Bakelite: A Collector’s Odyssey

About the Event:

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to join us when a major collector invites current ADSNY members for an exclusive evening in his residence to view his unimaginable collection of extraordinary Bakelite objects.

In 1907, Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland set out to develop a more readily available alternative for shellac and produced a hard yet moldable material, which he named Bakelite. He quickly surmised that his new synthetic thermosetting plastic, the first of its kind, could be used to create a “thousand and one articles” and, boy, was he right!

In this private evening, we will explore how Bakelite was rapidly adopted for a wide range of household and industrial products. The breadth of this vast collection––containing approximately 2,000 pieces of jewelry as well as 3,000 other objects––perfectly illustrates how the popularity of the material took off in the 1920s and 30s. This event will give us a firsthand look at how the unique material was used to create all sorts of wonderful objects such as jewelry, radios, buttons, clocks, boxes, umbrella handles, and kitchen utensils.

One entire floor of this Upper East Side townhouse has been converted into what can only be described as a Bakelite Museum. With cases and cases, shelves and shelves, and drawers and drawers of Bakelite, this collection is a true visual feast.

Limited space is available; sign up today to guarantee yours!

Registration:

This program is only open to current ADSNY Members. To attend, your membership must be valid the date of the event. If your membership expires between the time of event registration and the date of the event, you will be asked to renew your membership or pay the additional fee at the non-member price. There is a processing fee for each ticket to this event. 

Please note:

• ADSNY does not mail event tickets. When you register, your name(s) and contact information are added to the event’s list of attendees. The PayPal confirmation that you receive––via email, after your payment is completed––is the confirmation of your registration for the event.
• ADSNY does not permit animals at events unless they are a registered service animal.
• All ADSNY programs are non-smoking events. Smoking will not be permitted.

All ticket sales are final. Sorry, there are no refunds or exchanges.

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