A light is instantly born from a simple small stick. But the fact of the matter is that the match is not a simple stick at all, but a stick with a secret. And its secret is in its small brown head. He struck the brown head against the box and a flame flared up.
Try rubbing your palm against your palm. Do you feel how warm your palms have become? That's the match. She also becomes warm from the friction, even hot.
But for a tree to catch fire, this heat is not enough. But the flammable head is quite enough. It lights up even with slight heating. Therefore, you don’t need to rub the match against the box for a long time, just strike it, and it will flare up once. And then a wooden stick lights up from the head.
When did matches appear?
Matches were invented about 200 years ago. In 1833, the first match factory was built. Until this time, people made fire differently.
First lighter
In ancient times, many people carried in their pockets a piece of iron - flint, a hard stone - flint, and a wick - tinder. Chirp-chirk flint on flint. Once again, again, again and again... Sparks kept falling. Finally, a lucky spark ignites the tinder and it begins to smolder. Why not a lighter? Only instead of one single item, as it is now, the ancient lighter consisted of three items. The lighter also contains a pebble, a piece of steel - a wheel, and tinder - a wick soaked in gasoline.
A match is also a lighter
And a match is also a lighter. Small, thin, very convenient lighter. She also flares up from friction. The rough side of the box is its flint. And the flammable head is both flint and tinder.
Making fire is a very difficult task. People have always come up with different devices for making fire. But no matter what trick people come up with when trying to start a fire, friction has always been an indispensable condition for getting fire.
At first, matches were harmful and dangerous:
- were ignited only by caustic acid;
- the heads of others had to be crushed first with special tweezers;
- the third matches looked like tiny bombs. They did not catch fire, but exploded with a bang. These are phosphorus matches. When ignited, poisonous sulfur dioxide was formed;
- At one time, huge and complex glass devices were used as matches. The devices were very expensive and inconvenient to use, and besides, all these matches smoked a lot...
More recently, about 100 years ago, “Swedish” matches were invented, which we still use today. These are the safest and cheapest matches ever invented by man. This is the history of the creation of matches.
Types of matches
Travelers, geologists, and climbers take signal matches with them on hikes. Each one burns with a small torch. It is bright and burns with a multi-colored torch: red, blue, green, yellow. It can be seen from afar.
Sailors have huge wind matches in reserve. Their strong flame does not go out even in the violent sea wind.
During the Great Patriotic War, our soldiers had huge ignition matches. They set fire to bottles with a flammable mixture.
That's how much benefit a match has! She will light a gas stove, build a fire in the field, give a signal, and destroy an enemy tank. A match in good hands will do many good deeds. But if suddenly it falls into the wrong hands, then there will be no misfortunes. In this regard, it is necessary to explain to children how dangerous playing with matches is.
The biggest match in the world
On August 21, 2004, the longest match in the world was made and lit in Estonia. It is 20,000 times larger than our ordinary match. Its length is more than 6 meters. The match was lifted by a cargo lift.
And there was a time when simple matches had not yet been invented.To stay warm by the fire or cook meat, you need fire. But where can I get it? What about a thunderstorm? Lightning ignites a tree, and there you have a fire. Take a smoldering firebrand, take it home to the cave and make a fire there.People kept this “heavenly fire” as the most valuable treasure and never let it go out. And then they learned to make fire without a thunderstorm.They will take a dry, harder board, a stronger, dry stick, and drier grass. They insert the stick into the hollow of the board and begin to rotate it in their palms with all their might. Seven sweats will be shed while the grass begins to smolder. Then it’s easier: blow on it and it will burst into flames.
Primitive man produced fire by friction. Using a belt, he rotated a stick placed on a piece of dry wood. In order for wood to catch fire, it must be very hot. That is, to get fire you need to rub one stick against another for a very long time and hard. And how easy and simple it has become to start a fire these days thanks to the invention of the match!
As stated in the modern encyclopedia, these are thin, elongated pieces of wood, cardboard or wax-impregnated thread, equipped with a head of a chemical substance that ignites from friction.
Etymology and history of the word
The word “match” is derived from the Old Russian word “matches” - the plural uncountable form of the word “spoke” (a pointed wooden stick, splinter). Originally, this word referred to wooden nails that were used in shoe making (to attach the sole to the head). The word is still used in this meaning in a number of regions of Russia. Initially, to denote matches in the modern sense, the phrase “incendiary (or samogar) matches” was used, and only with the widespread distribution of matches did the first word begin to be omitted, and then completely disappeared from use.
History of the match
The history of inventions and discoveries in chemistry in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, leading to the invention of various types of matches, is quite confusing. International patent law did not yet exist; European countries often challenged each other's primacy in many projects, and various inventions and discoveries appeared almost simultaneously in different countries. Therefore, it makes sense to talk only about the industrial (manufacturing) production of matches.
The first matches appeared at the end of the 18th century. These were chemical matches that were lit when the head of a mixture of sugar and potassium perchlorate came into contact with sulfuric acid. In 1813, the first match factory in Austria-Hungary, Mahliard and Wik, was registered in Vienna for the production of chemical matches. By the time the production of sulfur matches began (1826) by the English chemist and pharmacist John Walker, chemical matches were already quite widespread in Europe (Charles Darwin used a version of such a match, biting through the glass of a flask with acid and risking getting burned).
