Tag Archives: Celluloid

Costume History, Menswear

Litholin Collar Ads from 1906

The Litholin Brand of Collars seems to burst on the scene in a 1906 media blitz of small but inventive little ads in nearly every media market in the US.
Interestingly, lots of 1880s celluloid collar ads are of an overtly racist anti Chinese bent. This is the only one of these in this set of ads.

As 1906 ends this campaign of these single column mini ads gives way to a more varied group of large and small ads of different designs in 1907.

Costume History, Menswear

1926 Celluloid, Parsons and Parsons, Par Brand, Amherst Collar

Celluloid collars provided a low maintenance, waterproof, alternative to starched linen collars, and were stronger than  paper ones.  Their high point seems to have been in the 1880s when they were new, but they still regularly sold through the 1920s.  Celluloid collars are given to cracking, especially after they age, so this one can’t be flattened and scanned for a pattern. However, you can use a bleach bottle and a pattern from a linen collar to make a replica that is stronger than celluloid, washable, and cheap.  

Students from the DVC Beginning Costume Design Class Sp2018 make plastic collars using bleach bottles: