View source for Match

{{Short description|Device for lighting fires}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Matchstick}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
[[File:Friction d'une allumette.jpg|thumb|Igniting a match on the striking strip of a matchbox]]

A '''match''' is a tool for starting a [[fire]]. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff [[paper]]. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by [[friction]] generated by striking the match against a suitable surface.<ref name=oxford>{{cite book|year=1999|title=Concise Oxford Dictionary|edition=10|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|place=London}}</ref> Wooden matches are packaged in [[matchbox]]es, and paper matches are partially cut into rows and stapled into [[matchbook]]s. The coated end of a match, known as the match "head", consists of a bead of active ingredients and [[binder (material)|binder]], often colored for easier inspection. There are two main types of matches: safety matches, which can be struck only against a specially prepared surface, and strike-anywhere matches, for which any suitably frictional surface can be used.

==Etymology==
[[Image:Streichholz.jpg|thumb|upright|A lighted match]]
The word ''match'' derives from Old French ''mèche'', referring to the [[Candle wick|wick]] of a candle.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kugqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA428|title=Etymologicon universale: or, Universal etymological dictionary|volume=2|page=428|author=Whiter W|author-link=Walter Whiter|year=1825|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217115239/https://books.google.com/books?id=kugqAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA428&pg=PA428#v=onepage&q&f=true|archive-date=17 February 2017}}</ref>
Historically, the term ''match'' referred to lengths of [[rope|cord]] (later [[cambric]]) impregnated with chemicals, and allowed to burn continuously.<ref name=oxford/> These were used to light fires and fire [[gun]]s (see [[matchlock]]) and [[cannon]]s (see [[linstock]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Sawyer, C. W.|year=1910|title=Firearms in American history 1600–1800|url=https://archive.org/stream/firearmsinameric01sawyrich#page/4/mode/2up/|page=5|publisher=Boston, The author }}</ref> and to detonate [[explosive devices]] such as [[dynamite]] sticks. Such matches were characterized by their burning speed i.e. ''[[quick match]]'' and ''[[slow match]]''. Depending on its formulation, a slow match burns at a rate of around 30 cm (1 ft) per hour and a quick match at {{convert|4 - 60|cm|in|abbr=off|sp=us}} per minute for unconfined to even {{convert|3 - 6|m|ft|0|abbr=off|sp=us}} per second for confined.

The modern equivalent of a match (in the sense of a burnable cord) is the simple [[fuse (explosives)|fuse]] such as a [[visco fuse]], still used in [[pyrotechnics]] to obtain a controlled time delay before ignition.<ref name=explosives>{{cite book|title=Explosives|author=Barnett, E. de Barry|editor=Rideal, Samuel|url=https://archive.org/stream/explosives00barnrich#page/n181/mode/1up|pages=158, 162–170|year=1919|place=New York|publisher=D. Van Nostrand Co.}}</ref> The original meaning of the word still persists in some pyrotechnics terms, such as ''[[black match]]'' (a [[black powder|black-powder]]-impregnated fuse) and ''Bengal match'' (a [[firework]] akin to [[sparkler]]s producing a relatively long-burning, colored flame). However, when friction matches became commonplace, the term ''match'' came to refer mainly to these.

==History==

===Early matches===

A note in the text ''Cho Keng Lu'', written in 1366, describes a [[sulfur]] match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur, used in China by "impoverished court ladies" in 577 during the conquest of [[Northern Qi]].<ref name="Needham"/> During the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms]] (907–960), a book called the ''Records of the Unworldly and the Strange'' written by Chinese author Tao Gu in about 950 stated:
<blockquote>If there occurs an emergency at night it may take some time to make a light to light a lamp. But an ingenious man devised the system of impregnating little sticks of pinewood with sulfur and storing them ready for use. At the slightest touch of fire, they burst into flame. One gets a little flame like an ear of corn. This marvelous thing was formerly called a "light-bringing slave", but afterward when it became an article of commerce its name was changed to 'fire inch-stick'.<ref name="Needham">{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|title=Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology; Part 1, Physics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJ9nayZZ2oEC&pg=PA703|date=1 January 1962|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-05802-5|pages=70–71|quote=sulphur matches were certainly sold in the markets of Hangchow when Marco Polo was there|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102072357/http://books.google.com/books?id=oJ9nayZZ2oEC&pg=PA703|archive-date=2 January 2014}}</ref></blockquote>
Another text, ''Wu Lin Chiu Shih'', dated from 1270, lists sulfur matches as something that was sold in the markets of [[Hangzhou]], around the time of [[Marco Polo|Marco Polo's]] visit. The matches were known as ''fa chu'' or ''tshui erh''.<ref name="Needham"/>

