50s Australian bakelite

Bakelite ashtrays
made in Australia 1950s

I love bakelite and have collected Australian bakelite for some time. Although I don’t usually go for ashtrays these pieces show no sign of ever having been used and are in the form of Australia [‘Greetings from Brisbane’] and Tasmania. Who could resist?

Also, ashtrays [that haven’t been used and so have no physical scars] make great pin dishes – excellent for jewellery collections. And Australian bakelite collectors love bakelite in the shape of Australia.

These two pieces of 50s Australiana are for sale: $AU55
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Hipster beardy-ness

Valet Auto-Strop Safety Razor
made in England 1950s

With so much attention to shaving [or wrt to beards = not shaving] recently I’ve had so many inquiries about razors.

I meet a lovely sustainable activist who says NO to disposable razors and is on a mission to recover all the vintage razors that can be used over and over – and are not disposable. So much landfill is single-use razors.

I love this Valet Auto-Strop Safety Razor- in it’s original bakelite box. Made in England, it has a couple of old blades for examples- still available- and is entirely made of stainless steel.

It ticks all the boxes- bakelite, stainless steel, useable, and good-ol’ timey shavin”! Buy one now [and for god’s sake- loose that horrible beard!]- for sale: $AU65
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Framed rose print

Framed rose print
made in Australia 1960s

Kitsch to the max- this rose print has a bakelite frame. Roses are so evocative of the 60s – and the OTT retouched photo is so retouched it’s difficult to tell where the photo finishes and the retouching begins.

The rose print is only small- 100mm diameter, but boy the red/green/blue [technically ‘cyan’] palette packs a punch .I’ve styled the frame with a small dolly, also from the 60s. I had one of these…I remember the over-sized head and wild hairstyle.

The framed rose print is ready to hang, and is for sale: $AU15
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50s kitchen canisters

Eon bakelite kitchen canisters
made in Australia 1950s

This is a set of nested canisters- Sugar, Rice, Coffee in mint green, with the original labels still marvelously intact. The canisters- and the labels- are made from bakelite and the labels are affixed using simple bakelite pins; so it’s rare for the cursive script to have lasted nearly seventy years.

The set is in ‘mint’ green [as described in the original Eon promotional pamphlet] and the lids are still air-tight and the canisters fit for purpose. The whole set would comprise another two canisters- Flour and Sago…and…forgive me…I have made this joke before: Coffee is always the smallest whereas nowadays it would be the largest.

The nested Eon canisters are for sale: $AU85

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30s Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse napkin ring
made in Japan 1930s

How fabulous is this hand-painted Mickey Mouse napkin ring? Here he is in his early Disney rendering- all rat-like but with his trademark big ears. Mickey first appeared in 1928 [in Steamboat Willie] and this napkin ring was made not soon after.

I found Mickey in a collector’s sale lot of napkin rings and bought the lot because Mickey was there. Mickey is in great condition with only a little wear to the hand-painting on his extremities- ears and nose. He is very collectible- as is any vintage Mickey Mouse item. Mickey’s from the 30s and 40s are now highly sought after.

Mickey is shown here with a bakelite spice canister and a sweet tin from the 30s…they were made in Australia but since Mickey is a universal icon, I don’t think that matters. Mickey is for sale: $AUD75

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Bakelite roulette wheel

Duperite bakelite roulette wheel, made in Australia c.1950s

How do you combine your love of bakelite with your penchant for gambling? With a bakelite roulette wheel. [Catalogue No. 1324/1, to be precise.] This beautiful roulette wheel hasn’t been out of its box- it is in pristine condition although its box has seen some wear and tear. It comes with a printed green felt baize [not pictured] and a little timber ball ~which was still taped to the wheel when I bought the set.

I have other bakelite items made by Duperite- see ‘Green bakelite pieces’ post below- an Australian bakelite company that made, as well as domesticware, lawn bowls and -apparently- roulette wheels. I must have been the only person who didn’t have one at home as a child…everyone I have shown this roulette wheel to has exclaimed that they remember having one! That might explain  why 1] I am so attracted to it [pure envy] and 2] why it elicits so many nostalgic sighs from my friends.

