New-York daily tribune., 1850-05-01


New York C. S. Francis K Co
70 HOUSEHOLD WORDS, by CHARLES DICK
ESs, No. ,, is published by G. P Putnam rs a
specimen Of the manner in which it handles com
mon things, Wa take the following
ILLUSTRATIONS OF cHEAPNEss
THE LucWER MATCH
Some twenty years ago tie process of obtaining
fire, in every house 10 England with few excep
tiOns, was as rude, laborious, and uncertain as
the effort Of the Indian to produce a flame by the
friction of two dry sticks.
The nightlamp and the rEsblight were for the
comparatively luxurious. In the bedrooms of the
cotager the artisan, and the small ;radesman, the
infant at its mothers side too often awoke, like
Millions nightingale, 'darkng, but that nOctgr-
nal note was something different from 'harmoni-
Gus numbers. The mother was soon on her feet
the friendly tinder-box was duly sought. Clck,
click click not spark tells upon the sullen black
ness. More rapidly does the flint ply the sympa-
thetic steel The room is bright with the radiant
shower But the child familiar enough with the
operation is impatient at its tedousness, and
shouts till the mother is frantic. At length one
lucky spark does its otiice-the tinder is aght-
Now for the match. 1t will not burn. A gentle
breath is waited into the murky box the face that
leans over the tinder is in a glow. Another match,
and another, and another. They are all damp
The toworn father 'swears a prayer or two :;
the baby is inexorabe; and the misery is only end
ed when the good man has gone to the street door,
and after long shiverng has obtained lit from
the watchman.
In this the beginning OF our series Of Llusra
tons of Cheapness let us trace this antique ma
chinery through the various stages OF its produc
iion.
The tinder.box and the steel had nothing pecu-
liar. The tinman made the one as he made the
saucepan, with hammer and shears the other was
forged at the great metal factories Of She field and
Birmingham and happy was 1t for the purchaser
if it were something better than rude piece OF
iron very uncomfortable to grasp. The nearest
chalk quarry supplied the flint. The domestic
manufacture of the tinder was serious affair.
At due seasons, and very often II the premises
were damp, a sitting smell rose from the kitchen
which, TO those who were not intimate with the pro
cess, suggested doubts whether the house were not
on fire. The best linen rag was periodically burnt
and its ashes deposited in the tinman's box, press
ed down with close fitting lid upon which the
flint and steel reposed. The match was chiefly an
article of itlnerant traffic. The chambers Shop
was almost ashamed OF it. The mendicant was
the universal match seller The girl who led the
blind beggar had invariable a basket of matches.
In the day they were vendors OF matches-ln the
evening manufacturers. On the ilOor OF the hovei
st three squaid children, splitting deal with
a common knife. The matron is watching pipkin
upon a slow fire. The fumes which it gives forth
are binding as the birthstone is liquitying. Little
bundles of split al are ready to be dipped, three
or four at time. When the pennyworth of brim
stone is used up, when the capital is exhausted,
the nights labor is over. In the Summer, the man
ufactare is suspended, or conducted upon iraudu.
lent principles. Fire is then needless so deusive
matches must be prOduced-wet splints dipped IN
powdered sulphur They " Il never burn, but they
will do TO sell 10 the unwary mald-of all work.
About twenty years ago Chemistry discovered
that the tinder box might be abolished. But Chem
Isry set about its function with especial reference
b the wants and the means OF the rich few. In
the same way the first printed books were de
signed to have n great resemblance 10 manu-
scripts, AMI tl,se OF the wealthy class were alone
looked TO as the purchasers OF the skiiu imita
tiOns. The first chemical light producer was com
plex and ornamental casket, sold at a guinea
In year or SO, there were pretty portable cases
Of phial and matches which enthusiastic young
housekeepers regarded as the cheapest of all trea
sures a. five shillings By-and bye the light box
was sold as a shilling The fire revolution was
slowly approaching. The old dynasty OF the tinder
box ma ntained its predomnance for a short while
ia kitchen and garrett IN farmhouse and cottage.
At length some bold adventurer saw that the new
chemical discovery might be employed for the pro-
duction OF large article OF trade-that matches.
in themselves the vehicles Of fire without aid OF
spark and finder, might be manufactured upon the
factory systsm-that the humblest in the land might
have a new aud indispensable comfort at the very
lowest rate of cheapness. When Chemistry saw
that phosphorus having an affinity for oxygen at
the lowest temperature, would ignite upon slight
so ignited would ignite sulphur which
required a much higher temperature TO become in
hammable, thus making the phosphorus do the
work OF the old tlnder with far greater certainty
or when Chemistry found that chorate ~ potash
by slight friction might be exploded so rs to pro
duce combustion, and might be safely used in the
same combInation-a blessing was bestowed upon
society thatcan scarcely be measured by those who
have had no former knowledge of the miseries aud
privations of the tinder box. The penny box Of
Lucifers, or Congreves, or By whaisve name call
ed, is real triumph OF Science and an advance
In Civilization.
Let Us now look somewhat closely and pract
caly into the manufacture of Lucifer match
The combus,ibe materials used in the manuiac
.ure render the process ali unsafe one. IL cannot
be carried ON In the heart OF towns without being
regarded as a common nuisance We must there
ore go somewheres IN the suburbs of London 10
ind such trade In the neighborhood OF Beihnal
Green there IS a large open space called Wsker
Gardens This is not place Of courts and alleys,
but considerable area, literally divided into small
gardens, where just now the crocus and the snow
drop are telling hopefully Of the spring time. Each
arden has the smallest OF cottages-for the most
part wooden-which have been converted from
summer houses into dwellings The whole place
reminds one of numberess passages in the old
dramatists, IN which the citizens wives are de
scrloed IN their garden houses Of Finsburv. or
Hossden, slipping sy llabub and talking fine on
mer holidays Ia one Of these garden houses, not
Tar from the public road, is the little factory Of
Henry Lester, Patentee Of the Domestic Safety
Matchb box, as his label proclaims. He is very
ready to show his processes, which in many re-
specis are curious and interesting.
Adam Smith has instructed US that the business
0. mailing pin Is divided into about eighteen dis
tinct operations; and further. that ten persons
could make upwards OF forty yeight thousand pins
day with the division OF labor: while If they had
all wrought independently and separately, aud
without any OF them having been educated 10 this
peculiar business they certainly could DOT each o.
them have made twenty. The Lucfer Match is a
similar example Of division OF ahnr and the sill