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== History == === Paleolithic times === Bitumen use goes back to the [[Middle Paleolithic]], where it was shaped into tool handles or used as an adhesive for attaching stone tools to [[Hafting|hafts]]. The earliest evidence of bitumen use was discovered when archeologists identified bitumen material on [[Levallois technique|Levallois]] flint artefacts that date to about 71,000 years BP at the Umm el Tlel open-air site, located on the northern slope of the Qdeir Plateau in el Kowm Basin in Central Syria.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boëda |first1=Éric |last2=Bonilauri |first2=Stéphanie |last3=Connan |first3=Jacques |last4=Jarvie |first4=Dan |last5=Mercier |first5=Norbert |last6=Tobey |first6=Mark |last7=Valladas |first7=Hélène |last8=Sakhel |first8=Heba al |date=2008 |title=New Evidence for Significant Use of Bitumen in Middle Palaeolithic Technical Systems at Umm el Tlel (Syria) around 70,000 BP |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41496524 |journal=Paléorient |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=67–83 |doi=10.3406/paleo.2008.5257 |jstor=41496524 |issn=0153-9345|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Microscopic analyses found bituminous residue on two-thirds of the stone artefacts, suggesting that bitumen was an important and frequently-used component of tool making for people in that region at that time. Geochemical analyses of the asphaltic residues places its source to localized natural bitumen outcroppings in the Bichri Massif, about 40 km northeast of the Umm el Tlel archeological site. A re-examination of artifacts uncovered in 1908 at [[Le Moustier]] rock shelters in France has identified [[Mousterian]] stone tools that were attached to grips made of [[ochre]] and bitumen.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=Patrick |last2=Iovita |first2=Radu |last3=Charrié-Duhaut |first3=Armelle |last4=Möller |first4=Gunther |last5=Namen |first5=Abay |last6=Dutkiewicz |first6=Ewa |date=23 February 2024 |title=Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=10 |issue=8 |pages=eadl0822 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.adl0822 |pmid=38381827 |issn=2375-2548|pmc=10881035 |bibcode=2024SciA...10L.822S }}</ref> The grips were formulated with 55% ground [[goethite]] ochre and 45% cooked liquid bitumen to create a moldable putty that hardened into handles. Earlier, less-careful excavations at Le Moustier prevent conclusive identification of the [[archaeological culture]] and age, but the European Mousterian style of these tools suggests they are associated with [[Neanderthal]]s during the late [[Middle Paleolithic]] into the early [[Upper Paleolithic]] between 60,000 and 35,000 years before present. It is the earliest evidence of multicomponent adhesive in Europe. === Ancient times === The use of natural bitumen for [[waterproofing]] and as an [[adhesive]] dates at least to the fifth [[millennium]] BC, with a crop storage basket discovered in [[Mehrgarh]], of the [[Indus Valley civilization]], lined with it.<ref>McIntosh, Jane. The Ancient Indus Valley. p. 57</ref> By the 3rd millennium BC refined rock asphalt was in use in the region, and was used to waterproof the [[Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro|Great Bath]] in Mohenjo-daro.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |entry=Great Bath |encyclopedia=Britannica |entry-url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Bath-Mohenjo-daro |access-date=26 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In the [[ancient Near East]], the [[Sumer]]ians used natural bitumen deposits for [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]] between [[brick]]s and stones, to cement parts of carvings, such as eyes, into place, for ship [[caulking]], and for waterproofing.<ref name="Abraham1938" /> The Greek historian [[Herodotus]] said hot bitumen was used as mortar in the walls of [[Babylon]].<ref>Herodotus, Book I, 179</ref> The {{convert|1|km}} long [[Euphrates Tunnel]] beneath the river [[Euphrates]] at [[Babylon]] in the time of Queen [[Semiramis]] ({{circa|800 BC}}) was reportedly constructed of burnt bricks covered with bitumen as a waterproofing agent.<ref name="Abraham1938" /> Bitumen was used by [[ancient Egypt]]ians to [[Embalming|embalm]] mummies.