===Chemical matches===
[[File:Joseph Wright of Derby The Alchemist.jpg|thumb|''[[The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus|The Alchemist in Search of the Philosophers Stone]]'' (1771), by [[Joseph Wright of Derby|Joseph Wright]], depicting [[Hennig Brand]] discovering [[phosphorus]].]]

Before the use of matches, fires were sometimes lit using a [[burning glass]] (a lens) to focus the sun on [[tinder]], a method that could only work on sunny days. Another more common method was igniting tinder with sparks produced by striking [[flint]] and steel, or by sharply increasing air pressure in a [[fire piston]]. Early work had been done by alchemist [[Hennig Brand]], who discovered the flammable nature of phosphorus in 1669.<ref name=crass1/> Others, including [[Robert Boyle]] and his assistant, [[Ambrose Godfrey]], continued these experiments in the 1680s with phosphorus and sulfur, but their efforts did not produce practical and inexpensive methods for generating fires.<ref>{{cite book|author=Carlisle, Rodney|year=2004|title=Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries|page=[https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl/page/275 275]|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|place=New Jersey|isbn=0-471-24410-4|url=https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl/page/275}}</ref>

A number of different ways were employed in order to light smoking tobacco: One was the use of a spill – a thin object something like a thin candle, a rolled paper or a straw, which would be lit from a nearby, already existing flame and then used to light the cigar or pipe – most often kept near the fireplace in a [[spill vase]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patternglass.com/Form/spill/spills.htm|title=Early American Glass Spill Holders|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507004002/http://www.patternglass.com/Form/spill/spills.htm|archive-date=7 May 2015|access-date=4 August 2015}}</ref> Another method saw the use of a [[fire striker|striker]], a tool that looked like [[scissors]], but with [[flint]] on one "blade" and [[steel]] on the other. These would then be rubbed together, ultimately producing sparks. If neither of these two was available, one could also use ember tongs to pick up a coal from a fire and light the tobacco directly.

The first modern, self-igniting match was invented in 1805 by Jean Chancel, assistant to Professor [[Louis Jacques Thénard]] of [[Paris]]. The head of the match consisted of a mixture of [[potassium chlorate]], [[sulfur]], [[gum arabic]] and [[sugar]]. The match was ignited by dipping its tip in a small [[asbestos]] bottle filled with [[sulfuric acid]].<ref name=explosives/> This kind of match was quite expensive, however, and its use was also relatively dangerous, so Chancel's matches never really became widely adopted or in commonplace use.

[[File:Phosphorus bottle pocket matches, 1828 - Joseph Allen Skinner Museum - DSC07746.JPG|thumb|Sulfur-head matches, 1828, lit by dipping into a bottle of phosphorus]]
This approach to match making was further refined in the following decades, culminating with the 'Promethean match' that was patented by Samuel Jones of London in 1828. His match consisted of a small glass capsule containing a chemical composition of sulfuric acid colored with indigo and coated on the exterior with potassium chlorate, all of which was wrapped up in rolls of paper. The immediate ignition of this particular form of a match was achieved by crushing the capsule with a pair of pliers, mixing and releasing the ingredients in order for it to become alight.

