Meet the matchstick women — the hidden victims of the industrial revolution The story of the British matchstick girls who in 1888 took strike action against the dominating, patriarchal world of matchstick making isn’t well known. Working with white phosphorous – which was added to the tips of matches to enable a “strike anywhere effect” – was highly toxic and responsible for the devastating disease known as “phossy jaw”. This nickname was given by the match makers to the particularly nasty condition “phosphorous necrosis of the jaw”. The effect literally causing the jaw bone to rot. Doctors soon began treating these women for the disease – which would often spread to the brain leading to a particularly painful and horrific death, unless the jaw was removed. And even then a prolonged life was not guaranteed. Phossy jaw - Wikipedia Phossy jaw, formally known as phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, was an occupational disease affecting those who worked with white phosphorus (also known as yellow phosphorus) without proper safeguards. It was most commonly seen in workers in the matchstick industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries.[1] It was caused by white phosphorus vapour, which destroys the bones of the jaw. Modern occupational hygiene practices have since eliminated the working conditions that caused this disease.[1]
Another interesting and dangerous method: The manufacture of true Ormolu uses the process of mercury gilding, or fire gilding. The process is dangerous and complex, mixing pure gold together with a liquid mercury to form a paste-like amalgam. The amalgam is brushed onto a three-dimensional surface of silver, copper, brass or bronze. The object is then heated in a furnace until the mercury is vaporized. The mercury is driven off by the heat, leaving the gold securely bonded to the surface of the object. The final step is to burnish, or polish, the object with an agate tool. This dangerous process was outlawed in France around 1830 due to the toxicity of the mercury vapors. A French gilder in the 18th century rarely lived past the age of forty. All that Glitters: The Alchemy of French Ormolu - STAIR Galleries
