Celluloid Combs

Crowns of Glory:

Celluloid Hair Combs

From the 1870s through the 1920s, American women lavished themselves with fanciful “crowns,” which today collectors are accumulating eagerly. However, these so-called crowns—which were actually inexpensive, mass-manufactured combs for the middle class—are actually fakes.
When originally produced, such combs were meant to take the expensive and elaborate combs of the rich and make them available to the lower class. This was done by utilizing a new invention: celluloid, an early form of plastic.

      Advertisements of the era gave celluloid combs misleading names such as “improved tortoise shell,” but such deceptive advertising couldn’t discount the truly genuine benefits of celluloid combs.
      Lighter in weight than the old-fashioned metal or shell combs, celluloid combs provided a certain amount of freedom for women who were pinched and weighed down by their daily clothing. Hairstyles, particularly those at the turn of the century, were looser than they’d ever been before; lightweight combs, in various sizes, helped achieve this look, which may have otherwise been impossible. The combs were also sold cheaply enough to make it possible for almost any woman to have a set of four or more: at least one tall comb to sit at the crown of the head, plus two to four smaller combs used to draw back hair at the sides of the head, and tuck in any strays.
       Besides being inexpensive and useful, celluloid combs were manufactured in hundreds of colors, and could be decorated in a variety of fanciful ways. The most popular of these decorations were rhinestones—conjuring up the image of diamonds and colored jewels—especially on large, tall combs used at the crown.
      In fact, celluloid combs have only one real drawback: When exposed to sunlight at length, celluloid melts; when near direct heat, it actually ignites.
      This, however, did not keep thousands of women from purchasing and wearing celluloid combs, and it certainly hasn’t kept collectors away, either.
      Values vary a great deal on the mass-produced celluloid combs found today. At an antique store, a plain comb of medium size may sell for $40, a rhinestone comb for $75, and a large crown comb for $80 or more. (I have also seen truly massive combs, measuring some seventeen inches, sell for hundreds of dollars.)

HOME

04/21/2006