Castello Button Acccordian - Age

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Pat brought this old decrepit accordion home this afternoon ans she is trying to put an age to it, so far no luck.

The images are inlaid, a small piece of what appears to be plastic takes fire immediately and burns at a rapid rate, so fast you don't have time to drop it free from fingers.

 

The chrome parts appear to be stainless steel and not nickle plated.

 

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The flammability of the plastic lead me to this article.

 

All About Celluloids Flammability https://vintage-celluloid-collectibles.com/all-about-celluloids-flammability

 

Celluloids Flammability – The advent of John Wesley Hyatts Celluloid in the 1800s brought fancy jewelry, combs, cuffs and collars within reach of some people that had been unable to afford such luxurious articles including the Celluloid Matchsafe on the left. Celluloid was a plastic that was primarily a substitute for expensive natural products made of Elephant ivory.

One problem with Celluloid was never solved. This was its flammability. Most accounts of the dangers of Celluloid was its flammability and not the risk of explosion. This misconception is most likely linked to the story of exploding billiard balls made by the John Hyatts Albany Billiard Ball Company in the 1870s.

 

The Celluloid Manufacturing Company in Newark, NJ had 39 fires in 36 years, resulting in 9 deaths and 39 injuries. Trained chemist would have thought it unsafe to heat nitocellulose under pressure knowing it explosive character. Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose (cotton fiber) through exposure to nitric acid. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it was originally known as guncotton.

 

A chemistry professor, Charles A Seeley employed by the American Hard Rubber Co. conducting a tour of the Celluloid Manufacturing Company warned Hyatt that if too much heat was applied to the substance it would destroy them. Also the adjoining building and the adjacent buildings. In spite of that warning Celluloid continued to be used, even for children’s toys and cigar holders.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s many factories in the United States experienced numerous fires. In spite of many safety precautions exercised, Celluloid fires were still very common events at the Celluloid Manufacturing Company and the factories that produced Celluloid fashion, vanity, advertising and Novelty items. Once started Celluloid fires were very hard to contain.

 

Over the many years Celluloid was produced there was an ongoing search for a substitute. Celluloid was susceptible to heat and softened considerably at temperatures of 100 degrees. In temperatures of over 100 degrees it decomposed, swelled and emitted dense fumes of camphor. In one story a woman sat down by the fire only to have the Celluloid buttons on her dress burst into flames. In another story a gentleman accidently brushed his cigar against a Celluloid shirt cuff and ended up setting fire to an entire home. These stories were not true but were just enough to neutralize or slow down the rapidly growing fashion for Celluloid.

 

Celluloid Motion Picture Film

 

In the late 1800s Celluloid was named as a replacement for glass plate photography. Celluloid film became firmly established during the 1890s as the only satisfactory medium for moving pictures. When Celluloid film became an essential component of moving pictures in the early 1900s it brought into the theater a reputation for flammability. Flammable nitrate celluloid film remained the industry standard worldwide until the late 1940s.

 

Proper handling of Celluloid items are very important considering its extreme flammability. Keep Celluloid items in a well ventilated room. Do not store Celluloid in tightly closed containers and keep away from flames. It’s all about celluloids flammability.

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http://mentalfloss.com/article/64247/first-plastic-billiard-balls-routinely-exploded

When you played billiards during the early days of plastic, you took your life into your hands. Under the right circumstances, your bank shot could cause a ball to explode. 

Billiards played an important role in driving the development of synthetic plastic. In the Victorian era, billiard balls were made of ivory, a material created from carved tusks. But some feared (perhaps erroneously) that ivory’s popularity was going to lead to a shortage of the material, as elephants would be hunted to near extinction. They were onto something—but it wouldn't happen for decades. 

Phelan and Collender, a major billiard table manufacturer, offered a $10,000 reward to any person who could make a non-ivory billiard ball. In 1869, an inventor named John Wesley Hyatt came up with a solution. He mixed nitrocellulose with alcohol and a waxy resin called camphor, and molded it into a ball that looked and felt a lot like ivory. This material, patented as Celluloid and later used for artificial dental plates, was the first mass-market synthetic plastic, launching what became known as the Age of Plastics. 

Unfortunately, nitrocellulose is also called guncotton, and it’s combustible. It explodes so rapidly that it doesn’t typically set anything on fire, but it can burst into flame and make a loud bang. And in boozy 19th-century pool halls, that was not such a great idea. As Hyatt wrote in 1914:

In order to secure strength and beauty, only coloring pigments were added, and in the least quantity, consequently a lighted cigar applied would at once result in a serious flame, and occasionally the violent contact of the balls would produce a mild explosion like a percussion guncap. We had a letter from a billiard saloon proprietor in Colorado, mentioning this fact and saying he did not care so much about it, but that instantly every man in the room pulled his gun.

The clack of billiard balls rolling together can be a satisfying sound during a game well played. A small flash-bang going off in a dark, smoky billiard hall is another thing entirely. Just hope there was no hustling going on when the guns came out.