The heads in John Walker's matches consisted of a mixture of antimony sulfide, berthollet salt and gum arabic (gum - a viscous liquid secreted by acacia). When such a match is rubbed against sandpaper (grater) or another fairly rough surface, its head easily ignites.
They were a whole yard long. They were packaged in tin pencil cases of 100 pieces, but Walker did not make much money from his invention. In addition, these matches had a terrible smell. Later, smaller matches began to go on sale.
In 1830, 19-year-old French chemist Charles Soria invented phosphorus matches, consisting of a mixture of Bertholet salt, white phosphorus and glue. These matches were very flammable, since they ignited even from mutual friction in the box and when rubbing against any hard surface, for example, the sole of a boot (how can one not recall the hero Charlie Chaplin, who lit a match on his own pants). At that time, there was an English joke in which a whole match said to another, half-burnt one: “See how your bad habit of scratching the back of your head ends!” Soria's matches had no odor, but were harmful to health because they were very poisonous, which was used by many suicides to commit suicide.
The main disadvantage of the Walker and Soria matches was the instability of the ignition of the match handle - the burning time of the head was very short. A solution was found in the invention of phosphorus-sulfur matches, the head of which was made in two stages - first, the handle was dipped in a mixture of sulfur, wax or stearin, a small amount of berthollet salt and glue, and then in a mixture of white phosphorus, berthollet salt and glue. A flash of phosphorus ignited a slower-burning mixture of sulfur and wax, which ignited the handle of the match.
These matches remained dangerous not only in production, but also in use - extinguished match handles continued to smolder, leading to frequent fires. This problem was solved by impregnating the handle of the match with ammonium phosphate (NH4H2PO4). Such matches began to be called impregnated (impregnated - impregnated) or, later, safe. To ensure stable burning of the cuttings, they began to impregnate it with wax or stearin (later - paraffin).
In 1855, a Swedish chemist applied sandpaper to the surface and replaced it with white phosphorus in the head of a match. Such matches no longer caused harm to health, were easily lit on a pre-prepared surface and practically did not self-ignite. Johan Lundström patents the first “Swedish match”, which has survived almost to this day. In 1855, Lundström's matches were awarded a medal at the World Exhibition in Paris. Later, phosphorus was completely removed from the composition of match heads and remained only in the composition of the spread (grater).
With the development of the production of “Swedish” matches, the use of white phosphorus was banned in almost all countries. Before the invention of sesquisulfide matches, limited use with white phosphorus remained only in England, Canada and the USA, mainly for army purposes, and also (until 1925) in some Asian countries. In 1906, the international Berne Convention was adopted, prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in the production of matches. By 1910, the production of phosphorus matches in Europe and America had completely ceased.
Sesquisulfide matches were invented in 1898 by French chemists Saven and Caen. They are produced mainly in English-speaking countries, mainly for military needs. The basis of the rather complex composition of the head is non-toxic phosphorus sequisulfide (P4S3) and Berthollet salt.
At the end of the 19th century, matchmaking became Sweden's "national sport". In 1876, 38 match factories were built, and a total of 121 factories were operating. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, almost all of them either went bankrupt or merged into large concerns.
Currently, matches manufactured in most European countries do not contain sulfur and chlorine compounds - paraffins and chlorine-free oxidizers are used instead.
First matches
The first successful use of white phosphorus to light a match by friction was in 1830 by the French chemist C. Sorya. He made no attempts to organize industrial production of matches, but two years later phosphorus matches were already being produced in Austria and Germany.
Safety matches
The first safety matches, ignited by friction against a specially prepared surface, were created in 1845 in Sweden, where their industrial production began in 1855 by J. Lundström. This became possible thanks to the discovery of non-toxic amorphous phosphorus by A. Schrotter (Austria) in 1844. The head of the safety matches did not contain all the substances necessary for ignition: amorphous (red) phosphorus was deposited on the wall of the matchbox. Therefore, the match could not light accidentally. The composition of the head included potassium chlorate mixed with glue, gum arabic, crushed glass and manganese dioxide. Almost all matches made in Europe and Japan are of this type.
Kitchen matches
Matches with a double-layer head, lit on any hard surface, were patented by F. Farnham in 1888, but their industrial production began only in 1905. The head of such matches consisted of potassium chlorate, glue, rosin, pure gypsum, white and colored pigments and a small amount phosphorus. The layer at the tip of the head, which was applied with a second dipping, contained phosphorus, glue, flint, gypsum, zinc oxide and coloring matter. The matches were lit silently, and the possibility of the burning head flying off was completely excluded.
Match books
Cardboard matchbooks are an American invention. The patent for them, issued to J. Pussey in 1892, was acquired in 1894 by the Diamond Match company. At first, such matches did not receive public recognition. But after one of the beer manufacturing companies purchased 10 million match books to advertise its products, the production of cardboard matches became big business. Nowadays, matchbooks are distributed free of charge to gain the favor of customers in hotels, restaurants, and tobacco stores. There are twenty matches in a standard book, but books of other sizes are also available. They are usually sold in packs of 50. Booklets of special design can be supplied in packages of various sizes, most suitable for the customer. These matches are the safety type, the surface for their ignition is the bottom (covered with “grey”) flap of the cover, under which the front side is tucked.
