Explanatory Notes        Apparatus Notes ()

Source: Henkels (Stan V.) catalog, | Eldred's. East Dennis, Mass., ([])

Cue: "Who can I buy your safety matches of, in Hartford?"

Source format: "Sales catalog | MS facsimile"

Letter type: "[standard letter]"

Notes:

Last modified: 2019-11-22T11:14:22

Revision History: AB | rhh 2019-11-01 | RHH 2019-11-22

MTPDocEd
To Unidentified
6 July 1875 • Hartford, Conn. (Henkels 1932, lot 281, UCCL 01248)

Gentlemen: Who can I buy your safety matches of in Hartford? I cannot find any agency.1explanatory note

. . . .
Textual Commentary
6 July 1875 • To UnidentifiedHartford, Conn.UCCL 01248
Source text(s):

Henkels 1932, lot 281, which describes the letter as an “A. L. S. 4 lines, 12mo.”

Previous Publication:

L6 , 507; Rains, lot 153, paraphrase.

Explanatory Notes
1 

The first safety matches, patented in Sweden in 1855, were developed to correct two problems associated with phosphorus friction matches, in common use since 1836: spontaneous combustion, and necrosis of the jawbone among factory workers exposed to phosphorus fumes. By 1875, several kinds of safety matches were available, all of which required a special striking surface for ignition and were made without phosphorus, or with a nontoxic form of it. Two of the most well-known brands were the American Safety Parlor Match, made in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Hendrickson and Leigh Safety Match, made in Trenton, New Jersey. Because these products often created a dangerous explosion of sparks, and were easily damaged by moisture, toxic phosphorus matches remained in wide use until 1911 (Manchester, 35–36, 46–47, 57–58, 71–75).

Emendations and Textual Notes
  Hartford, July 6th. 1875. •  Hartford, July 6th. 1875. reported, not quoted
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