Design for a mirror back, 1870-1875.

UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 04: The handle has a floral motif while the main area features the character Puck from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. The mirror was to be constructed from ivoride at Daniel Spill's Ivoride Works, Homerton, London. Ivoride is a form of Parkesine, the first mouldable plastic, invented by Alexander Parkes (1813-1890) in 1855. As its name suggests, it was used to imitate ivory and was also known as Ivorine, Ivorite and French Ivory. It was used as an inlay for musical instruments and for the manufacture decorative objects. Daniel Spill (1832-1877) established his factory in the mid 1870s, producing Ivoride and Xylonite, a plastic devised by Spill himself. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)