A look at the journey of matchsticks through ages
One flick and you have fire at your fingertips! That’s what matchsticks allow you to do. Come to think of it, it’s just a tiny stick that has an inflammable chemical mixture at one end that produces flames when stoked! Isn’t it cool how man has controlled fire through ages? But did you know matchsticks were not always like this nor this safe?
Well, in most places, matchsticks have been replaced by a more suitable and handier counterpart, a lighter. But they have far from vanished. Some people, in fact, have a hobby of collecting quirky matchstick boxes! Regardless of your reason for using a matchstick, its journey through time will intrigue you!
Ancient matchsticks
The credit for developing the first matchstick goes to Egyptians and the invention dates back to 3,500 BC. They created a small pinewood stick coated with a combustible mixture of sulphur. As the years passed by, instead of a pinewood stick, they used a cord or wire coated with combustible chemicals. This cord, when brought in contact with heat, produced a flame. The flame was then used to ignite other things, like setting off huge canons and guns during wars. It was also used to ignite the fire in homes during celebrations!
From cords to sticks dipped in acid
In 1805, Jean Chancel, an assistant to famous French chemist Louis Jacques Thenard, created a matchstick using chemicals like potassium chlorate, sulphur, rubber, and sugar. But it was rather expensive. The head of the stick had to be dipped in sulphuric acid for ignition. However, this acid is hazardous. People rejected the matchsticks for the dangers they posed instead of the benefits they had. These matchsticks were not produced on a mass scale, but the basic idea of the modern matchstick took birth!
Friction matchsticks are born
The matchsticks that we use today are friction matchsticks. They were invented by an English chemist named John Walker in 1827. The tip of these matches had a coat of antimony sulphide, potassium chlorate, starch, and gum. They could be ignited when stroked between folded sandpaper. As time passed, a Hungarian student named Janos Irinyi created noiseless matchsticks in the year 1835. These sticks did not produce any sound and burned evenly throughout. Irinyi just replaced potassium chlorate with lead dioxide.
The birth of safety matches
Eventually, these developments led to the safety matches in 1844. They were invented by Swedish inventor and professor of chemistry, Gustaf Erik Pasch. He removed red phosphorous from the match and placed it on a specific surface meant for striking. A decade later, John Edvard Lundstrom improved the existing design of the matches. These matchsticks ignited when stoked at a specific place. These were considered much safer and contained safer chemicals. The harmful chemicals used initially were replaced by safer options.
Matchstick boxes
Selling matchsticks individually was becoming difficult with time. So, boxes were created to hold them. It was Lundstrom and his younger brother Carl Frans Lundström who began mass producing matchboxes at their factory in Sweden in the year 1855. The boxes were created as per the size and use of the matches that were packed in them. Initially, the boxes were simple and contained only the manufacturing date with the brand name. As competition grew, many companies started creating colourful and creative boxes, evolving into reputed brands. As companies became more creative in manufacturing their boxes, many people started collecting the matchbox as a hobby. This became a collector's thing.