Airzone, Australia 1937, model 520/550 'Radiostar', 5 valves,…
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Airzone, Australia 1937, model 520/550 'Radiostar', 5 valves, upright Bakelite table cabinet with original knob (distressed condition)

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  • Bakelite - Bakelite was the first completely synthetic man-made substance. Bakelite was invented in 1909 by an independent New York chemist Leo H. Baekeland. It was called the "material of a thousand uses" and used to make everything from car parts to jewellery.

    Although nearly all plastic from this period is known as ?Bakelite', it is important to remember that this is an umbrella term that covers many different early plastics such as Lucite and cellulose acetate, and includes Bakelite.

    We often think of the colour of Bakelite items as dark brown, but it was manufactured in various colours including yellow, butterscotch, red, green and brown.

    Bakelite could also be transparent, or marbleised by mixing two colours. Plastics were cheap to produce and could be moulded or carved in a huge variety of ways.

    Bakelite is most commonly associated with radio cases of the 1930s, telephones and kitchen utensils, but it was also used extensively in jewellery manufacture.

    Early designs from the 1920s were plainer and simpler than later examples. Geometric and floral patterns typical of Art Deco styling were popular.

    During its heyday in the 1930s, Bakelite jewellery was stocked by the most prestigious stores, such as Saks, Harrods and Macy?s, who dedicated a shop window display to it in 1935.

    Coco Chanel featured Bakelite items in her accessories collection and the material was praised frequently in Vogue magazine.

    Manufacture of some consumer Items were suspended in 1942 in order to concentrate manufacturing on the war effort.

    Small items made of Bakelite are now valuable collectables. Andy Warhol was an avid collector, and when he died in 1987, his pieces sold for record prices at Sotheby's.
  • Distressed - Usually applied to describe the condition of an item of furniture, and means that the object is extremely worn and is verging on being unsuitable for its intended use, without some restoration or repairs being undertaken.

    Furniture can also be artificially distressed, by deliberate infliction of superficial damage to make it appear old. Artificial distressing can be done with the object of deceiving a purchaser, where the object is being passed off as "of the period", or can be done for aesthetic reasons so that a new object is made to appear as though it has been in use.

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