xylonite

(ˈzaɪləˌnaɪt)

(Chemistry) a type of plastic or celluloid that resembles amber, coral, or tortoise shell and is used in jewellery, combs, or other objects

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Zylonite

The second edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary (1959) says it was the original name for Celluloid. The 1940 Merck Index indicates that celluloid and zylonite are the same. An early-twentieth-century dictionary says zylonite (Xylonite) is similar to celluloid and is made from pyroxylin. The 1895 Montgomery Ward Catalog lists both celluloid and zylonite harness rings, which implies that they were different (although they might be of the same material but from different manufacturers).

Translations

Xylonit

Mentioned in

Zylonite

References in classic literature

ASCENSION, MARE BOAT--Wreck of unknown racing-plane, Parden rudder, wire-stiffened xylonite vans, and Harliss engine-seating, sighted and salved 7 20' S.

View in context

Parkesine would later be renamed Xylonite, Ivoride and then finally Celluloid - but Parkes' eponymous material paved the way for the development of what we now know as the plastics industry.

PLASTIC HERO OR VILLAIN? The product that now poses such a threat to our plant had a forerunner created by a forgotten Birmingham inventor. Graham Young reveals the legacy of a man who changed the world for better or worse..

Spill called his refined product Xylonite, by which time his competitor, a New York printer, John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920) accepted a challenge from an American billiard ball maker to make a substitute for ivory.

Plastic fantastic; CHRISTOPHER PROUDLOVE explores the often overlooked story of celluloid

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