Arsenic was pretty much everywhere one looked during the Victorian Era, and although we may have heard about it being used in murder, a large number of arsenic poisonings were accidental. I discuss arsenic’s presence throughout history, how and why it became widely available during the Victorian Era, and why it was used in so many consumer products of the time (especially wallpaper).
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References
Barrell, Helen. “Poison Panic.” https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Poison-Panic/
Feldkamp, Katherine. “Death on the Doorstep: Arsenic in Victorian Wallpaper.” https://www.slam.org/blog/arsenic-in-victorian-wallpaper/
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/exhibitionAssets/digitalDocs/The-Yellow-Wall-Paper.pdf
Haslam, Jessica Charlotte. “Deadly décor: a short history of arsenic poisoning in the nineteenth century.” http://journals.ed.ac.uk/resmedica/article/download/182/799/0
Hickey, Andrea. “Victorians Were Obsessed With A Shade Of Green That Killed Them.” https://www.buzzfeed.com/agh/green-fashion-arsenic-victorian-1800s-killer-dye
“History of nicotine marketing.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_nicotine_marketing#:~:text=The%20first%20known%20nicotine%20advertisement%20in%20the%20United,quality%2C%20not%20brand%20name%2C%20until%20after%20the%201840s.
Lindley, Robin. “Victorians' secret.” https://crosscut.com/2010/09/arsenic-victorians-secret
“The Facts on Arsenic.” https://sites.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/arsenic/the-facts-on-arsenic/
Wood, DeeDee. “The Poison of Arsenic in Victorian Era.” https://shorehomeandgarden.com/2021/11/01/the-poison-of-arsenic-in-victorian-era/
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