The Arsenic Century

Author: James C. Whorton
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191623431
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Book Description
Arsenic is rightly infamous as the poison of choice for Victorian murderers. Yet the great majority of fatalities from arsenic in the nineteenth century came not from intentional poisoning, but from accident. Kept in many homes for the purpose of poisoning rats, the white powder was easily mistaken for sugar or flour and often incorporated into the family dinner. It was also widely present in green dyes, used to tint everything from candles and candies to curtains, wallpaper, and clothing (it was arsenic in old lace that was the danger). Whether at home amidst arsenical curtains and wallpapers, at work manufacturing these products, or at play swirling about the papered, curtained ballroom in arsenical gowns and gloves, no one was beyond the poison's reach. Drawing on the medical, legal, and popular literature of the time, The Arsenic Century paints a vivid picture of its wide-ranging and insidious presence in Victorian daily life, weaving together the history of its emergence as a nearly inescapable household hazard with the sordid story of its frequent employment as a tool of murder and suicide. And ultimately, as the final chapter suggests, arsenic in Victorian Britain was very much the pilot episode for a series of environmental poisoning dramas that grew ever more common during the twentieth century and still has no end in sight.

Bitten by Witch Fever

Author: Lucinda Hawksley
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0500518386
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The shocking story of a deadly trend in Victorian wallpaper design, illustrated by beautiful and previously unseen arsenic-riddled designs from the British National Archives In Germany, in 1814, Wilhelm Sattler created an extremely toxic arsenic and verdigris compound pigment, Schweinfurt green–known also as Paris, Vienna, or emerald green–which became an instant favorite amongst designers and manufacturers the world over, thanks to its versatility in creating enduring yellows, vivid greens, and brilliant blues. Most insidiously, the arsenic-laced pigment made its way into intricately patterned, brightly colored wallpapers and from there, as they became increasingly in vogue, into the Victorian home. As its use became widespread, commercial arsenic mines increased production to meet the near-insatiable demand. Not least of which was the UK’s largest mining plant, DGC whose owner was William Morris, originator of the British Arts and Crafts movement and arguably the finest wallpaper designer of his generation. Bitten by Witch Fever (Morris’s own phrase to dismiss arsenic- and- wall-paper-related public health concerns in 1885) tells this fatal story of Victorian home décor, building upon new research conducted especially for this book by the British National Archive, on their own samples. Spliced between the sections of text are stunning facsimiles of the wallpapers themselves.

The Arsenic Eaters

Author: Rob van Hoesel
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789492051356
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 112

Book Description
This book investigates the widespread historical belief that the consumption of arsenic, generally known to be a deadly poison, is beneficial to one's health. Accordingly, many "poison eaters" were found among the Austrian rural population in the nineteenth century. What they were ingesting was white (arsenic trioxide) or yellow arsenic (arsenic trisulfide). It was produced by roasting arsenic-containing minerals. Arsenic eaters were robust persons, and usually of the lower class of society, wood cutters, charcoal burners, stablemen, foresters, etc. They ingested arsenic to be 'strong and healthy': to look rosy, to resist fatigue or to strengthen their physique: "See how strong and fresh I am, and what an advantage I have over you all! In times of epidemic fever or cholera, what a fright you are in, while I feel sure of never taking infection." Though being a popular custom among hard working people, arsenic eaters were very anxious to conceal the fact, particularly from medical men and priests. It was also believed that once a person became an arsenic eater, he can never stop the habit. To do so would bring rapid decline in health, leading inevitably to death.

One Century of the Discovery of Arsenicosis in Latin America (1914-2014) As2014

Author: Marta I. Litter
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1315778882
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 990

Book Description
The Congress "Arsenic in the Environment" offers an international, multi- and interdisciplinary discussion platform for research aimed towards a holistic solution to the problem posed by the environmental toxin arsenic, with considerable societal impact. The congress has focused on cutting edge and breakthrough research in physical, chemical, toxic

Shadows from the Walls of Death

Author: Robert Clark Kedzie
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781502703170
Category : Arsenic
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This version of 'Shadows from the Walls of Death' is a tribute to Robert Clark Kedzie, who produced the originals of which there are now only two left in existence. They are located at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. The originals are approximately 22 x 30 inches containing a title page and an 8 page preface followed by 86 samples cut from rolls of arsenic impregnated wallpaper. The book is sealed in a protective container and each individual page is encapsulated. This particular edition does not actually contain any arsenic. Further to that the content of this volume including both text and images are for entertainment purposes.