<ref name="Abraham1938" /><ref>{{cite book |author=Pringle, Heather Anne |title=The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books |location=New York|year=2001 |pages= 196–197|isbn=978-0-7607-7151-8}}</ref> The [[Persian language|Persian]] word for asphalt is ''moom'', which is related to the English word [[mummy]]. The Egyptians' primary source of bitumen was the [[Dead Sea]], which the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] knew as ''Palus Asphaltites'' (Asphalt Lake). In approximately 40 AD, [[Dioscorides]] described the Dead Sea material as ''Judaicum bitumen'', and noted other places in the region where it could be found.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pedanius Dioscorides |url=https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx01 |title=De Materia Medica |year=1829}} Original written c. 40 AD, translated by Goodyer (1655) [https://web.archive.org/web/20090206022946/http://www.therenaissanceman.org/images/DIOSCORIDES-Intro_Book_1.doc] ''or'' ''(Greek/Latin)'' compiled by Sprengel (1829) [https://books.google.com/books/download/Pedanii_Dioscoridis_____de_materia_medic.pdf?id=JwAUAAAAQAAJ&output=pdf] p. 100 (p. 145 in PDF).</ref> The Sidon bitumen is thought to refer to material found at [[Hasbeya]] in Lebanon.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Connan|first1=Jacques|last2=Nissenbaum|first2=Arie|title=The organic geochemistry of the Hasbeya asphalt (Lebanon): comparison with asphalts from the Dead Sea area and Iraq|journal=Organic Geochemistry|volume=35|issue=6|year=2004|pages=775–789|issn=0146-6380|doi=10.1016/j.orggeochem.2004.01.015|bibcode=2004OrGeo..35..775C |url=https://www.academia.edu/16512751}}</ref> [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] also refers to bitumen being found in [[Selenicë|Epirus]]. Bitumen was a valuable strategic resource. It was the object of the first known battle for a hydrocarbon deposit – between the [[Seleucid]]s and the [[Nabateans]] in 312 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://payperview.datapages.com/data/open/offer.do?target=%2Fbulletns%2F1977-79%2Fdata%2Fpg%2F0062%2F0005%2F0800%2F0837.htm|title=Dead Sea Asphalts – Historical Aspects [free abstract]|author=Arie Nissenbaum|journal=AAPG Bulletin|volume=62|issue=5|date=May 1978|pages=837–844|doi=10.1306/c1ea4e5f-16c9-11d7-8645000102c1865d|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In the ancient Far East, natural bitumen was slowly boiled to get rid of the higher [[Fraction (chemistry)|fractions]], leaving a [[thermoplastic]] material of higher molecular weight that, when layered on objects, became hard upon cooling. This was used to cover objects that needed waterproofing,<ref name="Abraham1938" /> such as [[scabbard]]s and other items. [[Statuettes]] of household [[deities]] were also cast with this type of material in Japan, and probably also in China.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} In [[North America]], archaeological recovery has indicated that bitumen was sometimes used to adhere stone [[projectile point]]s to wooden shafts.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Fauvelle | first1=Mikael | last2=Smith | first2=Erin M. | last3=Brown | first3=Sean H. | last4=Des Lauriers | first4=Matthew R. | title=Asphaltum hafting and projectile point durability: an experimental comparison of three hafting methods | journal=Journal of Archaeological Science | volume=39 | issue=8 | date=2012 | doi=10.1016/j.jas.2012.04.014 | pages=2802–2809| bibcode=2012JArSc..39.2802F }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18502 |title=C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Morro Creek'', ed. by A. Burnham |publisher=Megalithic.co.uk |access-date=27 August 2013}}</ref> In Canada, aboriginal people used bitumen seeping out of the banks of the [[Athabasca River|Athabasca]] and other rivers to waterproof birch bark [[canoe]]s, and also heated it in smudge pots to ward off [[mosquito]]es in the summer.<ref name=oilsandfacts/> Bitumen was also used to waterproof plank canoes used by indigenous peoples in pre-colonial southern California.