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 [[nickname]]d as "Hugh Perry", while another meant for outdoor use was called a "Vesuvian" or "flamer".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Matches—The manufacture of fire |author=Wisniak, Jaime |year=2005 |journal=Indian Journal of Chemical Technology |volume=12 |pages=369–380 |url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/8636/1/IJCT%2012(3)%20369-380.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106121356/http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/8636/1/IJCT%2012(3)%20369-380.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2013|access-date=14 November 2011 }}</ref> 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 stems.<ref name=crass3>{{cite journal|title=A history of the match industry. Part 3| author=Crass, M. F. Jr. |pages=277–282|journal=Journal of Chemical Education|volume=18|year=1941|doi=10.1021/ed018p277|issue=6|bibcode = 1941JChEd..18..277C }}</ref> Both Vesuvians and Prometheans had a bulb of sulfuric acid at the tip which had to be broken to start the reaction.<ref name=tomlinson>{{cite journal|author=Tomlinson, C.|year=1898|url=https://archive.org/stream/s8notesqueries04londuoft#page/69/mode/1up|title=The Inventor of Lucifer Matches|journal=Notes and Queries|volume=8|issue=4|pages=70–71}}</ref>

Samuel Jones introduced [[Flare|fuzees]] for lighting cigars and pipes in 1832. A similar invention was patented in 1839 by John Hucks Stevens in America.<ref>{{citation |title=U.S. Patent Number 1,414, Improved friction match for retaining fire, Entitled Stevens' "Fusse cigar light" |date=16 November 1839 |author=Stevens, John Hucks |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US1414 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140616211231/http://www.google.com/patents/US1414 |archive-date=16 June 2014}}</ref>

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" were made by Savaresse and Merckel in 1836.<ref name=crass3/> John Hucks Stevens also patented a safety version of the friction match in 1839.<ref>{{citation |title= U.S. Patent Number 1,412A, Improvement in the Manufacture of Friction-Matches for Preserving Them From Accidental Ignition |date= 16 November 1839 |author= Stevens, John Hucks |url= https://patents.google.com/patent/US1412 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140616211128/https://www.google.com/patents/US1412 |archive-date= 16 June 2014}}</ref>

===Friction matches===

Chemical matches were unable to make the leap into mass production, due to the expense, their cumbersome nature, and the inherent danger of using them. 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 inconvenient and unsafe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/158648/Francois-Derosne|title=Francois Derosne – French inventor|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606212625/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/158648/Francois-Derosne|archive-date=6 June 2014}}</ref><ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2012)</ref>

[[File:Congreve matchbox.jpg|thumb|A [[tin]] Congreves matchbox (1827), produced by [[John Walker (inventor)|John Walker]], inventor of the friction match]]

{{Anchor|Lucifer}}The first successful friction match was invented in 1826 by [[John Walker (inventor)|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 that 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 that 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 [[antimony trisulfide|sulfide of antimony]], [[Potassium chlorate|chlorate of potash]], and [[Natural gum|gum]]. The treatment with sulfur helped the splints to catch fire, and the odor was improved by the addition of camphor.<ref name=crass1/> The price of a box of 50 matches was one [[Shilling (British coin)|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 [[Congreve rocket|rocket]] pioneer [[Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet|Sir William Congreve]], as it is sometimes stated. The ''congreves'' were the invention of Charles Sauria, a French chemistry student at the time.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bone|first=William A.|date=1927-04-01|title=The Centenary of the Friction Match|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=119|issue=2996|pages=495–496|doi=10.1038/119495a0|bibcode=1927Natur.119..495B |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=White Phosphorus|url=http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2001/osullivan/white_phosphorus.htm|access-date=2021-05-15|website=www.chm.bris.ac.uk|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515131927/http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2001/osullivan/white_phosphorus.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Walker did not divulge the exact composition of his matches.<ref>{{DNB|no-icon=1|prescript=|wstitle=Walker, John (1781?-1859)}}</ref> 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 their ban in France and Germany.<ref name="tomlinson" /> Walker either refused or neglected to patent his invention.<ref name="crass1">{{cite journal|title=A history of the match industry. Part 1| author=Crass, M. F. Jr. |year=1941|pages=116–120|journal=Journal of Chemical Education|volume=18|doi=10.1021/ed018p116|issue=3|bibcode = 1941JChEd..18..116C }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/stream/archaeologiaaeli06sociuoft#page/n23/mode/1up/|title=Curator's Report for 1909 |year=1909|page=xviii-xix|journal=Archaeologia Aeliana |series=Third Series|volume=6|author=Brewis, W, Parke}}</ref>

