STRIKE THAT

  

By Mary Davis

 

 

Creating a flame from nothing had long been a laborious task. Scientists, chemists, engineers, and inventors played around with chemicals for centuries to produce a way to make fire more instantaneous.

 

“If there occurs an emergency at night it may take some time to make a light to light a lamp. But an ingenious man devised the system of impregnating little sticks of pinewood with sulfur and storing them ready for use. At the slightest touch of fire, they burst into flame. . . . This marvelous thing was formerly called a “light-bringing slave”, but afterward when it became an article of commerce its name was changed to ‘fire inch-stick’.”

Records of the Unworldly and the Strange

by Chinese author Tao Gu in about 950 AD

 

Early matches were downright dangerous, from spontaneously igniting to causing a terrible bone disease.

 

Hennig Brandt, an alchemist from Hamburg, was attempting to turn an olio of base metals into gold in 1669. He failed but accidently produced phosphorus instead. Disappointed, he brushed the discovery aside.

 

However, British physicist Robert Boyle was very interested in it. Therefore in 1680, Boyle took a course square of paper and coated it with phosphorus. He tipped a splinter of wood with sulfur to go with it. When the splinter was pulled through the folded paper, it created a flame. This was the first example of a chemical match. Because phosphorus was scarce, the general public never knew this match existed.

 

Notice the wooden matches still attached at the base.

In 1817, a French chemist developed his own version of a match by treating a strip of paper with a compound of phosphorus that would catch fire when exposed to air. This paper was sealed in an evacuated glass tube. How he got it in the tube without exposing it to air is more than this creative brain can fathom. A person need only smash the glass so that the paper ignites and then hasten to light their kindling before the fire burned out. He demonstrated his impractical “match” to his university colleagues. My question is, what about the shards of shattered glass?

 

Then came apothecary owner John Walker in 1826. While in his backroom stirring chemicals (a non-phosphorus formula) to make a new explosive, he noticed a teardrop shape had formed on the end of the stick. To remove it, he rubbed it on the stone floor. Much to his surprise, it ignited, giving birth to the strike-anywhere friction match in a blaze of glory. Samuel Jones, who attended one of Walker’s demonstrations, saw the commercial potential and set up a match business, calling them Lucifers. In the aftermath of matches being invented, tobacco smoking of all kinds increased significantly.

 

“Early matches ignited with a fireworks of sparks and threw off an odor so offensive that boxes of them carried a printed warning: ‘If possible, avoid inhaling gas. Persons whose lungs are delicate should by no means use Lucifers.’ In those days, it was the match and not the cigarette that was believed to be hazardous to health.”

Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Charles Panati, p109

 

 

The repugnant odor of the Lucifers offended the French, so in 1830, Paris chemist Charles Sauria invented a compound with phosphorus that eliminated the offensive smell. However, matches made with it ignited a deadly disease known as phossy jaw—a poisoning of the bones, especially the jaw—that plagued hundreds of factory workers. In 1888, the London matchgirls went on strike because of it. There was enough phosphorus in a pack of matches to commit suicide or murder. Both of which were reported.

 

Anton von Schrötter, German chemistry professor, created the safety match in 1855. Other matches of the day, could easily be ignited by rodents gnawing on them and started many kitchen fires. The safety match separated the phosphorus head of the match (still poisonous) from the igniting sulfur that they put on the outside of the box.

 

In 1892, attorney Joshua Pusey invented the matchbook but ignored warnings, by putting the strike area inside with the matches. The Diamond Match Company bought the patent three years later and moved the strike area to the outside. Eventually, matchbooks were used to advertise everything from motels, political candidates, furniture, businesses, Christmas greetings, and anything else someone wanted to advertise. There were even some that were a bit risqué.

 

 

The Diamond Match Company introduced the first nonpoisonous match in 1911. It used sesquisulfide of phosphorus, and the company forfeited the patent right as a humanitarian gesture.

 

Look how short these were. Watch out for your fingers.

I always thought the strike strip on the outside of a box or book of matches was nothing more than very fine sandpaper. I wondered why striking a match on any ol’ rough surface wouldn’t light them. Now, I know why.

 

THE QUILTING CIRCLE SERIES Box Set

Historical Romance Series

By Mary Davis

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily her loved ones?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *SELAH & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects turn in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *SELAH Winner* – Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) – Complications arise when a fancy French lady steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNZPRRS2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3NJNTQ5SD1WGB&keywords=the+quilting+circle+by+mary+davis&qid=1700957455&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C155&sr=1-7

 

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in Colorado with Carolina Dog named Shelby. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

Resources

Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Charles Panati, p108-111

https://www.historyofmatches.com/matches-history/history-of-matches/

https://www.britannica.com/science/match-tinder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match

The History of Matches

by Misty M. Beller

In my post last month, I wrote about how early American frontiersmen built fires before matches were widely available. Now let's talk about matches themselves! 

