I like to decorate my garage work spaces with vintage gizmos and gadgets from the 20's, 30's and 40's.
On a recent trip to the Catskill mountains on my '83 XS650 I discovered an old barn converted to an antiques shop.
One of the things I bought seems to be a vintage (30's?) magnetometer, perhaps used to locate underground water pipes.
It is made of bakelite, glass and chromed trim and is fully functional. It was a bit of a struggle to remove it from its leather case.
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A bit about bakelite:
In 1909, a Belgian chemist named
Leo Baekeland created the first entirely synthetic plastic—and it would revolutionize the way many consumer goods were manufactured. Baekeland called his plastic “Bakelite.” Its properties made it suited for a much wider variety of purposes than its predecessors. For example, it was resistant to heat and would not conduct electricity, so it was a really good insulator—which made it particularly useful in the automotive and electrical industries emerging in the early 1900s.
Like many modern plastics, Bakelite was lightweight and durable, and it could be molded into nearly infinite shapes, so its use quickly expanded as manufacturers realized its potential. Consumers primarily were attracted to its aesthetic qualities: a sleek, stylish look coupled with a substantial, high-end feel. People bought Bakelite jewelry boxes, lamps, desk sets, clocks, radios, telephones, kitchenware, tableware, and a variety of game pieces such as chess sets, billiard balls, and poker chips. Bakelite ushered in a new era of attractive, affordable, convenient consumer goods, making it possible for a broad range of consumers to enjoy products that previously had been inaccessible.
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Now I just need to find a spot for it on the shelves.....
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