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 London who commercialised his process.<ref>John Wesley Hanson (1900) ''Wonders of the nineteenth century: a panoramic review of the inventions and discoveries of the past hundred years'', W. B. Conkey Publishers, Chicago</ref> 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{{snd}} an initial violent reaction, an unsteady flame, and unpleasant odor and fumes. Lucifers could ignite explosively, sometimes throwing sparks a considerable distance. Lucifers were manufactured in the United States by Ezekial Byam.<ref name=crass1/> 

The term "lucifer" persisted as [[slang]] for a match into the 20th century. For example, the song "[[Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag|Pack Up Your Troubles]]" includes the line "while you’ve a lucifer to light your fag". Matches are still called "lucifers" in [[Dutch language|Dutch]].

Lucifers were quickly replaced after 1830 by matches made according to the process devised by Frenchman [[Charles Sauria]], who substituted [[Phosphorus#Allotropes|white phosphorus]] for the antimony sulfide.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Lewis R. Goldfrank|last2=Flomenbaum|first2=Neal|title=Goldfrank's toxicologic emergencies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cvJuLqBxGUcC&pg=PA1486|access-date=19 November 2011|year=2006|publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional|isbn=978-0-07-147914-1|pages=1486–|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709025856/http://books.google.com/books?id=cvJuLqBxGUcC&pg=PA1486|archive-date=9 July 2014}}</ref> These new phosphorus matches had to be kept in airtight metal boxes but became popular and went by the name of ''loco foco'' ("crazy fire") in the United States, from which was derived the name of a [[Locofocos|political party]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hatfield, J.|year=1856|title=History of American Friction Matches|journal=Scientific American|volume=11|issue=49|pages=387}}</ref> The earliest American patent for the phosphorus friction match was granted in 1836 to Alonzo Dwight Phillips of [[Springfield, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite patent|country=us|inventor=D. Phillips|pubdate=1836-10-24|number= 68}}</ref> But, the first production of friction matches in America was by [[Jacob Weller|Jacob Weller, B.S. (1775-1846)]], in 1825. He made the matches in [[Thurmont, Maryland|Thurmont, Maryland]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thurmont History - Jacob Weller: America's first manufacture of stick matches |url=https://www.emmitsburg.net/history_t/archives/people/weller.htm |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=www.emmitsburg.net |format=PDF}}</ref>

[[File:Floral Repoussé Decoration Matchsafe, ca. 1875 (CH 18502105) black background.jpg|thumb|Match container, {{c.|1875}}]]
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 wax|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 wood with cuts separating the splints but leaving their bases attached. Later versions were made in the form of thin combs. The splints would be broken away from the comb when required.<ref name=crass3/>

A noiseless match was invented in 1836 by the Hungarian [[János Irinyi]], who was a student of chemistry.<ref name="Patent">{{cite web|title=János Irinyi|publisher=Hungarian Patent Office|url=http://www.mszh.hu/English/feltalalok/irinyi.html|access-date=18 March 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304082506/http://www.mszh.hu/English/feltalalok/irinyi.html|archive-date=4 March 2010}}</ref> An unsuccessful experiment by his professor, Meissner, gave Irinyi the idea to replace potassium chlorate with [[lead dioxide]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Development of matches|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Janos-Irinyi|access-date=18 March 2008}}</ref> in the head of the phosphorus match.<ref name="Patent"/> He liquefied phosphorus in warm water and shook it in a glass vial, until the two liquids [[emulsion|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 [[Austro-Hungarian florin|florin]]s (about 22.5 [[troy ounce|oz t]] of silver). As a match manufacturer, Rómer became rich, and Irinyi went on to publish articles and a textbook on chemistry, and founded several match factories.<ref name="Patent"/>

===Replacement of white phosphorus===
[[File:1888 match girl strike.jpg|thumb|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]]''.]]
[[File:Bryant and May packing girls.jpg|thumb|Packing girls at the [[Bryant & May]] factory]]

