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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DragonflyWink, post: 3717070, member: 111&quot;]There&#039;s been mention of galalith in a few recent threads, so thought I&#039;d post my German .830 silver snuff box by Heinrich Mohr in jewelry because it&#039;s really about the carved &#039;stone&#039;.&nbsp; Galalith (casein formaldehyde) is less common here in the U.S. than in Europe, though, as a button collector, I&#039;ve known it for decades since it was a common material for imported buttons - and a lot of those showed deterioration, because, well, they were buttons, subjected to water, heat, cleaning agents, etc.&nbsp; It usually holds up better in jewelry, dresser sets, etc., with the colors and effects often quite wonderful, and &#039;imitation&#039; bits mistakenly identified as stone, ivory, amber, tortoise-shell, etc., and of course, also identified as bakelite, catalin or celluloid.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Galalith&quot; in google images:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;gl=ar&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sxsrf=ALeKk01Wvxvk1M_rcdxil2-BKNJ1jDWLjw%3A1614628082397&amp;source=hp&amp;biw=1536&amp;bih=754&amp;ei=8kQ9YIj3FY-itQWLmYlI&amp;q=Galalith&amp;oq=Galalith&amp;gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeOgcIIxDqAhAnOgUIABCxAzoICAAQsQMQgwFQ8R9Y_Dlgo0hoAXAAeACAAagBiAHdB5IBAzAuOJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nsAEK&amp;sclient=img&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiIuKyq7o_vAhUPUa0KHYtMAgkQ4dUDCAc&amp;uact=5" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;gl=ar&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sxsrf=ALeKk01Wvxvk1M_rcdxil2-BKNJ1jDWLjw%3A1614628082397&amp;source=hp&amp;biw=1536&amp;bih=754&amp;ei=8kQ9YIj3FY-itQWLmYlI&amp;q=Galalith&amp;oq=Galalith&amp;gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeOgcIIxDqAhAnOgUIABCxAzoICAAQsQMQgwFQ8R9Y_Dlgo0hoAXAAeACAAagBiAHdB5IBAzAuOJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nsAEK&amp;sclient=img&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiIuKyq7o_vAhUPUa0KHYtMAgkQ4dUDCAc&amp;uact=5" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;gl=ar&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sxsrf=ALeKk01Wvxvk1M_rcdxil2-BKNJ1jDWLjw:1614628082397&amp;source=hp&amp;biw=1536&amp;bih=754&amp;ei=8kQ9YIj3FY-itQWLmYlI&amp;q=Galalith&amp;oq=Galalith&amp;gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeOgcIIxDqAhAnOgUIABCxAzoICAAQsQMQgwFQ8R9Y_Dlgo0hoAXAAeACAAagBiAHdB5IBAzAuOJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nsAEK&amp;sclient=img&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiIuKyq7o_vAhUPUa0KHYtMAgkQ4dUDCAc&amp;uact=5</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Bought this slightly beat-up box a while back, cost was below scrap, so couldn&#039;t resist - pictures weren&#039;t great, but the seller did suggest the carved bit was plastic, so suspected it would be galalith.&nbsp; As soon as I opened up the bubble wrap, a faint sour odor hit my nose (bit like spoiled milk), and confirmed the material - should have taken before pictures, it was blackish with a couple of tiny bits of red peeking through, all the crevices and cracks filled with dried silver polish.&nbsp; Took a while, but finally got all the old polish out, working carefully with a wooden toothpick, revealing the silver underneath, and also brushing gently in attempt to get it out of the cracks, with less success (close-ups show how bad it is).&nbsp; Carefully used ultrafine sandpaper to take a little of the dark surface off, bringing out a bit more of the rich coral red, but the deterioration goes deep - would have been so striking in its original condition a century or so ago, but I&#039;m happy with it as it is, all part of its story...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]312706[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]312707[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]312708[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>~Cheryl[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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