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Fauvelle | first=Mikael | title=Acorns, Asphaltum, and Asymmetrical Exchange: Invisible Exports and the Political Economy of the Santa Barbara Channel | journal=American Antiquity | volume=79 | issue=3 | date=2014 | issn=0002-7316 | doi=10.7183/0002-7316.79.3.573 | pages=573–575}}</ref> === Continental Europe === In 1553, [[Pierre Belon]] described in his work ''[[Observations (Pierre Belon)|Observations]]'' that ''pissasphalto'', a mixture of [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]] and bitumen, was used in the [[Republic of Ragusa]] (now [[Dubrovnik]], [[Croatia]]) for tarring of ships.<ref>{{cite book |title=Africa and the Discovery of America |volume=1 |page=183 |authorlink=Leo Wiener |first=Leo |last=Wiener |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |orig-date=1920 |date=2012 |isbn=978-3-86403-432-9}}</ref> An 1838 edition of ''Mechanics Magazine'' cites an early use of asphalt in France. A pamphlet dated 1621, by "a certain Monsieur d'Eyrinys, states that he had discovered the existence (of asphaltum) in large quantities in the vicinity of Neufchatel", and that he proposed to use it in a variety of ways – "principally in the construction of air-proof granaries, and in protecting, by means of the arches, the water-courses in the city of Paris from the intrusion of dirt and filth", which at that time made the water unusable. "He expatiates also on the excellence of this material for forming level and durable terraces" in palaces, "the notion of forming such terraces in the streets not one likely to cross the brain of a Parisian of that generation".<ref>{{cite book|date=7 April – 29 September 1838 | title=The Mechanics' Magazine, museum, register, journal and gazette| volume=29|chapter=Nothing New under the Sun (on French asphaltum use in 1621)| publisher=W.A. Robertson| location=London |page=176 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygoAAAAAMAAJ&q=1838+september+%22mechanic's+magazine%22&pg=PA479}}</ref> But the substance was generally neglected in France until the [[July Revolution|revolution of 1830]]. In the 1830s there was a surge of interest, and asphalt became widely used "for pavements, flat roofs, and the lining of cisterns, and in England, some use of it had been made of it for similar purposes". Its rise in Europe was "a sudden phenomenon", after natural deposits were found "in France at Osbann ([[Bas-Rhin]]), the Parc ([[Ain]]) and the Puy-de-la-Poix ([[Puy-de-Dôme]])", although it could also be made artificially.<ref name="LewisMiles">{{cite book|author=Miles, Lewis|title=in Australian Building: A Cultural Investigation|chapter=Section 10.6: Damp Proofing|year=2000|page=10.06.1|chapter-url=http://www.mileslewis.net/australian-building/pdf/climatic-design/climatic-design-damp-proofing.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215052541/http://mileslewis.net/australian-building/pdf/climatic-design/climatic-design-damp-proofing.pdf|archive-date=15 December 2010}}. Note: different sections of Miles' online work were written in different years, as evidenced at the top of each page (not including the heading page of each section). This particular section appears to have been written in 2000</ref> One of the earliest uses in France was the laying of about 24,000 square yards of Seyssel asphalt at the [[Place de la Concorde]] in 1835.<ref>{{citation |year=1958 |author=R.J. Forbes|title=Studies in Early Petroleum History |page=24 |location=[[Leiden]], Netherlands |publisher=E.J. Brill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eckUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA24}}</ref> === United Kingdom === Among the earlier uses of bitumen in the United Kingdom was for etching. William Salmon's ''Polygraphice'' (1673) provides a recipe for varnish used in etching, consisting of three ounces of virgin wax, two ounces of [[mastic (plant resin)|mastic]], and one ounce of asphaltum.<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Salmon|year=1673|publisher=R. Jones|location=London|title=Polygraphice; Or, The Arts of Drawing, Engraving, Etching, Limning, Painting, Washing, Varnishing, Gilding, Colouring, Dying, Beautifying and Perfuming|edition=Second|page=81|url=http://shipbrook.com/jeff/bookshelf/download.html?bookid=22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822202721/http://shipbrook.com/jeff/bookshelf/download.html?bookid=22|archive-date=22 August 2016}}</ref> By the fifth edition in 1685, he had included more asphaltum recipes from other sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/polygraphiceorar00salm|title=Polygraphice, or The arts of drawing, engraving, etching, limning, painting, washing, varnishing, gilding, colouring, dying, beautifying and perfuming: in seven books ... to which also is added, I. The one hundred and twelve chemical arcanums of Petrus Johannes Faber ... II. An abstract of choice chemical preparations...The 5th edition...