Current Location: In storage
Titles
Mechanical Fan
Maker(s)
Maker:
Unknown
Entities
Categories
Description
Hand held mechanical fan. Bakelite.
Notes
History note: Lennox Boyd Estate. Christie's no. 1061
Legal notes
Accepted by H. M. Government in lieu of inheritance tax from the Lennox Boyd Estate
Acquisition and important dates
Method of acquisition: Allocated
(2015-04-27)
by
H.M. Government
Dating
20th Century
Production date:
circa
AD 1920
Note
Bakelite, the world’s first synthetic plastic, is a very unusual material for fans. It was developed by the Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York, in 1907, and was patented in 1909. It was more commonly used for radio and TV casings as well as kitchenware and toys. This fan, the original type of which was produced in around 1910, would have been considered the height of fashion when it first appeared. Remarkably, it still works.
This fan forms part of the collection of the Hon. Christopher Lennox Boyd, allocated to the Museum by H.M. Government in lieu of inheritance tax in 2015. The collection of over 600 objects ranges in date from the 18th to the 20th centuries and in type from bejewelled and hand-painted court and wedding fans, to printed mass-produced advertising fans, aide-memoire fans, mourning fans and children’s fans.
Materials used in production
Bakelite
Related exhibitions
Identification numbers
Accession number: M.269-2015
Primary reference Number: 204837
Sale number: 1061
Stable URI
Audit data
Created: Tuesday 28 July 2015
Updated: Tuesday 26 October 2021
Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023
Associated departments & institutions
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
