An English man by the name of Alexander Parkes (29/12/1813 – 29/06/1890) came up with the first celluloid that had the potential to be formed into shapes, but due to bankruptcy he never had a chance to further his invention, although he did own the patent. The world would have to wait a few more years for this new wonder product to arrive.
We have the game of Billiards to thank for this plastic crisis. Each year, the worldwide consumption of ivory – half a million tons – resulted in the dreadful slaughter of many elephants. Some of this ivory was being used in the manufacture of billiard balls and in 1863, American businessman Michael Phelan (18/04/1819 – 07/10/1871) offered a prize of $10000 to anyone who could find a substitute. Replacing the precious ivory would help save the elephants and make the balls cheaper to produce. Phelan, known as the King of Billiards, was the finest Billiards player of his day and, as he owned various Billiards parlours, any costs saved were beneficial.
It took 6 years for the cash prize ($200000 in today’s money) to find a winner. A young printer called John Wesley Hyatt (28/11/1837 – 10/05/1920), with no real training in chemistry, acquired Parkes’ patent, experimented with various solvents and eventually stumbled upon something that could be used to replace ivory in 1869. Parkes was always credited as the inventor of Celluloid, even though variations appeared in subsequent years.