Book Review: Maria Elvira Callapez, Sara Marques da Cruz, Vânia Carvalho, eds., Plasticity - a History of Plastics in Portugal. Leiria: Município de Leiria, Museu de Leiria

Abstract

Plasticity - A History of Plastics in Portugal is more than an exhibition catalog: it records the research developed during the project “The Triumph of Bakelite: Contribution to the History of Plastics in Portugal,” coordinated by Elvira Callapez, financed by the Portuguese national science foundation (FCT) between 2016 and 2018. The work presents an interdisciplinary analysis and a synthesis about the theme of plastics combining different approaches. The texts are signed by a vast team of researchers and consultants who participated in the project and entrepreneurs of the sector. Among them are the specialists Elvira Callapez, Paulina Mata, Ana Maria Ramos and Teresa Salomé Mota. Together the essays allow us to learn about the hitherto untold history of plastics in Portugal, beginning with the success of Bakelite, and presenting various manufacturing processes, evolution and industrialization of polymers throughout the decades of the twentieth century.