Camille Dreyfus

Camille Dreyfus was born into a Jewish family from Basel, Switzerland in 1878. His parents were Abraham and Henrietta (née Wahl) Dreyfus. His brother Henri Dreyfus was born four years later, in 1882. The brothers both went to school in Basel and then studied at the Sorbonne, Paris. Their father was involved with a chemical factory.

In 1901 Dreyfus earned a PhD from the University of Basel with the highest honors. The brothers began experimenting in a small laboratory in a corner of the garden of their father's house in Basel. Their first achievement was to develop synthetic indigo dyes.

In 1908 the two brothers turned to developing cellulose acetate, including scientific investigation of the properties of the compound and commercial exploitation. This would consume the rest of their lives. The initial goal was to create a safe and non-flammable alternative to celluloid, then used for motion pictures and photography. By 1910 they had perfected plastic film and acetate lacquers, or aircraft dope.

On 12 December 1912 Henri and Camille Dreyfus, funded by the entrepreneur Alexander Clavel-Respinger, set up a factory in Basel, Cellonit Gesellschaft Dreyfus & Co.,

to produce fireproof celluloid from cellulose acetate. The Cellonit company, founded in 1913, was innovative in developing new film materials. The Paris-based Pathé cinema equipment manufacturer became a customer, and the company's lacquers were used for German Zeppelins and airplanes.

Demand for acetate lacquers grew steadily as the aircraft industry expanded.