Antique and Vintage Bakelite and Catalin Radios

When many people think of plastic Art Deco radios, the word Bakelite immediately comes to mind. That’s understandable enough, since Bakelite was the first molded plastic used in radios, and it’s the oldest of the most common early-20th-century industrial plastics, the others being Catalin, Plaskon, and Beetle. One of the limitations of Bakelite for 1930s designers was its dark color. Bakelite radios from that period are invariably brown or...Continue Reading