King of Poisons

Author: John Parascandola
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1597977039
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
For centuries, arsenic's image as a poison has been inextricably tied to images of foul play. In King of Poisons, John Parascandola examines the surprising history of this deadly element. From Gustave Flaubert to Dorothy Sayers, arsenic has long held a place in the literary realm as an instrument of murder and suicide. It was delightfully used as a source of comedy in the famous play Arsenic and Old Lace. But as Parascandola shows, arsenic has had a number of surprising real-world applications. It was frequently found in such common items as wallpaper, paint, cosmetics, and even candy, and its use in medical treatments was widespread. American ambassador Clare Boothe Luce suffered from exposure to arsenical paint in her study, and Napoleon's death has long been speculated to be the result of accidental or intentional poisoning. But arsenic poisoning is still a public menace. In the neighborhood surrounding American University in Washington, D.C., the army has undertaken a massive cleanup of artillery shells and bottles containing chemical warfare agents such as arsenical lewisite after a number of workmen and residents became ill. Arsenic contamination of the water supply in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India, is a major public health problem today as well. From murder to crime fiction, from industrial toxin to chemical warfare, arsenic remains a powerful force in modern life.

Poison Panic

Author: Helen Barrell
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473852080
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 199

Book Description
True crime that “will appeal to readers interested in gaining an insight into the lives of women accused of murder in the mid 19th century” (Essex Family Historian). For a few years in the 1840s, Essex was notorious in the minds of Victorians as a place where women stalked the winding country lanes looking for their next victim to poison with arsenic. Though that terrible image may not have much basis in truth, it was a symptom of an anxiety-filled time . . . The 1840s were also known as the “hungry ’40s,” when crop failures pushed up food prices and there was popular unrest across Europe. The decade culminated in a cholera epidemic in which tens of thousands of people in the British Isles died. It is perhaps no surprise that people living through that troubled decade were captivated by the stories of the “poisoners”: that death was down to “white powder” and the evil intentions of the human heart. Sarah Chesham, Mary May, and Hannah Southgate are the protagonists of this tale of how rural Essex, in a country saturated with arsenic, was touched by the tumultuous 1840s. “Barrell’s meticulous research and eye for detail recreate lurking threats, and these scandalous true stories are as compelling as any crime fiction.” —History of War “An intriguing read that brings a forgotten history to light and reveals past attitudes to women—and a national fear that gripped Victorian Britain.” —Family Tree Magazine “This book will fascinate not only historians of true crime and those with an interest in genealogy but any reader seeking a story that would make Agatha Christie proud.” —All About History

The Secret Poisoner

Author: Linda Stratmann
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300219547
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 446

Book Description
“This fine social history charts the changing patterns of using poison” and the forensic methods developed to detect it in the Victorian Era (The Guardian, UK). Murder by poison alarmed, enthralled, and in some ways even defined the Victorian age. Linda Stratmann’s dark and splendid social history reveals the nineteenth century as a gruesome battleground where poisoners went head-to-head with scientific and legal authorities who strove to detect poisons, control their availability, and bring the guilty to justice. Separating fact from Hollywood fiction, Stratmann corrects many misconceptions about particular poisons and their deadly effects. She also documents how the motives for poisoning—which often involved domestic unhappiness—evolved as marriage and child protection laws began to change. Combining archival research with vivid storytelling, Stratmann charts the era’s inexorable rise of poison cases.

The Poisoner's Handbook

Author: Deborah Blum
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101524898
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
Equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller, The Poisoner's Handbook is "a vicious, page-turning story that reads more like Raymond Chandler than Madame Curie." —The New York Observer “The Poisoner’s Handbook breathes deadly life into the Roaring Twenties.” —Financial Times “Reads like science fiction, complete with suspense, mystery and foolhardy guys in lab coats tipping test tubes of mysterious chemicals into their own mouths.” —NPR: What We're Reading A fascinating Jazz Age tale of chemistry and detection, poison and murder, The Poisoner's Handbook is a page-turning account of a forgotten era. In early twentieth-century New York, poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Science had no place in the Tammany Hall-controlled coroner's office, and corruption ran rampant. However, with the appointment of chief medical examiner Charles Norris in 1918, the poison game changed forever. Together with toxicologist Alexander Gettler, the duo set the justice system on fire with their trailblazing scientific detective work, triumphing over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry and the gatekeepers of justice. In 2014, PBS's AMERICAN EXPERIENCE released a film based on The Poisoner's Handbook.

Nineteenth-Century Female Poisoners

Author: V. Nagy
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781137359292
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Nineteenth-Century Female Poisoners investigates the Essex poisoning trials of 1846 to 1851 where three women were charged with using arsenic to kill children, their husbands and brothers. Using newspapers, archival sources (including petitions and witness depositions), and records from parliamentary debates, the focus is not on whether the women were guilty or innocent, but rather on what English society during this period made of their trials and what stereotypes and stock-stories were used to describe women who used arsenic to kill. All three women were initially presented as 'bad' women but as the book illustrates there was no clear consensus on what exactly constituted bad womanhood.