Those involved in the manufacture of the new phosphorus matches were afflicted with ''[[phossy jaw]]'' and other bone disorders,<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Br. J. Ind. Med. |year=1962 |volume=19|pages=83–99|title=Phosphorus Necrosis of the Jaw: A Present-day Study: With Clinical and Biochemical Studies|author=Hughes, J. P. W; Baron, R.; Buckland, D. H., Cooke, M. A.; Craig, J. D.; Duffield, D. P.; Grosart, A. W.; Parkes, P. W. J.; & Porter, A.|pmc=1038164|issue=2|pmid=14449812|doi=10.1136/oem.19.2.83}}</ref> 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 published a pamphlet with notes on nine cases.<ref name=crass9>{{cite journal|title=A history of the match industry. Part 9|author=Crass, M. F. Jr.|year=1941|pages=428–431|journal=Journal of Chemical Education|volume=18|url=http://www.jce.divched.org/journal/Issues/1941/Sep/jceSubscriber/JCE1941p0428.pdf|bibcode=1941JChEd..18..428C|doi=10.1021/ed018p428|issue=9|archive-date=16 April 2020|access-date=15 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416104713/http://www.jce.divched.org/journal/Issues/1941/Sep/jceSubscriber/JCE1941p0428.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Industrial disease due to certain poisonous fumes or gases|author=Oliver, Thomas|url=https://archive.org/stream/archivesofpublic01victuoft#page/2/mode/1up|pages=1–21|journal=Archives of the Public Health Laboratory|volume=1|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1906}}</ref>

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 with [[Yellow phosphorus|white phosphorus]], such as [[phossy jaw]].<ref name=spartacus>{{cite web|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUmatchgirls.htm|title=Matchgirls Strike|publisher=Spartacus Educational|access-date=2006-05-19|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414144119/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUmatchgirls.htm|archive-date=14 April 2012}}</ref> Social activist [[Annie Besant]] published an article in her halfpenny weekly paper ''The Link'' on 23 June 1888.<ref>[http://www.mernick.org.uk/thhol/thelink.html "White slavery in London".] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719031718/http://www.mernick.org.uk/thhol/thelink.html |date=19 July 2011 }} ''The Link'', Issue no. 21 (via Tower Hamlets' Local History Library and Archives)</ref> 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 Wallas]], were involved in the distribution of the cash collected.<ref>Raw p. 137</ref> The strike and negative publicity led to changes being made to limit the health effects of the inhalation of white phosphorus.

Attempts were made to reduce the ill-effects on workers through the introduction of inspections and regulations. [[Anton Schrötter von Kristelli]] discovered in 1850 that heating white phosphorus at 250 °C in an inert atmosphere produced a red allotropic form, which did not fume in contact with air. It was suggested that this would make a suitable substitute in match manufacture although it was slightly more expensive.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Moritz |last=Kohn |journal=J. Chem. Educ. |year=1944 |volume=21 |issue=11 |pages=522, 554 |doi=10.1021/ed021p522 |title=The discovery of red phosphorus (1847) by Anton von Schrötter (1802–1875) |url=http://www.jce.divched.org/journal/Issues/1944/Nov/jceSubscriber/JCE1944p0522.pdf |bibcode=1944JChEd..21..522K }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Two French chemists, Henri Savene and Emile David Cahen, proved in 1898 that the addition of [[phosphorus sesquisulfide]] meant that the substance was not poisonous, that it could be used in a "strike-anywhere" match, and that the match heads were not explosive.<ref name=threlfall-ix>Threlfall (1951), "Chapter IX: The Second generation: 1880–1915: part II: The Private Limited Company"</ref> British company [[Albright and Wilson]] was the first company to produce phosphorus sesquisulfide matches commercially. The company developed a safe means of making commercial quantities of phosphorus sesquisulfide in 1899 and started selling it to match manufacturers.<ref name=threlfall/><ref name=crass5/>

===Regulation of white phosphorus===

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = White Phosphorus Matches Prohibition Act 1908
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to prohibit the Manufacture, Sale, and Importation of Matches made with White Phosphorus, and for other purposes in connection therewith.
| year                  = 1908
| citation              = [[8 Edw. 7]]. c. 42
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 21 December 1908
| commencement          = 1 January 1910
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Factories Act 1937]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = repealed
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:MatchPatentNYT.png|thumb|upright|A ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' report dated 29 January 1911]]

