He had nearly 238 patents to his credit, including improvements to sugar cane mills and water filtration devices.

[3] Parkesine had been invented by the Englishman Alexander Parkes in 1862, and is considered the first true plastic, although it was not a success as a commercial or industrial product.

Liquid nitrocellulose, or collodion, had been used as early as 1851 by another English inventor, Frederick Scott Archer, in photographic applications; it had also been used extensively as a quick-drying film to protect the fingertips of printers.

[4] In 1870, Hyatt formed the Albany Dental Plate Company to produce, among other things, billiard balls, false teeth, and piano keys.

[2] Hyatt’s Celluloid Manufacturing Company was established in Albany, New York in 1872 and moved to Newark, New Jersey, in 1873.