Tobacco box, Bakelite, England, 1929-1939
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1929-1939
Tobacco box with separate lid, brown and green mottled Bakelite. The base is dish-shaped with straight angled sides, with four sets of vertical decorative rib and a band of cross-hatching, standing on four small domed feet. The lid is of the same shape with four moulded tobacco buds on the sides and further bands of cross-hatching. The black Bakelite knob is attached with a metal screw.
Fred Bulmer, a collector based in Leeds, Yorkshire, offered his collection of ‘plastic antiques’ to the V&A in late 1982.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The Museum chose to purchase 59 objects from Bulmer the following year (for acquisition papers see MA/1/B3395). The objects were divided among the Museum’s collections according to object type: Furniture and Woodwork taking 26 objects (W.50 to 75-1983), Metalwork 18 objects (M.49 to 66-1984) and Ceramics and Glass 14 objects (C.41 to 54-1984).
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Compression-moulded Bakelite
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 15 cm; Height: 8.6 cm
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- England
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O308732
- Museum object name
- Tobacco box
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- C.51-1984
- Museum system number
- O308732
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.