The serious effects of white phosphorus led many countries to ban its use. Finland prohibited the use of white phosphorus in 1872, followed by Denmark in 1874, France in 1897, Switzerland in 1898, and the Netherlands in 1901.<ref name=crass9/> An agreement, the ''[[Berne Convention (1906)|Berne Convention]],'' was reached at Bern, Switzerland, in September 1906, which banned the use of white phosphorus in matches.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Steve|last= Charnovitz|title=The Influence of International Labour Standards on the World Trading Regime. A Historical Overview|journal=International Labour Review|volume=126|issue=5|year=1987|pages=565, 571}}</ref> This required each country to pass laws prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in matches.

The United Kingdom passed the '''{{visible anchor|White Phosphorus Matches Prohibition Act 1908}}''' ([[8 Edw. 7]]. c. 42) prohibiting its use in matches after 31 December 1910. The United States did not pass a law, but instead placed a "punitive tax" in 1913 on white phosphorus–based matches, one so high as to render their manufacture financially impractical, and Canada banned them in 1914.<ref>[http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do;jsessionid=CC9C134CA7859800E234B195B64D9A7E?method=preview&lang=EN&id=25987 Donalda Charron and the E.B. Eddy Match Company] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808040840/http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do;jsessionid=CC9C134CA7859800E234B195B64D9A7E?method=preview&lang=EN&id=25987 |date=8 August 2014 }}. National Capital Commission. museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca</ref> India and Japan banned them in 1919; China followed, banning them in 1925.

In 1901 Albright and Wilson started making phosphorus sesquisulfide at their [[Niagara Falls, New York|Niagara Falls]], New York plant for the US market, but American manufacturers continued to use white phosphorus matches.<ref name=threlfall-ix/> The Niagara Falls plant made them until 1910, when the [[United States Congress]] forbade the shipment of white phosphorus matches in interstate commerce.<ref name=threlfall>Threlfall (1951)</ref>

==={{anchor|The_safety_match}}Safety matches===
[[Image:Jönköping tändsticksfabrik, 1872.jpg|thumb|Jönköpings safety match industry, 1872]]
[[Image:Itkonniemen tehdas.jpg|thumb|Old match factory in Itkonniemi, [[Kuopio]], Finland]]
The dangers of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches led to the development of the "hygienic" or "safety match". The major innovation in its development was the use of [[Allotropes of phosphorus#Red phosphorus|red phosphorus]], not on the head of the match but instead on a specially designed striking surface.

[[Albright and Wilson|Arthur Albright]] developed the industrial process for large-scale manufacture of red phosphorus after Schrötter's discoveries became known. By 1851, his company was producing the substance by heating white phosphorus in a sealed pot at a specific temperature. He exhibited his red phosphorus in 1851, at [[The Great Exhibition]] held at [[The Crystal Palace]] in London.

The idea of creating a specially designed striking surface was developed in 1844 by the Swede [[Gustaf Erik Pasch]]. Pasch patented the use of red phosphorus in the striking surface. He found that this could ignite heads that did not need to contain white phosphorus. [[Johan Edvard Lundström]] and his younger brother Carl Frans Lundström (1823–1917) started a large-scale match industry in [[Jönköping|Jönköping, Sweden]] around 1847, but the improved safety match was not introduced until around 1850–55. The Lundström brothers had obtained a sample of red phosphorus matches from Albright at The Great Exhibition,<ref name=threlfall-v>Threlfall (1951), Chapter V: "The Foundations, 1855–56: the phosphorus retort"</ref> but had misplaced it and therefore they did not try the matches until just before the [[Paris]] Exhibition of 1855 when they found that the matches were still usable.<ref name=threlfall-v/> In 1858 their company produced around 12 million matchboxes.<ref name=crass5>{{cite journal|pages=316–319|title=A history of the match industry. Part 5| author=Crass, M. F. Jr. |journal=Journal of Chemical Education|volume=18|url=http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/issues/1941/Jul/jceSubscriber/JCE1941p0316.pdf|doi=10.1021/ed018p316|year=1941|issue=7|bibcode = 1941JChEd..18..316C }}</ref>

