12/02/2025
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Hello everyone, and thank you for supporting "It's All Ephemera"!
"Collectible Plastics" Vol. 1, No.6, August/September 1985 is digitized and now online! After FORTY YEARS in a dimly lit, dusty warehouse in Queens, The Society for Decorative Plastics and its bi-monthly newsletter, "Collectible Plastics," are being re-introduced to the public! This time the subject is the home-crafting of art deco Catalin jewelry and domestic knick-knacks, from pill-boxes to prayer beads, and from letter-openers to lamp stands. The 1930s was the era of the Great Depression, when hand-made gifts became a necessity and young people learned basic shop skills in school. With a scroll-saw, a stationary lathe or Dremel tool, a buffing wheel, and a subscription to "Popular Mechanics," an enterprising person could easily turn colourful Catalin "blanks" into novelty art-pieces and sell them at church bazaars or via mail order.
"Collectible Plastics" was originally published from December 1984 through May 1986 as a 4-page typeset and illustrated newsletter about the then-obscure and almost-antique objects made before World War Two from Bakelite, Catalin, Marblette, and Celluloid. Even though four decades have passed since the last issue was released, the research, information, enthusiasm, and community outreach that flowed through this little zine is still fun to read, and so i have called upon my wonderful Patreon supporters to buy us the time for scanning, transcribing, and reprinting all 10 issues. This 8-week project does interrupt our usual focus on folk magic and fortune telling, but i think it is worth the effort because it brings to light an aspect of popular culture that would otherwise never have made it into the digital age.
The "Collectible Plastics" project is underwritten by my Patrons. They get a preview, and the public will see the results of their charitable generosity on November 28th, 2026.
[PATRONS GET THE SECRET URL IN EMAIL ONE YEAR BEFORE IT OPENS TO THE PUBLIC]
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Cordially,
cat yronwode