Box, Jewelry
Object number2022.33.4 a,b
Made by
Walter Bernard Frampton Jr.
Date1948
MediumLucite; Bakelite; Adhesive
Credit LineGift of Susan R. Frampton, In memory of Walter B. Frampton
DescriptionBakelite and Lucite jewelry box with lid. Box bottom has amber Bakelite cylindrical wall mounted atop a circular red Lucite disk with four opaque white plastic feet. Lid is a circular red Lucite disk with clear Lucite handle mounted on top at center; the handle is cylindrical with the ends angled. Underside of lid has two arched clear plastic pieces mounted opposite each other near the edges.DimensionsHeight x Diameter (a-b together): 3.125 x 4.313 in. (7.9 x 11 cm)Height x Diameter (a): 2 x 4.313 in. (5.1 x 11 cm)
Height x Diameter (b): 1.5 x 4 in. (3.8 x 10.2 cm)
Historical NotesJewelry box made by Walter B. Frampton in 1948 while attending the Pittsburgh School of Plastics. Walter Bernard Frampton attended the Pittsburgh School of Plastics on the G.I. Bill in 1948. He had graduated from Franklin High School in 1947 after serving in the U.S. Navy from 1944 through 1946. After graduation, he worked for the Joy Manufacturing Company which was based in Franklin, Pennsylvania before moving to Pittsburgh in 1956 to work for Union Switch and Signal. Students at the school worked with a variety of plastic material and learned how to mold, design, and cast items using this material. The items Frampton made while attending the school were kept in the family and were recently donated to the Heinz History Center including a set of lamps, a jewelry box, and several sets of jewelry. His daughter Susan remembers her mother, Edwina Jean (Robson) Frampton, wearing the red heart necklace which she kept in the jewelry box on her vanity. The lamps were used in their bedroom and passed down to Susan who used them in her home as well. The Pittsburgh School of Plastics was originally located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at 508 Third Avenue and was a subsidiary of the Commercial Institute of Pittsburgh. Evening, day, home study, and “war emergency Sunday” classes were covered by the G.I. Bill and included study of the property of plastics, methods of fabricating, machining, and molding plastics. They also included lectures by experts in the emerging field. In 1947, the school had over 300 veterans attending its expanded campus at 2020 West Liberty Avenue. By 1951, the school was no longer advertised as part of the Commercial Institute of Pittsburgh. As the demand for graduates in the plastic industry lessened and redevelopment in the Pittsburgh area increased, the school switched its focus to the building trades to meet this the demand for trained construction workers.
Related institution
Pittsburgh School of Plastics
Related institution
Commercial Institute of Pittsburgh
Related institution
Franklin High School
Related institution
United States Navy
Related institution
Joy Manufacturing Company
Related institution
Union Switch and Signal
(1881 - 2009)
Previous owner
Edwina Jean Frampton
On View
Not on view
1966-1970
McKee Glass Company