Chemistry:Radite

From HandWiki

Radite is a trade name for an early plastic, formed of pyroxylin -- a partially nitrated cellulose -- manufactured by DuPont and introduced by the Sheaffer Pen Company in 1924 when plastics were first used as a material for pen manufacture. Sheaffer's Radite pens were the first commercial plastic pens,[1] and Sheaffer marketed the material as "indestructible."[2] Jade green in color, the pens were best sellers at the time.[3] The material is credited with helping Sheaffer capture 25% of the market.[4]

Radite is extremely similar to other celluloid pen materials trademarked at the time, such as Permanite, Pyralin, Fiberloid, Viscoloid, and Herculoid.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Hoover, Will (1995). Picks! The Colorful Saga of Vintage Celluloid Guitar Plectrums. Miller Freeman Books. p. 7. ISBN 9780879303778. https://books.google.com/books?id=f14L0v-CSnEC. Retrieved 23 May 2023. 
  2. "It is the banner pen of a banner year". 1926. https://books.google.com/books?id=rVG6S616J-0C. 
  3. Mamoulides, Jim (2017). PenHero Quarterly Q2 2017. p. 98. ISBN 9780999051016. https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcyDwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 23 May 2023. 
  4. Rosenkrantz, Linda (5 December 2004). "Appreciation grows for old fountain pens". The San Diego Union-Tribune.