Editing Match (section)

===Chemical matches===
[[File:Joseph Wright of Derby The Alchemist.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[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.

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.

[[File:Phosphorus bottle pocket matches, 1828 - Joseph Allen Skinner Museum - DSC07746.JPG|thumb|left|Sulfur-head matches, 1828, lit by dipping into a bottle of phosphorus]]

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>