Impregnation of matches
Until 1870, fire-prevention impregnation methods were not known to prevent flameless burning of the remaining coal on an extinguished match. In 1870, the Englishman Howes received a patent for the impregnation of matches with a square cross-section. It listed a number of materials (including alum, sodium tungstate and silicate, ammonium borate and zinc sulfate) suitable for impregnating square matches by immersing them in a chemical bath.
Impregnation of round matches on a continuous match machine was considered impossible. Due to the fact that the legislation of some states since 1910 required mandatory fire-prevention impregnation, an employee of the Diamond Match company W. Fairbairn in 1915 proposed, as an additional operation on a match machine, immersing matches approximately 2/3 of the length in a weak solution (approx. 0 .5%) ammonium phosphate.
Phosphorus sesquisulfide
White phosphorus, used to make matches, caused bone disease, tooth loss, and necrosis of jaw areas among match factory workers. In 1906, an international agreement was signed in Bern (Switzerland) prohibiting the manufacture, import and sale of matches containing white phosphorus. In response to this ban, harmless matches containing amorphous (red) phosphorus were developed in Europe. Phosphorus sesquisulfide was first obtained in 1864 by the Frenchman J. Lemoine, mixing four parts of phosphorus with three parts of sulfur without access to air. In such a mixture, the toxic properties of white phosphorus did not appear. In 1898, French chemists A. Seren and E. Cahen proposed a method of using phosphorus sesquisulfide in match production, which was soon adopted in some European countries.
In 1900, the Diamond Match Company acquired the right to use a patent for matches containing phosphorus sesquisulfide. But the patent claims were intended for matches with a simple head. The quality of sesquisulfide matches with a two-layer head turned out to be unsatisfactory.
In December 1910, W. Fairbairn developed a new formula for harmless matches with phosphorus sesquisulfide. The company published the patent claim and allowed all competitors to use it for free. A law was passed placing a two-cent tax on every box of white phosphorus matches, and white phosphorus matches were forced out of the market.
Mechanization of match production
At first, the production of matches was entirely manual, but soon attempts began to increase productivity through mechanization. Already in 1888, an automatic continuous-action machine was created, which, with some modifications, still forms the basis of match production.
Production of wooden matches
Modern wooden matches are made in two ways. With the veneer method (for matches with a square cross-section), selected aspen logs are sanded and then cut into short logs, which are peeled or planed into strips corresponding in width to the length of the matches, one match thick. The ribbons are fed into a match machine, which cuts them into individual matches. The latter are mechanically inserted into the perforations of the plates of the machine for applying heads by dipping. In another method (for round matches), small pine blocks are fed into the head of the machine, where die-cutting dies arranged in a row cut out the match blanks and push them into the perforations of metal plates on an endless chain.
In both production methods, matches pass sequentially through five baths in which a general impregnation with a fire-fighting solution is carried out, a ground layer of paraffin is applied to one end of the match to ignite the wood from the match head, a layer forming the head is applied on top of it, a second layer is applied to the tip of the head and then Finally, the head is sprayed with a strengthening solution that protects it from atmospheric influences. After passing on an endless chain through huge drying drums for 60 minutes, the finished matches are pushed out of the plates and enter a filling machine that distributes them into matchboxes. The wrapper then wraps three, six, or ten boxes in paper, and the packaging machine fills them into shipping containers. A modern match machine (18 m long and 7.5 m high) produces up to 10 million matches in an 8-hour shift.
Production of cardboard matches
Cardboard matches are made on similar machines, but in two separate operations. Pre-treated cardboard from large rolls is fed into a machine, which cuts it into “combs” of 60-100 matches and inserts them into the nests of an endless chain. The chain carries them through the paraffin bath and the head forming bath. The finished combs go into another machine, which cuts them into double “pages” of 10 matches and seals them with a pre-printed lid equipped with a strike strip. The finished matchbooks are sent to the filling and packaging machine.
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It would seem that you couldn’t imagine a simpler object than ordinary matches. Everyone is familiar with them - from young to old! Children know that for them this is “not a toy,” but adults use them as widely as possible. But it’s unlikely that when lighting a gas burner or making a fire, we think, when were matches invented?
“Now I know 1000 ways not to invent the light bulb...”
In ancient times, fire was produced by striking a spark by striking a flint with a special flint. The spark was supposed to ignite the tinder - a wick soaked in a flammable substance. The method is extremely unreliable, because you could knock for hours, but the treasured light still did not appear.
After reading about this, the reader is in a hurry to move on, but if you stop for a second and think about what came first - matches or a lighter, the answer will not be obvious at all! The modern lighter has essentially the same principle - there is flint, a piece of steel (a wheel that replaces the flint) and tinder - a gasoline “thread”. And this means that the lighter was invented before matches!
However, let's get back to the topic. The first matches appeared in a completely different “guise”. First there were “chemical flints” - matches that were lit by contact with sulfuric acid, then wooden sticks with a glass head, which had to be crushed with tongs.
Close to the “ideal” was the invention of John Walker. Then matches appeared in the world, which could be lit by “striking” the head. However, his “light sticks” were unsafe: after combustion, they left a trail of extremely unpleasant sulfur dioxide gas, scattered into clouds of sparks when ignited, and were 90 cm long! So Walker never became the one who invented matches.
Then there was the French chemist Charles Soria, whose matches were less “poisonous”, but ignited upon touching any surface. This became their main disadvantage - they caught fire even during transportation!
Finally success!
