A chrome plated and bakelite, ivorine cocktail recipe menu in the shape of a bell. This stunning Art Deco piece is the perfect addition to any home or professional bar. The nob on the side of the piece turns each separate hand coloured ivorine (a bakelite composite style material used to look like ivory) page showing a selection of thirty classic and more adventurous cocktail recipe instructions!

The menu is in the form of a bell. The bell was a poplar object for a bar, and a number of cocktail shakers, and other bar related ephemera are bell shaped.  This could be as a result of 'last orders' being sounded out in English bars and pubs for centuries by the ringing of a bell.

The handle of the bell is in a beautiful and rare butterscotch coloured bakelite.  Bakelite was one of the first plastics. Developed in New York in 1909 by Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland, it became very popular in the 1920's and '30's for use in household objects as well as jewellery. This was in part due to its durability and wealth of colour available.

The piece is in excellent original condition, with all recipe pages in tact.   English made, circa 1925.