For sale: $AUD75

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Kodak Brownies

Kodak Brownie cameras
127 Model 1 camera, 1952-1959
127 Model 2 camera, 1959-1963
Baby Brownie, 1948-1952 : all made in London, England.

From left to right in this image are the Model 1, Model 2 and Baby Brownie cameras. They are all made of bakelite, and all take 127 film. This film is no longer available but instructions exist [YouTube] that explain how to cut down 35mm film to suit- and of course 35mm film is still able to be processed today.

Model 1 has lost its winding mechanism, but comes in its original carry case. It has a Meniscus f/14 lens. Model 2 has a larger, Dakon f/11 lens. The Baby Brownie has a Meniscus lens and a flip up viewfinder. It has a button under the lens for brief time exposure, and it too has its own original carry case.

The three cameras are for sale: $AUD125

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Slide viewers

Marquis slide viewer, made in Sydney, Australia c.1950
Viscount slide viewer, made in England c.1960

How fantastic is this baby pink Marquis slide viewer? The pink section is plastic, whilst the black section is bakelite. This slide viewer comes in its original box and is in near mint condition.

The Viscount viewer is nearly a decade older, and it evidences the transition from the modernist forms of the 50s to the more funky shapes of the 60s. It too comes in its original box.

Both viewers are working well – and replacement bulbs for them are still available. Which means there is no excuse for having photographic slides around that are not being used. You can go automatic with a large format projection [see slide projector/s below]…or view your slides individually and more intimately with these hand held viewers.

I do have a few slide viewers in my collection…I love the way they work – large glass viewing lens, small bulb and battery. And they look great massed together as a group – they are both functional AND aesthetic.

The slide viewers are for sale: $AUD55 each.

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Nally mixing bowls

Nally mixing bowls,
made in Australia, 1940s

I love bakelite and have collected Australian bakelite domestic ware for some time. Nally first started bakelite production in 1923 and was one of the first in Australia to do so. The factory was just up the road from where I now live.

These two mixing bowls – although nested [that is fitting exactly within one another]- were priced and sold separately. Nally’s advertising blurbs of the time made much of the fact that replacement pieces could always be bought, and as the mixing bowls were ‘harlequin’ [ie: different colours] they could be mixed and matched.

As it happens, these two bowls have never been used- testament to this fact is the original sticker in the base of the bowl. The sticker indicates these are ‘Genuine’ Nally bowls [in case you know, you thought they were fakes!]

The mixing bowls have a pouring lip, and came in the usual 40s pastel colours of blue, green, pink, cream and white. These bowls are yellow; and I’ve teamed them with a kewpie doll from the same era.

The bowls are for sale: $AU75

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Bakelite napkin rings

Bakelite napkin rings
made in Sydney, Australia 1950s

This set of harlequin octagonal bakelite napkin rings was made by Marquis in the 50s. Harlequin refers to the different colours [indeed, one of the rings is ‘end-of-day’ bakelite.] End-of-day bakelite was the pattern formed when whatever bits of bakelite where left where thrown together into the mould.

In the 50s everything was ‘harlequin’ – think sets of anodised aluminium beakers. This was actually a clever marking ploy- if you lost/broke one piece of a set, it was easily replaced – since nothing matched by colour, pattern or manufacturer.

Marquis was a huge bakelite manufacturer- they made everything that could be made from bakelite- from kitchen utensils, to light switches, to 35mm slide viewers. Indeed, I seem to have quite a few kitchen scoops, butter dishes, teaspoons, salt and pepper shakers and slide viewers made by Marquis in my collection.

I love the form of these napkin rings: octagonal shape on the outside – so the napkin ring sat easily on a table- but circular inside form – so the napkin could be smoothly set in place. Form and function, people! And just look at those beautiful bakelite colours.

Bakelite continues to be a sought after collectible: and this set of eight napkin rings is for sale: $AUD80

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