And yet, in what year were matches invented? Only in 1853. To begin with, red phosphorus was discovered in Austria in 1847. It is not harmful to humans. Safety matches were invented by the chemist J. Lundström, who guessed to apply this same phosphorus to the “ignition surface” and to the head of the match. But the matchbox was invented much later - only in 1889. Thus, the answer to the question in which country matches were invented is the following wording: Sweden (safety matches are sometimes called “Swedish”), but only after the “French” red phosphorus.
When did matches appear in Russia?
There is no exact information about when matches appeared in Russia. It is believed that the first manufactory where matches were made appeared in the period from 1833 to 1837. The production of "fire sticks" underwent ups and downs, but by 1913 the "races" had ceased, and match production began to actively develop. Since 1862, restrictions were imposed on the production of Soria products, and by the beginning of the 20th century there were only safety matches.
Types of matches
What types of matches are there? Today – very different!
- Ordinary (now, of course, only safe)
- Storm, or hunting (can warm in strong winds and rain);
- Signal (with colored flame);
- Fireplace (very long);
- Thermal (generate a lot of heat);
- Gas (longer than regular, but shorter than fireplace);
- Decorative (something like gift sets - with colored heads and memorable designs on the boxes).
It’s amazing that such small and familiar things conceal a huge story of trial and error, failure and success.
Matches are a relatively recent invention of mankind; they replaced flint and steel about two centuries ago, when looms were already working, trains and steamships were running. But it was not until 1844 that the creation of safety matches was announced.
Before a match broke out in the hands of a man, many events happened, each of which contributed to the long and difficult path of creating a match.
Although the use of fire dates back to the dawn of mankind, it is believed that matches were originally invented in China in 577 during the Qi Dynasty, which ruled northern China (550-577). The courtiers found themselves under military siege and left without fire; they invented them from sulfur.
But let's find out the history of this everyday thing in more detail...
A description of these matches is given by Tao Gu in his book “Evidence of the Extraordinary and Supernatural” (c. 950):
“If something unexpected happens overnight, it takes some time. An insightful person simplified small pine sticks by impregnating them with sulfur. They were ready to use. All that remains is to rub them on an uneven surface. The result was a flame as big as an ear of wheat. This miracle is called "the servant clothed with light." But when I started selling them, I called them fire sticks.” In 1270, matches were already freely sold on the market in the city of Hangzhou.
In Europe, matches were invented only in 1805 by the French chemist Chancel, although already in 1680 the Irish physicist Robert Boyle (who discovered Boyle's law) coated a small piece of paper with phosphorus and took the already familiar wooden stick with a sulfur head. He rubbed it on the paper and as a result a fire broke out
The word “match” comes from the old Russian word spica - a sharpened wooden stick, or splinter. Initially, knitting needles were the name given to wooden nails that were used to attach the sole to a shoe. At first, in Russia, matches were called “incendiary, or samogar matches.”
Sticks for matches can be either wooden (soft woods are used - linden, aspen, poplar, American white pine...), as well as cardboard and wax (cotton string impregnated with paraffin).
Collecting match labels, boxes, matches themselves and other related items is called philumenia. And their collectors are called phylumenists.
According to the method of ignition, matches can be grated, which are ignited by friction against the surface of a matchbox, and non-grated, which are ignited on any surface (remember how Charlie Chaplin lit a match on his trousers).
In ancient times, to make a fire, our ancestors used the friction of wood against wood, then they began to use flint and invented flint. But even with it, lighting a fire required time, a certain skill and effort. By striking the steel against the flint, they struck a spark that fell on the tinder soaked in saltpeter. It began to smolder and from it, using dry kindling, the fire was fanned
The next invention was the impregnation of a dry splinter with molten sulfur. When the head of sulfur was pressed against the smoldering tinder, it burst into flames. And she was already setting fire to the hearth. This is how the prototype of the modern match appeared.
In 1669, white phosphorus, easily ignited by friction, was discovered and used in the production of the first match heads.
In 1680, the Irish physicist Robert Boyle (1627 - 1691, who discovered Boyle's law), coated a small piece of phosphorus with such phosphorus and took the already familiar wooden stick with a sulfur head. He rubbed it on the paper and as a result a fire broke out. But unfortunately, Robert Boyle did not draw any useful conclusion from this.
Chapselle's wooden matches, invented in 1805, had a head made of a mixture of sulfur, bertholite salt, and cinnabar red, which was used to color the head. Such a match was lit either with the help of a magnifying glass from the Sun (remember how in childhood they burned out drawings or set fire to carbon paper), or by dripping concentrated sulfuric acid onto it. His matches were dangerous to use and very expensive.
A little later, in 1827, the English chemist and apothecary John Walker (1781-1859) discovered that if you coat the end of a wooden stick with certain chemicals, then scratch it on a dry surface, the head lights up and sets the stick on fire. The chemicals he used were: antimony sulfide, bertholet's salt, gum and starch. Walker did not patent his "Congreves," as he called the world's first matches that were lit by friction.
An important role in the birth of the match was played by the discovery of white phosphorus made by a retired soldier from Hamburg, Henning Brand, in 1669. After studying the works of famous alchemists of that time, he decided to get gold. As a result of the experiments, a certain light powder was accidentally obtained. This substance had the amazing property of luminescence, and Brand called it “phosphorus,” which translated from Greek means “luminiferous.”
