Galalith was discovered 1897 in Hanover Germany by the Mass printing press owner Wilhelm Krische, who was commissioned to develop an alternative to blackboards. Galalith ( Erinoid in the United Kingdom) is a synthetic plastic material manufactactured by the interaction of casein and formaldehyde. Comes from the Greek words Gala (milk) and Lithos (stone), it is odourless, insoluble in water, biodegradable, antistic, and nonflammable.
Galalith can not be molded once set so had to be produced in sheets, It was inexpensive to produce due it's simple manufacture. In 1893 a French chemist, Auguste Trillat, discovered the means to insolublize casein by immersion in formaldhyde. The new plastic was presented at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900. In France, Galalith was distributed by the Compagnie Francaise de Galalithe located in Paris in Levallois-Perret.
In 1914, Syrolit Ltd gained the licence for manufacture in the United Kingdom, renaming itself Erinoil Ltd and began manufacturing in the former Lightpil woolen mill in Dudbridge, Stroud, Gloucestershire. Something for you history buffs out there. If you look in the library or on you-tube, you can learn how to make casein for blanks. It can be cut, drilled, embossed, and dyed without difficulty. Jim S