[[File:SuperDeportistas.JPG|thumb|left|''Super Deportistas'' matches from mid-20th century Mexico, part of the permanent collection of the [[Museo del Objeto del Objeto]], in [[Mexico City]]]]
The safety of ''true'' "safety matches" is derived from the separation of the reactive ingredients between a match head on the end of a [[kerosene|paraffin]]-impregnated splint and the special striking surface (in addition to the safety aspect of replacing the white phosphorus with [[Phosphorus#Allotropes|red phosphorus]]). The idea for separating the chemicals had been introduced in 1859 in the form of two-headed matches known in France as ''Allumettes Androgynes''. These were sticks with one end made of potassium chlorate and the other of red phosphorus. They had to be broken and the heads rubbed together.<ref name=crass5/> There was, however, a risk of the heads rubbing each other accidentally in their box. Such dangers were removed when the striking surface was moved to the outside of the box. The development of a specialized [[matchbook]] with both matches and a striking surface occurred in the 1890s with the American [[Joshua Pusey]], who sold his patent to the [[Diamond Match Company]].

The Swedes long held a virtual worldwide [[monopoly]] on safety matches, with the industry mainly situated in Jönköping, by 1903 called ''Jönköpings & Vulcans Tändsticksfabriks AB'' today [[Swedish Match]]''.''<ref name=threlfall-va>Threlfall (1951), Appendix A to Chapter V: "The Match Industry"</ref> In France, they sold the rights to their safety match [[patent]] to Coigent Père & Fils of [[Lyon]], but Coigent contested the payment in the French courts, on the basis that the invention was known in [[Vienna]] before the Lundström brothers patented it.<ref name=threlfall-va/> The British match manufacturer [[Bryant and May]] visited Jönköping in 1858 to try to obtain a supply of safety matches, but was unsuccessful. In 1862 it established [[Bryant and May Factory, Bow|its own factory]] and bought the rights for the British safety match patent from the Lundström brothers.<ref name=threlfall-va/>

==Modern matches==
[[File:Pascual Sánchez - Ese instante.jpg|thumb|upright|A match at the beginning of the combustion process]]

The striking surface on modern matchboxes is typically composed of 25% powdered [[glass]] or other abrasive material, 50% [[red phosphorus]], 5% neutralizer, 4% [[carbon black]], and 16% binder; and the match head is typically composed of 45–55% [[potassium chlorate]], with a little sulfur and starch, a neutralizer (ZnO or {{chem|CaCO|3}}), 20–40% of [[Silicon dioxide|siliceous]] filler, [[Diatomaceous earth|diatomite]], and glue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fire|url=http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/phys/phosphor.htm#Fire|access-date=19 November 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104054408/http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/phys/phosphor.htm#Fire|archive-date=4 November 2011}}</ref> Safety matches ignite due to the extreme reactivity of phosphorus with the potassium chlorate in the match head. When the match is struck, the phosphorus and chlorate mix in a small amount and form something akin to the explosive [[Armstrong's mixture]], which ignites due to the friction. The red color of the match head is due to addition of [[Dye|red dye]]s, not the red phosphorus content.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-27 |title=How Do Safety Matches Work? |url=https://www.reagent.co.uk/blog/how-do-safety-matches-work/ |access-date=2024-08-12 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Friction matches made with [[white phosphorus]] as well as those made from [[phosphorus sesquisulfide]] can be struck on any suitable surface. They have remained particularly popular in the United States, even when safety matches had become common in Europe, and are still widely used today around the world, including in many [[Developing country|developing countries]],<ref name=crass5 /> for such uses as camping, outdoor activities, emergency/survival situations, and stocking homemade [[survival kit]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9271990.htm|title=Legality of Strike Anywhere Matches Is Up For Debate|last=Staff|date=10 March 2012|website=PRWeb.com|access-date=16 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710130414/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9271990.htm|archive-date=10 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2009/11/matches-test-best-survival-matches-still-strike-anywhere|title=Strike Anywhere: The Best Matches for Survival Situations|last=McCafferty|first=Keith|date=10 November 2009|work=Field & Stream|access-date=16 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819001928/http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2009/11/matches-test-best-survival-matches-still-strike-anywhere|archive-date=19 August 2013}}</ref> However, strike-anywhere matches are banned on all kinds of aircraft under the "dangerous goods" classification ''[[List of UN numbers 1301 to 1400|U.N. 1331, Matches, strike-anywhere]]''.<ref name=iata>{{cite book|author=IATA|author-link=IATA|year=2007|title=Dangerous Goods Regulations: Effective 1 January – 31 December 2007. Produced in consultation with [[ICAO]]|location=Montreal|publisher=International Air Transport Association|isbn =978-92-9195-780-4}}</ref>

