Metalised Plastic: part 1

The ability to metallise materials such as wood and plastic was a challenge. It required the material to be coated with a substance that would seal it, and allow the metal to adhere.

Daily Standard (Brisbane) 1st January 1929 page 7. The article confuses Vladimir with Albert. Other articles claimed that “Vladimir Einstein” was a relative of Albert, but I cannot confirm that.

Perhaps there was not much progress with this process until 1941:

In January 1948  it was noted in  the National Button Society Bulletin that …

In October 1947, G. Herring advertised “For the first time in Australia… gold and silver plastic buttons that Boil!”  See http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/australian-button-history/vintage-advertising/beutron/1940s/.  At first they were sew-through designs, but by 1950 they were selling shanked “Beutron Originals”, including metalised plastic buttons “by the world’s greatest designers”, in silver, old silver, gold and old gold, see  http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/australian-button-history/vintage-advertising/beutron/1950s/ Some of these designs looked like metal bases with glass cabochon, which were being imported at that time, but were in fact metalised plastic.

Australian Women’s Weekly, 26th September 1951 page 58.

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