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06/04/1869 John Wesley Hyatt acquires a patent for Celluloid

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1930s Celluloid Film Production, Hollywood, Factory, Archive Footage

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Celluloid Can Burn 1944

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Celluloid

John Wesley Hyatt acquired Parkes's patent and began experimenting with cellulose nitrate with the intention of manufacturing billiard balls, which until that time were made from ivory. He used cloth, ivory dust, and shellac, and patented a method of covering billiard balls with the addition of collodion.