From Celluloid to Bio Plastic

150 Years of Experiments on Materials Through the Mazzucchelli 1849 Company

Abstract

Through the reconstruction of the salient passages in the history of Mazzucchelli 1849, the outlines of the evolution of plastic materials and their relationship with the changing society are traced. It is an illustrative story of Italian “know-how” that begins with the processing of the horn, replaced by Celluloid - of which Mazzucchelli with the Italian Celluloid Society was the first producer - then by Rhodoid and more performing polymers.
These are cutting-edge material experiments that intertwine with the stories of some of the major Italian companies of the golden years of Made in Italy, with great designers, with the Compasso d'Oro and with the stories of numerous artists at which the company, in the name of the union between art and industry, asked to search for new applications of synthetic materials.