Mark Twain Project Online
Explanatory Notes        Apparatus Notes (Ⓐ)

Source: Henkels (Stan V.) catalog, | Eldred's. East Dennis, Mass., ([])

Cue: "Who can I buy your safety matches of, in Hartford?"

Source format: "Sales catalog | MS facsimile"

Letter type: "[standard letter]"

Notes:

Last modified: 2019-11-22T11:14:22

Revision History: AB | rhh 2019-11-01 | RHH 2019-11-22

Published on MTPO: 2007

Print Publication: v6

MTPDocEd
To Unidentified
6 July 1875 • Hartford, Conn. (Henkels 1932, lot 281, UCCL 01248)

Gentlemen: Who can I buy your safety matches of in Hartford? I cannot find any agency.1explanatory note

. . . .
Textual Commentary
6 July 1875 • To Unidentified • Hartford, Conn. • UCCL 01248
Source text(s):

Henkels 1932, lot 281, which describes the letter as an “A. L. S. 4 lines, 12mo.”

Previous Publication:

L6 , 507; Rains, lot 153, paraphrase.

Explanatory Notes
1 

The first safety matches, patented in Sweden in 1855, were developed to correct two problems associated with phosphorus friction matches, in common use since 1836: spontaneous combustion, and necrosis of the jawbone among factory workers exposed to phosphorus fumes. By 1875, several kinds of safety matches were available, all of which required a special striking surface for ignition and were made without phosphorus, or with a nontoxic form of it. Two of the most well-known brands were the American Safety Parlor Match, made in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Hendrickson and Leigh Safety Match, made in Trenton, New Jersey. Because these products often created a dangerous explosion of sparks, and were easily damaged by moisture, toxic phosphorus matches remained in wide use until 1911 (Manchester, 35–36, 46–47, 57–58, 71–75).

Emendations and Textual Notes
Ⓐ  Hartford, July 6th. 1875. ●  Hartford, July 6th. 1875. reported, not quoted
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