Editing Celluloid (section)

===Alexander Parkes===
The first celluloid as a bulk material for forming objects was made in 1855 in [[Birmingham]], England, by [[Alexander Parkes]], who was never able to see his invention reach full fruition, after his firm went bankrupt due to scale-up costs.<ref name="Painter & Coleman" /> Parkes patented his discovery as Parkesine in 1862 after realising a solid residue remained after evaporation of the solvent from photographic collodion.<ref>{{cite book|last=UK Patent office|title=Patents for inventions|year=1857|publisher=UK Patent office|pages=255|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nCoU-2tAx8C&pg=PA255}}</ref>

Parkes patented it as a clothing waterproofer for woven fabrics in the same year. Later Parkes showcased Parkesine at the [[1862 International Exhibition]] in London, where he was awarded a bronze medal for his efforts. The introduction of Parkesine is generally regarded as the birth of the [[plastics industry]].<ref name="Painter & Coleman">{{cite book |first1=Paul C. |last1=Painter |first2=Michael M. |last2=Coleman |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CL7O_hH0aw4C&q=PARKESINE+alexander+parkes&pg=PA8 |title=Essentials of Polymer Science and Engineering |chapter=The Early History of Polymers |year=2008 |pages=7–9 |publisher=DEStech>|isbn=9781932078756 }}</ref> Parkesine was made from [[cellulose]] treated with [[nitric acid]] and a [[solvent]]. The Parkesine company ceased trading in 1868. Pictures of Parkesine are held by the [[Plastics Historical Society]] of London. There is a plaque on the wall of the site of the Parkesine Works in [[Metropolitan Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], London.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hackney.gov.uk/ep-first-plastic-in-the-world.htm |title=Hackney Council - First Plastic in the World |work=hackney.gov.uk |year=2012 |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110933/http://www.hackney.gov.uk/ep-first-plastic-in-the-world.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>