Sulfur-head matches, 1828, lit by dipping into a bottle of phosphorus

In London, similar matches meant for lighting cigars were introduced in 1849 by Heurtner who
had a shop called the Lighthouse in the Strand. One version that he sold was called "Euperion"
(sometimes "Empyrion") which was popular for kitchen use and nicknamed as "Hugh Perry",
[9]
while another meant for outdoor use was called a "Vesuvian" or "flamer". The head was large
and contained niter, charcoal and wood dust, and had a phosphorus tip. The handle was large
and made of hardwood so as to burn vigorously and last for a while. Some even had glass
[10]
stems. Both Vesuvians and Prometheans had a bulb of sulfuric acid at the tip which had to be
[11]
broken to start the reaction.
Samuel Jones introduced fuzees for lighting cigars and pipes in 1832. A similar invention was
[12]
patented in 1839 by John Hucks Stevens in America.
In 1832, William Newton patented the "wax vesta" in England. It consisted of a wax stem that
embedded cotton threads and had a tip of phosphorus. Variants known as "candle matches"
[10]
were made by Savaresse and Merckel in 1836. John Hucks Stevens also patented a safety
[13]
version of the friction match in 1839.

Friction matches[edit]

A tin "Congreves" matchbox (1827), produced by John Walker, inventor of the friction match.

Chemical matches were unable to make the leap into mass production, due to the expense, their
cumbersome nature and inherent danger. An alternative method was to produce the ignition
through friction produced by rubbing two rough surfaces together. An early example was made
by François Derosne in 1816. His crude match was called a briquet phosphorique and it used a
sulfur-tipped match to scrape inside a tube coated internally with phosphorus. It was both
[14][15]
inconvenient and unsafe.
The first successful friction match was invented in 1826 by John Walker, an English chemist and
druggist from Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. He developed a keen interest in trying to find a
means of obtaining fire easily. Several chemical mixtures were already known which would ignite
by a sudden explosion, but it had not been found possible to transmit the flame to a slow-burning
substance like wood. While Walker was preparing a lighting mixture on one occasion, a match
which had been dipped in it took fire by an accidental friction upon the hearth. He at once
appreciated the practical value of the discovery, and started making friction matches. They
consisted of wooden splints or sticks of cardboard coated with sulfur and tipped with a mixture of
sulfide of antimony, chlorate of potash, and gum. The treatment with sulfur helped the splints to
[6]
catch fire, and the odor was improved by the addition of camphor. The price of a box of 50
matches was one shilling. With each box was supplied a piece of sandpaper, folded double,
through which the match had to be drawn to ignite it. Walker did not name the matches
"Congreves" in honour of the inventor and rocket pioneer Sir William Congreve, as it is
sometimes stated. The congreves were the invention of Charles Sauria, a French chemistry
[16] [17] [18]
student at the time. Walker did not divulge the exact composition of his matches.
Between 1827 and 1829, Walker made about 168 sales of his matches. It was however
dangerous and flaming balls sometimes fell to the floor burning carpets and dresses, leading to
[11]
their ban in France and Germany. Walker either refused or neglected to patent his
[6][19]
invention.
In 1829, Scots inventor Sir Isaac Holden invented an improved version of Walker's match and
demonstrated it to his class at Castle Academy in Reading, Berkshire. Holden did not patent his
invention and claimed that one of his pupils wrote to his father Samuel Jones, a chemist in
[20]
London who commercialised his process. A version of Holden's match was patented by
Samuel Jones, and these were sold as lucifer matches. These early matches had a number of
problems – an initial violent reaction, an unsteady flame, and unpleasant odor and fumes.
Lucifers could ignite explosively, sometimes throwing sparks a considerable distance. Lucifers
[6]
were manufactured in the United States by Ezekial Byam. The term "lucifer" persisted as slang
in the 20th century (for example in the First World War song Pack Up Your Troubles) and
matches are still called lucifers in Dutch.

Packing girls at the Bryant & May factory.

Lucifers were quickly replaced after 1830 by matches made according to the process devised by
[21]
Frenchman Charles Sauria, who substituted white phosphorus for the antimony sulfide. These
new phosphorus matches had to be kept in airtight metal boxes but became popular and went by
the name of loco foco in the United States, from which was derived the name of a political
 [22]
party. The earliest American patent for the phosphorus friction match was granted in 1836 to
[23]
Alonzo Dwight Phillips of Springfield, Massachusetts.
From 1830 to 1890, the composition of these matches remained largely unchanged, although
some improvements were made. In 1843 William Ashgard replaced the sulfur with beeswax,
reducing the pungency of the fumes. This was replaced by paraffin in 1862 by Charles W. Smith,
resulting in what were called "parlor matches". From 1870 the end of the splint was fireproofed
by impregnation with fire-retardant chemicals such as alum, sodium silicate, and other salts
resulting in what was commonly called a "drunkard's match" that prevented the accidental
burning of the user's fingers. Other advances were made for the mass manufacture of matches.
Early matches were made from blocks of woods with cuts separating the splints but leaving their
bases attached. Later versions were made in the form of thin combs. The splints would be
[10]
broken away from the comb when required.
A noiseless match was invented in 1836 by the Hungarian János Irinyi, who was a student of
[24]
chemistry. An unsuccessful experiment by his professor, Meissner, gave Irinyi the idea to
[25] [24]
replace potassium chlorate with lead dioxide in the head of the phosphorus match. He
liquefied phosphorus in warm water and shook it in a glass vial, until the two liquids emulsified.
He mixed the phosphorus with lead dioxide and gum arabic, poured the paste-like mass into a
jar, and dipped the pine sticks into the mixture and let them dry. When he tried them that evening,
all of them lit evenly. He sold the invention and production rights for these noiseless matches to
István Rómer, a Hungarian pharmacist living in Vienna, for 60 florins (about 22.5 oz t of silver).
As a match manufacturer, Rómer became rich, and Irinyi went on to publish articles and a
[24]
textbook on chemistry, and founded several match factories.

Replacement of white phosphorus[edit]

The London matchgirls strike of 1888 campaigned against the use of white phosphorus in match
making, which led to bone disorders such as phossy jaw.

Those involved in the manufacture of the new phosphorus matches were afflicted with phossy
[26]
jaw and other bone disorders, and there was enough white phosphorus in one pack to kill a
person. Deaths and suicides from eating the heads of matches became frequent. The earliest
report of phosphorus necrosis was made in 1845 by Lorinser in Vienna, and a New York surgeon
[27][28]
published a pamphlet with notes on nine cases.
The conditions of working-class women at the Bryant & May factories led to the London
matchgirls strike of 1888. The strike was focused on the severe health complications of working
[29]
with white phosphorus, such as phossy jaw. Social activist Annie Besant published an article
 [30]
in her halfpenny weekly paper The Link on 23 June 1888. A strike fund was set up and some
newspapers collected donations from readers. The women and girls also solicited contributions.
Members of the Fabian Society, including George Bernard Shaw, Sidney Webb, and Graham
[31]
Wallas, were involved in the distribution of the cash collected.