Group of small objects made of plastic materials, c 1950-1960.

Liquid-cooled suit, c 1955.

Liquid-cooled suit, c 1955.

Alexander Parkes, inventor of the first synthetic plastic, 1848.

Alexander Parkes, inventor of the first synthetic plastic, c 1850.

Alexander Parkes, inventor of the first synthetic plastic, c 1870-1879.

Plastic dustbin stuffed with plastic fish, 1998.

Alexander Parkes, English inventor and chemist, c 1880s.

Alexander Parkes, English inventor and chemist, with his family, c 1870.

Alexander Parkes, English inventor and chemist, 1875.

Bronze medal awarded to Alexander Parkes, 1885.

'Travella', pocket sized iron, 15th Februar