The domestication of fire marked a major turning point in human history and influenced the course of human evolution. With fire, early humans could now cook food, aiding in digestion and changing the chemical compounds in some foods, and this made a wider range of foods available for consumption. Fire also provided light, extending the day, and heat, making it possible to live in colder climates. The domestication of fire involved two basic steps: (1) learning how to control and use fire, and (2) learning how to make fire.
Paleoanthropologists are not sure when humans first began using fire. There is some evidence, not conclusive, of early humans (Homo erectus) using fire about 1.5 million years ago at African sites such as Koobi Fora and Swartkrans Cave. Using fire, however, is very different from making fire. Early humans probably started their fires by taking a burning branch from a natural wild fire. At some point in time—we don’t know when—humans learned to make fires either through friction (“rubbing two sticks together”) or by a spark (striking flint against metal).
The path to a new way of starting fires began in 1669 with a discovery by an alchemist in Hamburg, Germany. Many alchemists at this time were searching for the “philosopher’s stone” which would transform base metals into gold. Hennig Brandt was attempting to make gold when he heated the residues from boiled-down urine and accidentally created a solid mass that gave off a pale-green glow. He named the new element phosphorous from the Greek word for “light-bearing.” Since Brandt was after gold, he was disappointed with his new discovery, kept it secret, and continued his experiments to make gold. He developed a recipe for making phosphorous which he continued to use in unsuccessful attempts to produce gold.
British physicist Robert Boyle became aware of the new element and began some experiments of his own. He put together a small square of coarse paper which had been coated with phosphorus and a splinter of wood which had been tipped with sulfur. By dragging the splinter of wood across a fold in the paper, fire was quickly produced. While this was the first chemical match, phosphorous at this time was relatively rare and expensive.
The next attempt to develop a match came in 1817 when a French chemist demonstrated the “Ethereal Match.” This match was a strip of paper that had been treated with a phosphorous compound. When this paper was exposed to air, it burst into flames. To prevent premature ignition, the phosphorous-impregnated paper had to be kept in a glass tube from which the air had been extracted. Lighting the match required the glass tube to be broken. Unfortunately, the paper blazed for only a few seconds, making it difficult to use in starting a real fire. The Ethereal Match was an interesting fad, but rather impractical.
In 1826 in Stockton-on-Tees, England, the owner of an apothecary, John Walker, was attempting to develop a new explosive in his backroom laboratory. While using a small wooden stick to stir a batch of chemicals, he noticed that a small drop had dried to the end of the stick. He scraped the stick on the stone floor to remove the drop and was surprised when in burst into flame. The mixture at the end of the stick was antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch. Walker produced a number of sticks tipped with this mixture which he ignited for the amusement of his friends.
Walker did not patent his new invention, but Samuel Jones, who had seen Walker demonstrate the fire sticks, felt that this idea had commercial potential. Naming the new fire sticks Lucifers, Jones set up the first match business. It is interesting to note that as the sale of Lucifers increased, so did tobacco sales.
One of the drawbacks of the Lucifers is that they threw off an offensive odor. People were warned not to inhale the gas from the Lucifers.
In 1830, Charles Sauria, a Paris chemist, reformulated the combustion compound used for phosphorous. This eliminated the smell and lengthened the burning time. Factories were soon churning out large quantities of the new matches. Unfortunately, phosphorous is highly poisonous and hundreds of factory workers developed phossy jaw (phosphorous necrosis of the jaw). This painful disease would start with toothaches and swelling of the gums, following which the jaw bone would abscess. Babies who sucked on match heads would also develop the disease.
In 1911, the Diamond Match Company introduced a nonpoisonous match. Diamond voluntarily forfeited the patent rights which gave rival companies the rights to their process. President Taft awarded the company a public commendation for their humanitarian gesture.
One of the problems with the early matches is that they were easily ignited and were known to cause accidental fires. Rodents gnawing on match heads were known to cause fires. The new Diamond Matches raised the ignition point by 100 degrees which reduced accidental ignition. In addition, tests soon found that rodents had no interest in chewing on the match heads, even when they were starving.
In 1892, Joshua Pusey, an attorney in Lima, Pennsylvania, invented the matchbook. In his design, the striking surface was inside the book and it was not uncommon for the whole book to be ignited. In 1895, Diamond Match Company bought the patent, modified the design by putting the striking surface on the outside, and began mass producing matchbooks. When a brewing company ordered 50,000 matchbooks with its company logo printed on the outside a new adverting medium was born.