JAIC 2005, Volume 44, Number 2, Article 3 (pp. 95 to 102)
SHORT COMMUNICATION ORIGINAL PATENTS AS AN AID TO THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY AND COMPOSITION OF SEMISYNTHETIC PLASTICSSILVIA GARC�A FERN�NDEZ-VILLA, & MARGARITA SAN ANDR�S MOYA
ABSTRACT—Most collections of ethnographic, historical, and artistic artifacts of the 19th and 20th centuries include a considerable selection of semi-synthetic molded plastics. Often conservators have difficulty identifying them and determining their origins and dates. Patents can help, especially when the material composition of an object is unknown but there is information on its date of manufacture, or when the nature of the material is known but not when the object was made. Some objects bear a patent mark on their surface. A study may elicit information as to the date of the patent, the inventor, and in some cases even the material of which it is made. The patent provides extremely useful information on chemical composition, from which the chemical and mechanical properties of artifacts can be determined, and hence requirements for their proper preservation and conservation. [Spanish Abstract] [French Abstract]
1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING OLD PATENTS  Entire Article |
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