As for Walker, as often happens, the pharmacist invented matches by accident. In 1826, he mixed chemicals using a stick. A dried drop formed at the end of this stick. To remove it, he struck the floor with a stick. Fire broke out! Like all slow-witted people, he did not bother to patent his invention, but demonstrated it to everyone. A guy named Samuel Jones was present at such a demonstration and realized the market value of the invention. He called the matches “Lucifers” and began selling tons of them, despite the fact that there were some problems associated with “Lucifers” - they smelled bad and, when ignited, scattered clouds of sparks around.
He soon released them to the market. The first sale of matches took place on April 7, 1827 in the city of Hikso. Walker made some money from his invention. His matches and "Congreves", however, often exploded and were unpredictably dangerous to handle. He died in 1859, aged 78, and was buried in Norton Parish Church cemetery, Stockton.
However, Samuel Jones soon saw Walker's "Congreves" matches and decided to start selling them as well, calling them "Lucifers". Perhaps due to their name, Lucifers matches became popular, especially among smokers, but they also had an unpleasant odor when burning
There was another problem - the heads of the first matches consisted of only phosphorus, which ignited perfectly, but burned out too quickly and the wooden stick did not always have time to light up. We had to return to the old recipe - a sulfur head and began to apply phosphorus to it to make it easier to set fire to the sulfur, which in turn set fire to the wood. Soon they came up with another improvement to the match head - they began to mix chemicals that release oxygen when heated with phosphorus.
In 1832, dry matches appeared in Vienna. They were invented by L. Trevani; he covered the head of a wooden straw with a mixture of Berthollet salt with sulfur and glue. If you run such a match over sandpaper, the head will ignite, but sometimes this happened with an explosion, and this led to serious burns.
The ways to further improve matches were extremely clear: it was necessary to make the following mixture composition for the match head. so that it lights up calmly. Soon the problem was solved. The new composition included Berthollet salt, white phosphorus and glue. Matches with such a coating could easily ignite on any hard surface, on glass, on the sole of a shoe, on a piece of wood.
The inventor of the first phosphorus matches was a nineteen-year-old Frenchman, Charles Soria. In 1831, a young experimenter added white phosphorus to a mixture of bertholite salt and sulfur to weaken its explosive properties. This idea turned out to be successful, since the matches lubricated with the resulting composition easily ignited when rubbed. The ignition temperature of such matches is relatively low - 30 degrees. The scientist wanted to patent his invention, but for this he had to pay a lot of money, which he did not have. A year later, matches were again created by the German chemist J. Kammerer.
These matches were easily flammable, and therefore caused fires, and besides, white phosphorus is a very toxic substance. Match factory workers suffered from serious illnesses caused by phosphorus fumes.
The first successful recipe for an incendiary mass for making phosphorus matches was apparently invented by the Austrian Irini in 1833. Irini offered it to entrepreneur Remer, who opened a match factory. But it was inconvenient to carry matches in bulk, and then a matchbox with rough paper glued to it was born. Now there was no longer any need to strike a phosphorus match against anything. The only problem was that sometimes the matches in the box caught fire due to friction.
Due to the danger of self-ignition of phosphorus matches, the search began for a more convenient and safe flammable substance. Discovered in 1669 by the German alchemist Brand, white phosphorus was easier to set on fire than sulfur, but its disadvantage was that it was a strong poison and, when burned, gave off a very unpleasant and harmful odor. Match factory workers, having inhaled white phosphorus fumes, became disabled in just a few months. In addition, by dissolving it in water, they obtained a strong poison that could easily kill a person.
In 1847, Schröter discovered red phosphorus, which was no longer poisonous. Thus, the replacement of poisonous white phosphorus in matches with red gradually began. The first combustible mixture based on it was created by the German chemist Betcher. He made a match head using glue from a mixture of sulfur and Berthollet salt, and impregnated the match itself with paraffin. The match burned superbly, but its only drawback was that it did not ignite as before due to friction against a rough surface. Then Boettcher lubricated this surface with a composition containing red phosphorus. When the head of a match was rubbed, the particles of red phosphorus contained in it ignited, ignited the head and the match lit up with an even yellow flame. These matches did not produce any smoke or the unpleasant smell of phosphorus matches.
Boettcher's invention did not initially attract the attention of industrialists. Its matches were first produced in 1851 by the Swedes, the Lundström brothers. In 1855, Johan Edward Lundström patented his matches in Sweden. That’s why “safety matches” began to be called “Swedish”.
The Swede applied red phosphorus to the surface of sandpaper on the outside of a small box and added the same phosphorus to the composition of the match head. Thus, they no longer caused harm to health and were easily ignited on a pre-prepared surface. Safety matches were presented at the International Exhibition in Paris that same year and received a gold medal. From that moment on, the match began its triumphal march around the world. Their main feature was that they did not ignite when rubbed against any hard surface. The Swedish match was lit only if it was rubbed against the side surface of the box, covered with a special mass.
Soon after this, Swedish matches began to spread around the world and soon the production and sale of hazardous phosphorus matches was banned in many countries. After a few decades, the production of phosphorus matches stopped completely.