|first=William|last=Salmon|date=7 September 1685|publisher=London : Printed for Thomas Passinger... and Thomas Sawbridge|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The first British patent for the use of asphalt was "Cassell's patent asphalte or bitumen" in 1834.<ref name="LewisMiles" /> Then on 25 November 1837, [[Captain R. T. Claridge|Richard Tappin Claridge]] patented the use of Seyssel asphalt (patent #7849), for use in asphalte pavement,<ref>{{cite book | date=July 1838 | title=Journal of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania and Mechanics' Register |chapter=Specification of the Patent granted to Richard Tappin Claridge, of the County of Middlesex, for a Mastic Cement, or Composition applicable to Paving and Road making, covering Buildings and various purposes|volume=22| location=London |pages=414–418|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W8oGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA414| publisher=Pergamon Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|date=20 January 1904| title=Notes and Queries: A medium of intercommunication for Literary Men, General Readers, etc. Ninth series. | volume=XII, July–December, 1903 (9th S. XII, 4 July 1903)|chapter=Comments on asphalt patents of R.T. Claridge, Esq| publisher=John C. Francis| location=London |pages=18–19 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/s9notesqueries12londuoft#page/18/mode/2up/search/claridge}} Writer is replying to note or query from previous publication, cited as ''9th S. xi. 30''</ref> having seen it employed in France and Belgium when visiting with [[Frederick Walter Simms]], who worked with him on the introduction of asphalt to Britain.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Obituary of Frederick Walter Simms| journal= [[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]]| volume=XXVI| pages= 120–121|date=November 1865 – June 1866 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3wsAAAAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite periodical |year=1963 |author=Broome, D.C. |title=The development of the modern asphalt road |periodical=The Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer |location=London |volume=122 |issue=3278 & 3279 |pages=1437–1440 & 1472–1475 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j77mAAAAMAAJ&q=claridge+1857}}</ref> Dr T. Lamb Phipson writes that his father, Samuel Ryland Phipson, a friend of Claridge, was also "instrumental in introducing the asphalte pavement (in 1836)".<ref>{{cite book|first=Dr T. Lamb|last=Phipson|year=1902| title=Confessions of a Violinist: Realities and Romance | publisher=Chatto & Windus| location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/confessionsofvio00phiprich/page/11 11] |url=https://archive.org/details/confessionsofvio00phiprich}} Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org)</ref> Claridge obtained a patent in Scotland on 27 March 1838, and obtained a patent in Ireland on 23 April 1838. In 1851, extensions for the 1837 patent and for both 1838 patents were sought by the trustees of a company previously formed by Claridge.<ref name="LewisMiles"/><ref>{{cite book|date=25 February 1851 | title=The London Gazette|chapter=Claridge's UK Patents in 1837 & 1838|page=489 |chapter-url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/21185/pages/489}}</ref><ref name="BritishHistoryOnline1994">{{cite book|editor=Hobhouse, Hermione |title='Northern Millwall: Tooke Town', Survey of London: volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs |chapter=British History Online |pages=423–433 (see text at refs 169 & 170)|year=1994 | chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46514&strquery=Claridge}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|date=7 April – 29 September 1838 | title=The Mechanics' Magazine, museum, register, journal and gazette| volume=29|chapter=Claridge's Scottish and Irish Patents in 1838 | publisher=W.A. Robertson| location=London |pages=vii, viii, 64, 128 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygoAAAAAMAAJ&q=1838+september+%22mechanic's+magazine%22&pg=PA479}}</ref> ''Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company''{{snd}}formed in 1838 for the purpose of introducing to Britain "Asphalte in its natural state from the mine at Pyrimont Seysell in France",<ref name="CivilEngineer&ArchitectsJ199">{{Cite book |last=Laxton |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQ5AAAAAYAAJ |title=The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal |date=1838 |publisher=Published for the proprietor |language=en}}</ref>{{snd}}"laid one of the first asphalt pavements in Whitehall".<ref>Miles, Lewis (2000), pp.10.06.1–2</ref> Trials were made of the pavement in 1838 on the footway in Whitehall, the stable at Knightsbridge Barracks,<ref name="CivilEngineer&ArchitectsJ199" /><ref name="responsetoquery18">Comments on asphalt patents of R.T. Claridge, Esq (1904), p. 18</ref> "and subsequently on the space at the bottom of the steps leading from Waterloo Place to St. James Park".<ref name="responsetoquery18" /> "The formation in 1838 of Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company (with a distinguished list of aristocratic patrons, and [[Marc Isambard Brunel|Marc]] and [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel|Isambard Brunel]] as, respectively, a trustee and consulting engineer), gave an enormous impetus to the development of a British asphalt industry".<ref name="BritishHistoryOnline1994" /> "By the end of 1838, at least two other companies, Robinson's and the Bastenne company, were in production",<ref name="LewisMiles10.06.2">Miles, Lewis (2000), p. 10.06.2</ref> with asphalt being laid as paving at Brighton, Herne Bay, Canterbury, Kensington, the Strand, and a large floor area in Bunhill-row, while meantime Claridge's Whitehall paving "continue(d) in good order".<ref>{{cite book|date=22 September 1838 | title=The Mechanics' Magazine, museum, register, journal and gazette| volume=29|chapter=1838 bitumen UK uses by Robinson's and Claridge's companies, & the Bastenne company | publisher=W.A. Robertson| location=London |page=448 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygoAAAAAMAAJ&q=1838+september+%22mechanic's+magazine%22&pg=PA479}}</ref> The [[Bonnington Chemical Works]] manufactured asphalt using [[coal tar]] and by 1839 had installed it in [[Bonnington, Edinburgh|Bonnington]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|date=2019|title=Bonnington Chemical Works (1822–1878): Pioneer Coal Tar Company|journal=International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology|volume=89|issue=1–2|pages=73–91|doi=10.1080/17581206.2020.1787807|s2cid=221115202}}</ref> In 1838, there was a flurry of entrepreneurial activity involving bitumen, which had uses beyond paving. For example, bitumen could also be used for flooring, damp proofing in buildings, and for waterproofing of various types of pools and baths, both of which were also proliferating in the 19th century.<ref name="Abraham1938"/><ref name="LewisMiles"/><ref>{{cite book|first=W.M. Paul|last=Gerhard|year=1908| title=Modern Baths and Bath Houses| edition=1st| publisher=John Wiley and Sons| location=New York |url=https://archive.org/stream/modernbathsandb00unkngoog#page/n11/mode/1up}} (Enter "asphalt" into the search field for list of pages discussing the subject)</ref> One of the earliest surviving examples of its use can be seen at [[Highgate Cemetery]] where it was used in 1839 to seal the roof of the terrace catacombs. On the London stockmarket, there were various claims as to the exclusivity of bitumen quality from France, Germany and England. And numerous patents were granted in France, with similar numbers of patent applications being denied in England due to their similarity to each other. In England, "Claridge's was the type most used in the 1840s and 50s".<ref name="LewisMiles10.06.2"/> In 1914, Claridge's Company entered into a joint venture to produce [[Macadam#Tar-bound macadam|tar-bound macadam]],<ref>{{citation |date=January 1914 |title=Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co. ventures into tarred slag macadam |journal=Concrete and Constructional Engineering |volume=IX |issue=1 |page=760|location=London |url=https://archive.org/stream/concreteconstruc09lond#page/760/mode/1up }}</ref> with materials manufactured through a subsidiary company called Clarmac Roads Ltd.