What's this plaque made of?

[awmartin]

Hi everyone, it's been some time since my last post, although here it goes.

 I have this plaque, although I have no idea as to what it's made of. When I bought it, the seller stated that it was made of pressed horn, which sounds plausible, although I haven't seen any other examples on the internet. My initial though was that this was made of some type of early plastic, although this seems to be too complex for that.

The plaque measures about 12 x 6 inches, and when held up to the light is slightly transparent in the lighter portions. Also, what you see on the on the top of the back is some sort of glue residue.

Anyone have any idea as to how old and what this plaque is made of?

Thanks!

[jondar]

From the way you have described it, the seller's I.D. on it seems to be correct.  Some handgun grips are made of horn, mostly water buffalo, and the process, as I have heard described, is to cut the horn lengthwise, heat it and flatten it out, then reheat and put in molds and press it to whatever result you want.  This is a guess on my part as to your plaque and I'm sure soje of the other posters will come up with more detailed facts.  If you could narrow down the age of your plaque it may narrow down the composition of it.  Bakelite is another guess guess but I believe Bakelite is not translucent.

[fancypants]

awmartin ... your item appears , to my old eyes , to be one that would be (loosely) categorized as an "Ivorex plaque", also perhaps search "Plastic Sketch" (the original english slang for these-type items) , IvorArt & such , to find an exact match for yours !

[KC]

Without a hands on my first impressions is the Ivorex...they were usually well marked...but many appeared without markings.  Plaques are PLENTIFUL and easy to find on the internet.

I have seen quite a few items made over the years from horn and just not "feeling" it from looking at yours...HOWEVER, a hands on from someone in the know would be able to tell instantly!  Traditionally saw snuff boxes, vanity items, jewel boxes....more personal items.