Sulfur-head matches, circa 1828, lit by dipping into a bottle of phosphorus

Matches in Ancient Times

Sulfur matches have been around in one form or another for almost 1500 years. A note in the text Cho Keng Lu, written in 1366, describes a sulfur match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur, used in China by "impoverished court ladies" in AD 577 during the conquest of Northern Qi. 

A book called The Records of the Unworldly and the Strange written by Chinese author Tao Gu in about 950 stated:

"If there occurs an emergency at night it may take some time to make a light to light a lamp. But an ingenious man devised the system of impregnating little sticks of pinewood with sulfur and storing them ready for use. At the slightest touch of fire, they burst into flame. One gets a little flame like an ear of corn. This marvelous thing was formerly called a 'light-bringing slave', but afterward when it became an article of commerce its name was changed to 'fire inch-stick'."

"Modern" Matches

The first self-igniting match was invented in 1805 by Jean Chancel, assistant to a Parisian professor. The head of the match consisted of a mixture of potassium chlorate, sulfur, sugar, and rubber. The match was ignited by dipping its tip in a small asbestos bottle filled with sulfuric acid. Connection between acid and the mixture on the stick would start the fire and release very nasty fumes into the face of the user. This kind of match was quite expensive, however, and its use was also relatively dangerous, so Chancel's matches never really became widely adopted or in common use.

This approach to match-making was further refined in the proceeding decades, culminating with the 'Promethean Match' that was patented by Samuel Jones of London in 1828. His match consisted of a small glass capsule containing a chemical composition of sulfuric acid colored with indigo and coated on the exterior with potassium chlorate, all of which was wrapped up in rolls of paper. The immediate ignition of this particular form of a match was achieved by crushing the capsule with a pair of pliers, mixing and releasing the ingredients in order for it to become alight.

Friction Matches
The first successful friction match was invented in 1826 by John Walker, an English chemist and druggist. Several chemical mixtures were already known which would ignite by a sudden explosion, but it had not been found possible to transmit the flame to a slow-burning substance like wood. While Walker was preparing a lighting mixture on one occasion, a match which had been dipped in it took fire by an accidental friction upon the hearth. He at once appreciated the practical value of the discovery and started making friction matches.

John Walker, inventor of the friction match

The price of a box of 50 matches was one shilling. With each box was supplied a piece of sandpaper, folded double, through which the match had to be drawn to ignite it. Walker named the matches "Congreves" in honor of the inventor and rocket pioneer Sir William Congreve. Between 1827 and 1829, Walker made about 168 sales of his matches. It was, however, dangerous, and flaming balls sometimes fell to the floor burning carpets and dresses, leading to their ban in France and Germany.

Lucifers
In 1829, Scots inventor Sir Isaac Holden invented an improved version of Walker's match and demonstrated it to his class at Castle Academy in Reading, Berkshire. A version of Holden's match was patented by Samuel Jones, and these were sold as lucifer matches. These early matches had a number of problems—an initial violent reaction, an unsteady flame, and unpleasant odor and fumes. Lucifers could ignite explosively, sometimes throwing sparks a considerable distance. The term "lucifer" persisted as slang in the 20th century (for example in the First World War song Pack Up Your Troubles) and matches are still called lucifers in Dutch.

Phosphorus Matches
Lucifers were, however, quickly replaced after 1830 by matches made according to the process devised by Frenchman Charles Sauria, who substituted white phosphorus for the antimony sulfide. These new phosphorus matches had to be kept in airtight metal boxes ,but became popular and went by the name of loco foco in the United States, from which was derived the name of a political party.

Those involved in the manufacture of the new phosphorus matches were afflicted with phossy jaw and other bone disorders, and there was enough white phosphorus in one pack to kill a person. Deaths and suicides from eating the heads of matches became frequent.

The New York Times report dated January 29, 1911

The Safety Match
The dangers of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches led to the development of the "hygienic" or "safety match". The major innovation in its development was the use of red phosphorus, not on the head of the match but instead on a specially designed striking surface.