<ref>{{citation |year=1921 |title=Registration of Clarmac Roads |journal=The Law Reports: Chancery Division |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AQxAAAAIAAJ&q=clarmac|pages=544–547}}</ref> Two products resulted, namely ''Clarmac'', and ''Clarphalte'', with the former being manufactured by Clarmac Roads and the latter by Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co., although ''Clarmac'' was more widely used.<ref>{{citation |date=7 July 1915 |title=Clarmac and Clarphalte |pages=2–4 (n. 13–15 in electronic page field)|journal=The Building News and Engineering Journal |volume=109: July to December 1915 |issue=3157 |url=https://archive.org/stream/buildingnewseng109londuoft#page/n13/mode/1up/search/clarmac}}</ref>{{refn|''The Building News and Engineering Journal'' contains photographs of the following roads where ''Clarmac'' was used, being {{qi|some amongst many laid with 'Clarmac'}}: Scott's Lane, [[Beckenham]]; Dorset Street, Marylebone; Lordswood Road, [[Birmingham]]; Hearsall Lane, [[Coventry]]; Valkyrie Avenue, [[Westcliff-on-Sea]]; and Lennard Road, [[Penge]].<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/buildingnewseng109londuoft#page/n14/mode/1up Roads laid with Clarmac] ''The Building News and Engineering Journal'', 1915 '''109''' (3157), p.3 (n14 in electronic field).</ref>|group="note"}} However, the [[First World War]] ruined the Clarmac Company, which entered into liquidation in 1915.<ref name=WW1Impact>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2AQxAAAAIAAJ&q=%22war,+and+the+Claridge+%22 Clarmac financial difficults due to WW1] [https://books.google.com/books?id=2AQxAAAAIAAJ&q=%22debentures+with+the+clarmac%22 Debentures deposited] ''The Law Reports: Chancery Division'', (1921) '''Vol. 1''' p. 545. Retrieved 17 June 2010.</ref><ref>{{citation |date=26 October 1915 |title=Notice of the Winding up of Clarmac Roads |journal=The London Gazette |issue=29340 |page=10568 |url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29340/pages/10568}}</ref> The failure of Clarmac Roads Ltd had a flow-on effect to Claridge's Company, which was itself compulsorily wound up,<ref name=NewCompanyFunded>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TiYyAAAAIAAJ&q=claridge+%22compulsorily+wound+up%22 Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co. compulsorily wound up] [https://books.google.com/books?id=TiYyAAAAIAAJ&q=%22funds+in+the+new+company%22 Funds invested in new company] ''The Law Times Reports'' (1921) '''Vol.125''', p. 256. Retrieved 15 June 2010.</ref> ceasing operations in 1917,<ref>{{cite book|date=16 November 1917 | title=The London Gazette|chapter=Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co. winds up 10 November 1917|page=11863| chapter-url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/30384/pages/11863}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor=Hobhouse, Hermione |title='Cubitt Town: Riverside area: from Newcastle Drawdock to Cubitt Town Pier', Survey of London: volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs |chapter=British History Online |pages=528–532 (see text at refs 507 & 510)|year=1994 | chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46529&strquery=claridge}}</ref> having invested a substantial amount of funds into the new venture, both at the outset<ref name=NewCompanyFunded/> and in a subsequent attempt to save the Clarmac Company.<ref name=WW1Impact/> Bitumen was thought in 19th century Britain to contain chemicals with medicinal properties. Extracts from bitumen were used to treat [[catarrh]] and some forms of [[asthma]] and as a remedy against worms, especially the [[tapeworm]].<ref>''The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge'', Vol III, (1847) London, Charles Knight, p. 380.</ref> === United States === The first use of bitumen in the New World was by aboriginal peoples. On the west coast, as early as the 13th century, the [[Tongva people|Tongva]], [[Luiseño people|Luiseño]] and [[Chumash people|Chumash]] peoples collected the naturally occurring bitumen that seeped to the surface above underlying petroleum deposits. All three groups used the substance as an adhesive. It is found on many different artifacts of tools and ceremonial items. For example, it was used on [[rattle (percussion instrument)|rattle]]s to adhere gourds or turtle shells to rattle handles. It was also used in decorations. Small round shell beads were often set in asphaltum to provide decorations. It was used as a sealant on baskets to make them watertight for carrying water, possibly poisoning those who drank the water.