In America, the history of producing your own matchbox began in 1889. Joshua Pusey from Philadelphia invented his own matchbox and called it Flexibles. To this day, no information has reached us about the number of matches placed in this box. There are two versions - there were 20 or 50. He made the first American matchbox from cardboard using scissors. On a small wood stove, he cooked up a mixture for the match heads and coated the surface of the box with another bright mixture to light them. Beginning in 1892, Pusey spent the next 36 months defending the priority of his discovery in the courts. As often happens with great inventions, the idea was already in the air and at the same time other people were also working on the invention of the matchbox. Pusey's patent was unsuccessfully challenged by the Diamond Match Company, which invented a similar matchbox. An inventor rather than a fighter, in 1896 he agreed to the Diamond Match Company's offer to sell his patent for $4,000 along with a job offer for the company. There was a reason to sue, because already in 1895, match production volumes exceeded 150,000 matchboxes per day.
Pusey went to work for the Diamond Match Company and worked there until his death in 1916. Despite the fact that before 1896 other companies produced similar matchboxes, Pusi's invention received worldwide recognition.
In 1910, in the United States, the same Diamond Match Company patented completely non-poisonous matches that used a safe chemical called sesquisulfide phophoroues.
US President William Taft publicly asked the Diamond Match Company to donate its patent for the benefit of humanity. On January 28, 1911, the US Congress imposed a very high tax on matches made from white phosphorus. This marked the end of the era of phosphorus matches in America.
The earliest known commercial matchbox advertisement in America was created in 1895 and advertised the Mendelson Opera Company. "A cyclone of fun - powerful caste - pretty girls - handsome ward-robe - get seats early." On top of the matchbox was a photograph of the star of this comic troupe, trombonist Thomas Lowden, with the caption "America's Young Opera Comedian." The opera troupe purchased 1 box of matchboxes (about 100 pieces) from the Diamond Match Company and the actors, sitting at night, pasted photographs and their primitive advertising on them. Recently, the only remaining matchbook of 100 made that night sold for $25,000.
This idea was quickly picked up and the focus moved towards a larger business. It turned out to be the Pabst brewery in Milwaukee, which ordered ten million matchboxes.
Next came an advertisement for tobacco king Duke's products. He has already purchased thirty million boxes for his advertising. A moment later, William Wrigley, the king of chewing gum, Wrigley's Chewing Gum, ordered one billion matchboxes advertising his chewing gum.
The idea of advertising on a matchbox came from a young Diamond Match Company salesman, Henry C. Traute. Traute's idea was picked up by other match companies in the United States and it generated huge profits during the first twenty years of the 20th century. In the late 1920s, tens of thousands of advertisers used matchboxes, which became the most popular form of advertising in America.
But the Great Depression came and companies no longer had money to advertise their products. Then the Diamond Match Company came up with the next move and in early 1932 it placed its own advertising on its boxes in the form of photographs of Hollywood movie stars. The "smallest billboard in the world" featured photographs of American film stars: Katharine Hepburn, Slim Sommerville, Richard Arden, Anne Harding, Zazu Pitts, Gloria Stewart, Constance Bennett, Irene Dunne, Frances Dee and George Raft.
The rest was a matter of technique. Following the success of the first series, which sold for pennies, Diamond released matchbooks featuring several hundred national celebrities. Photographs of film and radio stars were supplemented on the back of the matchbox with their brief personal biography.
Next came athletes, patriotic and military advertising, popular American heroes, football, baseball and hockey teams... The idea was picked up all over the world and the matchbox in all countries became a window of advertising and propaganda.
But perhaps the USA became the only country. where in the 40s a free box of matches came with a pack of cigarettes. They were an integral part of every cigarette purchase. The price of a matchbox has not increased in America in fifty years. So the rise and fall of the matchbox in America tracked the number of packs of cigarettes sold.
Matches came to Russia in the 30s of the 19th century and were sold for a hundred silver rubles. Later, the first matchboxes appeared, first wooden, and then tin. Moreover, even then labels were attached to them, which led to the emergence of a whole branch of collecting - phylumenia. The label carried not only information, but also decorated and complemented the matches.
By the time the law was passed in 1848 allowing their production only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the number of factories producing them reached 30. The following year, only one match factory was operating. In 1859, the monopoly law was repealed and in 1913 there were 251 match factories operating in Russia.
Modern wooden matches are made in two ways: the veneer method (for square matches) and the stamping method (for round matches). Small aspen or pine logs are either chipped or stamped with a match machine. The matches sequentially pass through five baths, in which a general impregnation with a fire-fighting solution is carried out, a ground layer of paraffin is applied to one end of the match to ignite the wood from the match head, a layer forming the head is applied on top of it, a second layer is applied to the tip of the head, the head is also sprayed with a strengthening solution , protecting it from atmospheric influences. A modern match machine (18 meters long and 7.5 meters high) produces up to 10 million matches in an eight-hour shift.
How does a modern match work? The mass of a match head consists of 60% berthollet salt, as well as flammable substances - sulfur or metal sulfides. In order for the head to ignite slowly and evenly, without an explosion, so-called fillers are added to the mass - glass powder, iron (III) oxide, etc. The binding material is glue.
What does the skin coating consist of? The main component is red phosphorus. Manganese (IV) oxide, crushed glass and glue are added to it.
What processes occur when a match is lit? When the head rubs against the skin at the point of contact, red phosphorus ignites due to the oxygen of Berthollet salt. Figuratively speaking, fire is initially born in the skin. He lights the match head. Sulfur or sulfide flares up in it, again due to the oxygen of Berthollet salt. And then the tree catches fire.
