124 BULLETIN 13{>^ UNIIUD STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



more coming into domestic life, it was customary to dip the ends of 

 pine splints into melted siilphm*. These "spunks " were easily ignited 

 from the tinder set on lire by the flint and steel. These simple lighters, 

 in almost universal use up to 1825, were evidentl}^ the starting point 

 for the inventions which gave to the world the friction match. The 

 first chemical match, which was part of an apparatus called the "In- 

 stantaneous light box," invented ])y Chancel, came out in 1805 or 

 1806. It was a small tin box containing a bottle filled with asbestos 

 satm-ated with sulphuric acid and a supply of prepared matches. 

 These were splints of wood about 2 inches long, which were dipped 

 into sulphur and then into a mixture of potassium chlorate 6 parts, 

 powdered loaf sugar 2 parts, powdered gum arable 1 part, colored 

 with some material and made into a paste with water. They were 

 easily lighted by dipping them into the acid, but were not regarded 

 as much of a success on account of the weakening of the acid by 

 absorption of moisture from the air. Victor Hugo in Les Miserables 

 makes the gamin Gavaroche in his retreat in the Elephant use an 

 apparatus called "Fumade's fire producer," apparently a French 

 invention and sold at first for £1 sterhng a box. This consisted of a 

 bottle of phosphorus and sn lall sticks tipped with sulphur. When one 

 of the sticks was dipped in the phosphorus it inflamed on being brought 

 out into the air. It was used in Paris in 1832. 



The first friction matches were made by dipping splints in melted 

 sulphur, then in a liquid of potassium chlorate and antimony sulphide 

 and gum water. They were ignited by drawing them tlirough a 

 folded piece of sandpaper. This was the original lucifer, invented 

 by John Walker, Stockton upon Tees, in 1827: 



"The inventor of the lucifer match certainly deserves well of 

 his country, and his country would probably before now have rec- 

 ognized its indebtedness in this matter of striking a light if there had 

 not been more than one claimant to the honor of being the first 

 matchmaker. It has at last been proved by documentary evidence 

 that the first maker of matches was Jolm Walker, a chemist of 

 Stockton-on-Tees, who sold the first box for one shilling and twopence 

 in April, 1827. The matches soon became popular, and the people 

 came from long distances to buy them. The poor of the 

 town were employed to spht the wood for these early matches, 

 which were invariably dipped in the phosphorus compound by the in- 

 ventor himself. This worthy man was pressed to form a company to 

 work the invention and to patent it; but he refused, on the score 

 that he had enough for his smiple wants and that he would put no 

 obstacles in the way of a thing which promised to be a boon to the 

 public. Jolm Walker died in 1859 and a movement is now on foot 

 to raise a monument to his memory." "^ 



•' Chambers's Journal vol. 11, p. 827. 



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