Johan Edvard and his younger brother Carl Frans Lundström (1823–1917) started a large-scale match industry in Jönköping, Sweden around 1847, but the improved safety match was not introduced until around 1850–55. The Lundström brothers had obtained a sample of red phosphorus matches from Arthur Albright at The Great Exhibition but had misplaced it and therefore they did not try the matches until just before the Paris Exhibition of 1855 when they found that the matches were still usable. In 1858, their company produced around 12 million matchboxes.

The safety of true "safety matches" is derived from the separation of the reactive ingredients between a match head on the end of a paraffin-impregnated splint and the special striking surface (in addition to the safety aspect of replacing the white phosphorus with red phosphorus). 

We still have a number of different match types available today, but the safety match is most widely used. I'm curious, how many of these match types have you heard of? 

***

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

For a limited time, you can get one of Misty's bestselling novels free here: https://www.subscribepage.com/s8n2o1

Love's Mountain Quest 
After her son goes missing, Joanna Watson enlists Isaac Bowen—a man she prays has enough experience in the rugged country—to help. As they press on against the elements, they find encouragement in the tentative trust that grows between them, but whether it can withstand the danger and coming confrontation is far from certain in this wild, unpredictable land.

Sparking Fire on the American Frontier

by Misty M. Beller

As a writer of historical fiction, I've always been a little fascinated by how people had to light flame before the invention of the friction match we use today. 

(By the way, the first "matches" were actually invented all the way back in 577 AD using sulphur, and various versions of sulphur and phosphorus to make fire were experimented with for centuries. None were practical, inexpensive, and safe for the general public until the friction match was invented by English chemist John Walker in 1826. But that, my friends, is a blog post for another day.)

There were two main methods of producing fire before matches came into widespread use. Most of the "civilized world" used flint and steel to build their fires, however when Lewis and Clark explored the vast lands of the Louisianna Territory, they found that the natives mostly used various versions of a bow drill to spark flame for campfires. 

Versions of the flint and steel method for starting fire. From the United States National Museum (Smithsonian Institution), Washington D.C.

Regarding the flint and steel method, below is an excerpt Herbert Manchester's book, The Diamond Match Company; a Century of Service, of Progress, and of Growth, 1835-1935, which gives an unfortunately realistic description of how a morning fire was started: 

"known to the Romans and . . . developed in the Dark Ages along with hand-wrought steel for weapons and armor. The steel, which was curved so as to form a handle, was held in the left hand and struck with the sharp edge of the flint. Good tinder was very important and was made by charring lint, or other easily combustible material, and keeping it dry in a tinder box or pouch. The fire maker blew upon the lighted tinder to spread the fire and added shavings, or perhaps so-called matches, which then meant only splints dipped in sulphur. If everything went right, a fire was kindled in a few minutes, but the flint might have lost its sharp edge, the steel might be blunted and the tinder might be damp from rainy weather or merely from fog; moreover, as the fire was usually built in the dark before sunrise, which was the getting-up time in those days, the knuckles might be hit instead of the steel, and the fumes in-haled in ineffectual puffing."

If the fire was being built on the trail, add to the above image the challenges of wind and rain, and the difficulty of securing decent tinder like dried moss or shredded birch bark.

Versions of the bow-drill method for starting fire. From the United States National Museum (Smithsonian Institution), Washington D.C.

As for the bow-drill or other methods of using wood upon wood for the friction to create a spark, there were as many variations as there were people using this method to start fire. Typically a spindle about a foot long would be held upright with one end in a hole in a block of wood that sat on the ground. The base board should be made from spruce, cedar, balsam, tamarack, or similar, non-resinous wood. The string of a bow was wrapped once around the spindle, so that it was tight enough not to slip during operation.

Diagram of a bow drill designed for fire starting

With these two methods as the primary ways to build a fire, no wonder people rarely allowed fires to go out, even in the hot summer months. A fire had to be used for cooking, so banking coals, so they could be re-kindled into flame, became a carefully honed skill.

But for settlers, frontiersmen, or Native Americans on the trail, a new fire would probably need to be built at each stopping point. Especially in the cold winter months, where the campfire would serve for both heat and cooking. If a fire wasn't needed for warmth and they had sufficient cooked food, the groups would certainly not go through the effort. But hunting along the journey was usually the primary source of food, and that meat had to be cooked.

Cooking, of course, required a fire. 

***

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

Her latest release, Hope in the Mountain River, is an epic journey along the path taken by the Lewis and Clark expedition—an epic journey through breathless landscapes and adventure so intense, lives will never be the same.

For a limited time, you can get one of Misty's bestselling novels free here: https://www.subscribepage.com/s8n2o1