Kriegsmarine Origin of "Celleon"

[Norm F]

Hi All,

I've been discussing elsewhere the theme of the origins of so-called "Celleon" thread used in various insignia, and thought it would be good to draw upon the expertise here.

Angolia/Schlicht's Kriegsmarine volumes and various others use the term "Celleon" to describe the thread introduced in early war-time to replace the more expensive metal-based filaments and bullion in various insignia. This thread seems to be a Rayon-type central thread wrapped in a spiral winding of cellophane, giving it an almost metallic sheen and making it a suitable replacement for the more expensive and corrosion-prone metals.

However I couldn't find the specific origin of the term "Celleon".

Markus Bodeux, who is co-author of an upcoming reference on M?tzenb?nder, uses the the term Cellon thread, without the "e", and when questioned pointed out a 1940 advert in Weyers Taschenbuch der Kriegsflotten for a "Celluloidwarenfabrik", a celluloid wares factory, with "alle artikel aus Celluloid und Cellon". Further digging revealed that Cellon is a trade name for a patented soluble cellulose acetate patented by German chemist Arthur Eichengr?n in 1909, who was working for Bayer. At that time it was primarily for use making non-flammable cinematographic film. He later sold the patent rights to an Englishman which led to the founding of the British Cellon Company in 1913. (From "War and Economic Development" by David Joslin and J. M. Winter, 1976)

So back to Germany now. During wartime we also see period use of the term "Cellophan" (another brand-name) to describe these insignia, as evidenced on many original labels on sales displays and insignia.

In conclusion I have now seen the brand names "Cellon" and "Cellophan" used in the time period, but never the term "celleon" which appears nevertheless in various seminal reference texts for collectors, notably the Angolia/Schlicht volumes and Gordon Williamson's "Torpedo los!".

(Gordon's fabulous tome "Torpedo los!" sometimes uses the generic term cellulose thread, and other times celleon thread.)

So what do others think? Is "Celleon" a term coined by collectors in more recent years, or is it a typo from the original "Cellon", or perhaps another original term from the period whose source has not yet been pinpointed?

One source that may be very useful would be the original orders in the Marineverordnungsblatt and the Heeresverordnungsblatt, to see if any specific term is used for these ersatz materials for insignia.

Some may perhaps find this a bit pedantic, but to me it's a question of historical accuracy, something we all strive for in our collecting.

Best regards,

---Norm

From "War and Economic Development" by David Joslin and J. M. Winter, 1976:

[Gordon Williamson]

Sounds like its a simple typo. I've seen countless different versions used, Cello, Celleon, Cellon, Cellulon etc etc but if the term Cellon is used in a period publication then it is most likely the correct spelling. Celleon seems widely used in Germany too. Quite possibly, like the situation with the identification of the W trademark as Wernstein instead of the correct Wiedmann, it is a case of an old misinterpretation being picked up and used without question.

To me the important thing is that the meaning of the term being used is clear ( and my understanding is with the thicker "wrapped" thread made to replace metallic threads ) in which case its a simple use of wrong spelling but the meaning is correct.

I'd be more concerned with the common misuse I see of the term Celleon to describe the yellow rayon thread "artificial silk" woven material too, which is clearly incorrect.

[Norm F]

Sounds like its a simple typo. I've seen countless different versions used, Cello, Celleon, Cellon, Cellulon etc etc but if the term Cellon is used in a period publication then it is most likely the correct spelling. Celleon seems widely used in Germany too. Quite possibly, like the situation with the identification of the W trademark as Wernstein instead of the correct Wiedmann, it is a case of an old misinterpretation being picked up and used without question.

To me the important thing is that the meaning of the term being used is clear ( and my understanding is with the thicker "wrapped" thread made to replace metallic threads ) in which case its a simple use of wrong spelling but the meaning is correct.

I'd be more concerned with the common misuse I see of the term Celleon to describe the yellow rayon thread "artificial silk" woven material too, which is clearly incorrect.

Thanks very much for the prompt reply.

Yes, a simple typo would make sense. I'm still really curious to know if the original MV and HV orders might drop a term -- that could be the definitive answer if so but I don't have access to these resources.

In the meantime here's that advertisement from 1940 mentioning Cellon (courtesy of Markus Bodeux). The ad is for celluloid wares in general and not insignia specifically.

Cheers.

---Norm

P.S. I'm looking forward to your upcoming book on KM badges!