... nothing more than trade name for a plastic material produced by the Xylonite Co. in 1866... such as Celluloid being a trade name. Celluloid came about in 1869 and was used to manufacture casino chips, but was short-lived because it was flammable and deteriorated when exposed to moisture. I've read horror stories on this board about French Ivory containing ground ivory, but the complete breakdown of compounds used for the product is well documented when Xylonite applied for their patent.

I try to stay away from the term "French Ivory" or "Celluloid" in describing those ivory-looking chips/plaques, but rather use a term; "Celluloid-type plastic" in playing it safe.

JB