By Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, December 18, 2020.
As if there weren’t enough deadly things to worry about in the 1880s, what with all the infectious diseases lurking in every cough, the Boston Globe began publishing articles warning the public that they might be slowly poisoned by the wallpaper in their homes. In January 1886, Harvard professor David Gordon Lyon recounted his household’s close call after renovations to his Cambridge home. “There is a general impression that arsenic is used in the manufacture of wall papers, but most people are sadly ignorant of the extent to which this poison is thus employed,” he wrote.
Lyon, a 31-year-old professor of theology and Assyriology, had his house renovated in1883. “Four of the rooms…parlor, dining-room, one study and one chamber – were papered in the summer and autumn of 1883 by respectable Boston and Cambridge dealers.” Almost immediately, the household began to suffer from symptoms including insomnia and headaches. Thinking that it was the new furnace, he called repeatedly for repairs, but the problems persisted and seemed to increase during the winter months. “After each overhauling of the furnace the air in the house seemed better for a few days, but a period worse than before always followed. In the coldest weather of last winter we frequently found it necessary to put out the fire in order that we might sleep.” After well over a year of suffering, a chemist friend suggested testing the wallpaper. Sure enough, it contained arsenic.
Arsenic was known to be a problem before the 1880s. During the Victorian era, which began when Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837, oil lamps improved indoor lighting. All those bright lights encouraged interior decoration that emphasized bright vivid colors. One of the most popular colors utilized a pigment called ‘Paris green’- a substance so toxic it was also used as an insecticide. Earlier greens weren’t less toxic (you’ll read as well of ‘emerald green,’ ‘Vienna green,’ and ‘Scheele’s green’), but Paris green found its way into American homes long after most European countries had ceased to use it. After Dr. Lyon raised the alert in Boston, the state Senate held hearings on the dangers of toxic chemicals in everyday items. Dr. Edward S. Wood, a Harvard chemist, testified, “The most recent experience has enlarged our knowledge as to the sources of arsenical poisoning.” He came armed with examples – toys, window screening, fabrics, stockings, glazed paper boxes, candy wrappers and wallpaper. “Here is a piece of dress goods, stark blue lady’s cloth, from which a young lady had a dress made costing $100. Not only was she poisoned by it, but also the dressmaker who made it. The goods are highly arsenical.” He brought so many items that the chairman, Senator Gilman, briefly stopped the proceedings to air out the room.
And yet, arsenic was also viewed by many as a safe medical treatment. Exeter’s own Dr. William Perry used it for all sorts of ailments. His prescription book includes many remedies, including a ‘tooth wash’ that lists tincture of arsenic as an ingredient. Arsenic became the treatment of choice for syphilis. It’s still used today for some types of cancer treatments. Arsenic is found naturally in many foods and our environment. Even Dr. Wood, with his arsenical collection of goods, didn’t advocate a complete ban on the substance. “I think an absolute prohibition of the use of arsenic would be unjust and impracticable. I think a limit should be placed beyond which manufacturers should not go.”
Wallpaper manufacturers, for their part, argued that they had ceased using arsenic in production. Their testimony was challenged by the findings of the chemists. Likely, they probably didn’t think it was possible for science to catch them cheating. Public health officials called for manufacturers to cease using toxic substances.
The controversy was enough to prompt Nathaniel Gordon, of Exeter, to send samples of his wallpaper to Dr. Wood. The Doctor’s reply, found in the collections of the Exeter Historical Society, puzzled one of our volunteers enough that she flagged it for further research. What was this all about? Why, in amongst all the dull correspondence about business and stock trades, was there a letter on Harvard Medical College stationary talking about wallpaper samples? Nathaniel Gordon didn’t fool around. He was worried about toxic wallpaper and he wanted his tested by the nation’s top chemist. Dr. Wood agreed. “You will be able to find analytical chemists who will analyze wallpapers for you by what I consider inaccurate methods for 50 cents apiece, and I find that they often report no arsenic, when that substance is present in large quantities. I have had a case today where three children have been poisoned by a paper containing a large quantity of arsenic, this paper having been reported free from arsenic by a Boston chemist.” Gordon must have trusted the results (whatever they were, we do not have the report). He lived many years after having the wallpaper tested by Dr. Wood. The societal anxiety over arsenic took many years, and many regulations, to quell. Dr. Wood continued in his long career at Harvard Medical College. He published a report, “Arsenic as a Domestic Poison” and later rose to some notoriety when his analysis of evidence in the Lizzie Borden trial made headlines in 1892.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: In 1886, fears of poisonous wallpaper prompted Exeter’s Nathaniel Gordon to seek out the assistance of prominent Harvard chemist, Dr. Edward Wood.