Safety matches are classified as [[dangerous goods]], "U.N. 1944, Matches, safety". They are not universally forbidden on [[aircraft]]; however, they must be declared as dangerous goods and individual airlines or countries may impose tighter restrictions.<ref name="iata" />

==Storm matches==
[[File:Sturmzündhölzer.jpg|thumb|Storm matches]]
Storm matches, also known as [[lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboat]] matches or flare matches, are often included in [[survival kit]]s. They have a strikeable tip similar to a normal match, but the combustible compound – including an oxidiser – continues down the length of the stick, coating half or more of the entire matchstick. The match also has a waterproof coating (which often makes the match more difficult to light), and often storm matches are longer than standard matches. As a result of the combustible coating, storm matches burn strongly even in strong winds, and can even spontaneously re-ignite after being briefly immersed in water.

== Hobbyist collection ==
[[File:Brymay Matches Back.jpg|thumb|Intellectual pastime on a matchbox]]
{{Main|phillumeny}}
The hobby of collecting match-related items, such as [[matchcover]]s and matchbox labels, is known as ''[[phillumeny]]''.

== See also ==

{{Div col}}
* [[Firelighting]]
* [[Ivar Kreuger]]
* [[Lighter]]
* [[London matchgirls strike of 1888]]
* [[Permanent match]]
* [[Swedish Match]]
*"[[The Little Match Girl]]", a fairy tale
* ''[[The Safety Matches]]'', a 1969 novel
* [[Ukrainian Match Factory]]
* [[Vesta case]]
* [[White phosphorus munitions]]{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* Threlfall, Richard E. (1951). The Story of 100 Years of Phosphorus Making: 1851–1951. Oldbury: Albright & Wilson Ltd.

== Further reading ==
* Beaver, Patrick (1985). The Match Makers: The Story of Bryant & May. London: Henry Melland Limited. ISBN 0-907929-11-7
* Emsley, John (2000). The Shocking History of Phosphorus: A Biography of the Devil's Element. Basingstoke: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-333-76638-5
* Steele, H. Thomas (1987). Close Cover Before Striking: The Golden Age of Matchbook Art. Abeville Press

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/a/matches.htm |title=History of Chemical Matches |work=Chemistry.about.com |access-date=11 November 2005 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075503/http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/a/matches.htm |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web |url=http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmatch.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208164759/http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmatch.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 December 2012 |title=The History of Matches |work=Inventors.about.com }}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=LiEDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1946+motor+gun+boat&pg=RA2-PA105 "Making 125,000 Matches An Hour", August 1946, Popular Science] article on the modern mass production of wooden stem matches
*{{cite web|url=http://www.matchcovers.com/first100.htm|title=History of matchbooks|work=Matchcovers.com/first100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216214352/http://www.matchcovers.com/first100.htm|archive-date=16 February 2006}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.matchcover.org|title=The Rathkamp Matchcover Society|work=matchcover.org}}library.thinkquest.org/23062/match.htm
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120310030259/http://richannel.org/tales-from-the-prep-room-lighting-a-match "Lighting a Match"], [[Royal Institution]] video on the ignition process
*[http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/11/20/matches/ Chemistry of Matches, Graphics and Video]

{{Commons category-inline|Matches}}
{{wiktionary-inline|Match}}
{{Firelighting}}
{{Authority control}}

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