The word “match” itself comes from the plural form of the word “spoke” (a pointed wooden stick). The word originally meant wooden shoe nails, and this meaning of "match" still exists in a number of dialects. The matches used to start fire were initially called “incendiary (or samogar) matches.”
In 1922, all factories in the USSR were nationalized, but their number after the devastation became an order of magnitude smaller. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR produced about 55 boxes of matches per person. At the beginning of the war, most match factories were located in the territory occupied by the Germans and a match crisis began in the country. Huge demands for matches fell on the eight remaining match factories. In the USSR, lighters began to be produced en masse. After the war, the production of matches quickly picked up again.
The price for matches was minimal and after the monetary reform of 1961 it invariably amounted to 1 kopeck. After the collapse of the USSR, like other factories and factories, match factories suffered massive bankruptcy.
Today, matches are again not in short supply and the cost of a box (about 60 matches) is 1 ruble. In addition to the familiar regular matches, the following varieties continue to be produced in Russia:
Gas - gas burners used for ignition.
Decorative (gift and collectible) - sets of matchboxes with various designs, often with colored heads.
Fireplaces with very long sticks for lighting fireplaces.
Signal - which give a bright and far visible colored flame when burning.
Thermal - when these matches burn, a greater amount of heat is released, and their burning temperature is much higher than a regular match (300 degrees Celsius).
Photographic - giving an instant bright flash when photographing.
Household supplies in large packaging.
Storm or hunting matches - these matches are not afraid of dampness; they can burn in the wind and in the rain.
In Russia, 99% of all matches produced are aspen matchsticks. Rubbed matches of various types are the main type of matches throughout the world. Stemless (sesquisulfide) matches were invented in 1898 by French chemists Saven and Caen and are produced mainly in English-speaking countries, mainly for military needs. The basis of the rather complex composition of the head is non-toxic phosphorus sesquisulfide and Berthollet salt.
Something else from the “how it was” series for you: for example, you already know , is it familiar to you? Well, here’s what you should know for sure. The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -
Matches are a relatively recent invention of mankind; they replaced flint and steel about two centuries ago, when looms were already working, trains and steamships were running. But it was not until 1844 that the creation of safety matches was announced.
Before a match broke out in the hands of a man, many events happened, each of which contributed to the long and difficult path of creating a match. Since time immemorial, fire has played an important role in the development of mankind. The ancient Greek philosophers Plato and his student Aristotle gave fire a special place. Plato studied various natural phenomena and passed on his experience to his students while walking through the park among the trees, which sometimes caught fire from heavenly fire. Plato's ideas about the world formed into a philosophical system that dominated for more than two thousand years. The system of the universe was based on four elements: fire, water, air, earth.
Ancient scientists viewed fire as a phenomenon. but at the same time they completely excluded its practical application.
In Greek mythology, the gods jealously guard fire for themselves. they are in no hurry to give it to people, and moreover, they resist this in every possible way. The mighty Prometheus rescues humanity; he steals fire from Olympus and gives it to people.
The use of fire and the ability to make fire constituted one of the most characteristic features of human culture even in the early stages of development. It is impossible to establish exactly when primitive people began to use fire.
When people learned to make fire, this turned out to be the largest event in the history of mankind, which essentially made man human. Fire warmed man's home, changed the way of cooking, and taught him to smelt iron and copper, gold and silver. The production of the first earthenware and ceramic dishes is due to fire.
The first fire was produced by man in a primitive way - by rubbing two pieces of wood, and the wood dust and sawdust became so hot that they spontaneously ignited.
The wooden sticks were replaced by the famous flint. This is a very simple device: a piece of steel or copper pyrite was struck on flint and sparks were struck, which ignited some flammable substance. It is not surprising, but only a little over 200 years ago in Russia. and throughout the world, steel flint and wick were practically the only “matches” of the man who managed not only to build the Egyptian pyramids, but also to create James Watt’s steam engine. Robert Fulton's first steamboat, looms and many other great inventions, but not matches. 
The ancient Greeks and Romans knew another way to make fire - using the sun's rays. focused by a lens or concave mirror. The great ancient Greek scientist Archimedes deftly used this method and, as legend says, set fire to the enemy fleet with the help of a huge mirror.
After 1700, a significant number of means for producing fire were invented, the most interesting of them being the Döbereyer incendiary apparatus, created in 1823. The inventor of the device used the property of detonating gas to ignite in the presence of spongy platinum. However, this device was of little use.
A big step forward in the manufacture of matches was made when phosphorus was discovered and obtained.
The German scientist A. Gankwitz came up with the idea of making sulfur-coated matches that ignite when rubbed against a piece of phosphorus. But this step should have been improved and matches made more convenient for widespread use.
This became possible when the famous French chemist C. Berthollet obtained the potassium chlorate salt KClO3, called Berthollet salt. His compatriot Chancel took advantage of this discovery and invented the so-called French incendiary machines in 1805. Potassium chlorate with sulfur. resin and sugar were applied to a wooden stick, and upon contact with concentrated sulfuric acid, ignition occurred. The reaction sometimes developed very violently and was explosive in nature.
The German Wagemann used Chancel's invention in 1806, but added pieces of asbestos to slow down the combustion process. He later built the first incendiary device factory. 
