carved mourning pendants and miniature portraits in pendant mounts - today its use is strictly regulated worldwide by the CITES convention on the protection of species, and the market is shifting to historical pieces and substitute materials such as mammoth ivory or tagua nut.
- Jewellery formsMourning Necklace
The mourning necklace is a chain worn at the neck in black or muted material which, in the second half of the nineteenth century, became the standard daytime wear of the mourning period, and which lives on today as a reduced remembrance variant with a pendant.
- Jewellery formsMourning Brooch
The mourning brooch is the central women's jewellery form of Victorian mourning wear - a brooch, often the size of a palm, pinned to dress, collar or veil, and today an almost exclusively historical field of collecting.
- PeriodsThe Victorian Era (1837–1901)
The Victorian era is the heyday of mourning jewellery - a period of more than sixty years in which court mourning codes, industrial mass production, new materials (jet, vulcanite, Berlin iron) and Queen Victoria's personal widowhood combined to produce a system of public and private mourning visibility without precedent in European history.
- People & cultural historyThe Middle Classes and Mourning Jewellery in the Nineteenth Century
The rising middle classes of the nineteenth century were the principal bearers and principal consumers of the era's mourning and memorial jewellery - a social stratum that took over the aristocratic model of court mourning, gave it symbols and materials of its own, and in the course of industrialisation turned it into a mass market.