I’ve mentioned gypsum block before: it was the masonry-style predecessor to gypsum board, a manufactured pre-fab substitute for rough-coat plaster and lath. The picture above (click to enlarge it) is from an early 1960s building. That’s a standard gyp-block partition in a mechanical room, serving as a fire-rated divider between two spaces.
“Gold Bond” was and is a brand name used by the National Gypsum Company for some of its products. You can still buy gypsum board called “Gold Bond.” It is also, coincidently, the brand name of a powder sold for skin care. I had never seen (or maybe never noticed) Gold Bond gyp block before this site visit, and for a moment I wondered if there was a relationship to the medicinal powder, which I’ve always assumed was based on talcum powder. It turns out that the answer is no, they are not related.
This is as good a place as any to point out that gypsum and talc are quite different minerals that have not much in common besides being white and soft. Also, the medicinal Gold Bond turns out to not use talc. In summary: there’s no relationship other than a name meant to convey authority, but that shared name was enough to make me wonder. This has been yet another lesson in why we all need to research products rather tan rely on our memories.
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