The world's first match appeared in 1826 thanks to the English chemist and pharmacist John Walker. An important role in the birth of the match was played by the discovery of white phosphorus made by a retired soldier from Hamburg, Henning Brand, in 1669. After studying the works of famous alchemists of that time, he decided to get gold. As a result of the experiments, a certain light powder was accidentally obtained. This substance had the amazing property of luminescence, and Brand called it “phosphorus,” which translated from Greek means “luminiferous.”
As for Walker, as often happens, the pharmacist invented matches by accident. In 1826, he mixed chemicals using a stick. A dried drop formed at the end of this stick. To remove it, he struck the floor with a stick. Fire broke out! Like all slow-witted people, he did not bother to patent his invention, but demonstrated it to everyone. A guy named Samuel Jones was present at such a demonstration and realized the market value of the invention. He called the matches “Lucifers” and began selling tons of them, despite the fact that there were some problems associated with “Lucifers” - they smelled bad and, when ignited, scattered clouds of sparks around.
In 1832, dry matches appeared in Vienna. They were invented by L. Trevani; he covered the head of a wooden straw with a mixture of Berthollet salt with sulfur and glue. If you run such a match over sandpaper, the head will ignite, but sometimes this happened with an explosion, and this led to serious burns.
The ways to further improve matches were extremely clear: it was necessary to make the following mixture composition for the match head. so that it lights up calmly. Soon the problem was solved. The new composition included Berthollet salt, white phosphorus and glue. Matches with such a coating could easily ignite on any hard surface, on glass, on the sole of a shoe, on a piece of wood.
The inventor of the first phosphorus matches was a nineteen-year-old Frenchman, Charles Soria. In 1831, a young experimenter added white phosphorus to a mixture of bertholite salt and sulfur to weaken its explosive properties. This idea turned out to be successful, since the matches lubricated with the resulting composition easily ignited when rubbed. The ignition temperature of such matches is relatively low - 30 degrees. The scientist wanted to patent his invention, but for this he had to pay a lot of money, which he did not have. A year later, matches were again created by the German chemist J. Kammerer.
These matches were easily flammable, and therefore caused fires, and besides, white phosphorus is a very toxic substance. Match factory workers suffered from serious illnesses caused by phosphorus fumes. 
The problem was solved in 1855 in Sweden. Chemist Johan Lundstrom realized that red is sometimes better than white. The Swede applied red phosphorus to the surface of sandpaper on the outside of a small box and added the same phosphorus to the composition of the match head. Thus, they no longer caused harm to health and were easily ignited on a pre-prepared surface. Safety matches were presented at the International Exhibition in Paris that same year and received a gold medal. From that moment on, the match began its triumphal march around the world. Their main feature was that they did not ignite when rubbed against any hard surface. The Swedish match was lit only if it was rubbed against the side surface of the box, covered with a special mass.
In 1889, Joshua Pusey invented the matchbox, but the patent for this invention was given to the American company Diamond Match Company, which came up with exactly the same one, but with an “incendiary” surface on the outside (for Pusey it was located inside the box).
In 1910, the American company Diamond Match was the first to receive a patent for safe matches. The importance of the invention was so great that US President William Taft publicly addressed the patent holders and asked them to waive their copyright. The company agreed and on January 28, 1911, relinquished all rights to its invention. Now they belong to virtually everyone. 
Matches came to Russia in the 30s of the 19th century and were sold for a hundred rubles in silver... Later, the first matchboxes appeared, first wooden, and then tin. Moreover, even then labels were attached to them, which led to the emergence of a whole branch of collecting - phylumenia. The label carried not only information, but also decorated and complemented the matches.
Modern wooden matches are made in two ways: the veneer method (for square matches) and the stamping method (for round matches). Small aspen or pine logs are either chipped or stamped with a match machine. The matches sequentially pass through five baths, in which a general impregnation with a fire-fighting solution is carried out, a ground layer of paraffin is applied to one end of the match to ignite the wood from the match head, a layer forming the head is applied on top of it, a second layer is applied to the tip of the head, the head is also sprayed with a strengthening solution , protecting it from atmospheric influences. A modern match machine (18 meters long and 7.5 meters high) produces up to 10 million matches in an eight-hour shift.
How does a modern match work? The mass of a match head consists of 60% berthollet salt, as well as flammable substances - sulfur or metal sulfides. In order for the head to ignite slowly and evenly, without an explosion, so-called fillers are added to the mass - glass powder, iron (III) oxide, etc. The binding material is glue.
What does the skin coating consist of? The main component is red phosphorus. Manganese (IV) oxide, crushed glass and glue are added to it.
What processes occur when a match is lit? When the head rubs against the skin at the point of contact, red phosphorus ignites due to the oxygen of Berthollet salt. Figuratively speaking, fire is initially born in the skin. He lights the match head. Sulfur or sulfide flares up in it, again due to the oxygen of Berthollet salt. And then the tree catches fire. 
The word “match” itself comes from the plural form of the word “spoke” (a pointed wooden stick). The word originally meant wooden shoe nails, and this meaning of "match" still exists in a number of dialects. The matches used to start fire were initially called “incendiary (or samogar) matches.”
In Russia, 99% of all matches produced are aspen matchsticks. Rubbed matches of various types are the main type of matches throughout the world. Stemless (sesquisulfide) matches were invented in 1898 by French chemists Saven and Caen and are produced mainly in English-speaking countries, mainly for military needs. The basis of the rather complex composition of the head is non-toxic phosphorus sesquisulfide and Berthollet salt.