Personal and domestic accesories made of urea formaldehyde, 1930-1960.

Many items in this collection of objects, which includes a dustpan and brush, salt and pepper pots, cups and decorative boxes, are from a collection of over three hundred objects collected by Roger Newport of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire and pased on to the Science Museum, London, in 1979. Encouraged by the succes of phenol formaldehydes such as Bakelite, alternative resins were sought by scientists. A urea/thiourea formaldehyde moulding powder was marketed as 'Beetle' from 1928. Urea resins allowed a wider range of colours than the earlier phenolic resins, including pastels. Urea formaldehydes are today largely used as adhesives for wood.