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stockton|first1=Nick|title=Plastic Water Bottles Might Have Poisoned Ancient Californians|url=https://www.wired.com/story/plastic-water-bottles-might-have-poisoned-ancient-californians/|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=23 June 2017}}</ref> Asphalt was used also to seal the planks on ocean-going canoes. Asphalt was first used to pave streets in the 1870s. At first naturally occurring "bituminous rock" was used, such as at Ritchie Mines in Macfarlan in [[Ritchie County, West Virginia]] from 1852 to 1873. In 1876, asphalt-based paving was used to pave Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC, in time for the celebration of the national centennial.<ref>{{cite book|first=Dan|last=McNichol|year=2005|title=Paving the Way: Asphalt in America|publisher=National Asphalt Pavement Association|location=Lanham, MD|url=http://store.hotmix.org/index.php?productID=144|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829062836/http://store.hotmix.org/index.php?productID=144|archive-date=29 August 2006|isbn=978-0-914313-04-5}}</ref> In the horse-drawn era, US streets were mostly unpaved and covered with dirt or gravel. Especially where mud or trenching often made streets difficult to pass, pavements were sometimes made of diverse materials including wooden planks, cobble stones or other stone blocks, or bricks. Unpaved roads produced uneven wear and hazards for pedestrians. In the late 19th century with the rise of the popular [[bicycle]], bicycle clubs were important in pushing for more general pavement of streets.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pintak |first=Lawrence |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8253035/roads-cyclists-cars-history |title="Roads were not built for cars": how cyclists, not drivers, first fought to pave US roads |publisher=Vox |date=19 March 2015 }}</ref> Advocacy for pavement increased in the early 20th century with the rise of the [[automobile]]. Asphalt gradually became an ever more common method of paving. [[St. Charles Avenue]] in [[New Orleans]] was paved its whole length with asphalt by 1889.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catharinecole.startlogic.com/catharinecole/page3.html |title=title |publisher=Catharinecole.startlogic.com |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=27 March 2019 |archive-date=2 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102201150/http://catharinecole.startlogic.com/catharinecole/page3.html }}</ref> In 1900, Manhattan alone had 130,000 horses, pulling streetcars, wagons, and carriages, and leaving their waste behind. They were not fast, and pedestrians could dodge and scramble their way across the crowded streets. Small towns continued to rely on dirt and gravel, but larger cities wanted much better streets. They looked to wood or granite blocks by the 1850s.<ref>David O. Whitten, "A Century of Parquet Pavements: Wood as a Paving Material in the United States And Abroad, 1840–1940." ''Essays in Economic and Business History'' 15 (1997): 209–26.</ref> In 1890, a third of Chicago's 2000 miles of streets were paved, chiefly with wooden blocks, which gave better traction than mud. Brick surfacing was a good compromise, but even better was asphalt paving, which was easy to install and to cut through to get at sewers. With London and Paris serving as models, Washington laid 400,000 square yards of asphalt paving by 1882; it became the model for Buffalo, Philadelphia and elsewhere. By the end of the century, American cities boasted 30 million square yards of asphalt paving, well ahead of brick.<ref>Arthur Maier Schlesinger, ''The Rise of the City: 1878–1898'' (1933), pp. 88–93.</ref> The streets became faster and more dangerous so electric traffic lights were installed. Electric trolleys (at 12 miles per hour) became the main transportation service for middle class shoppers and office workers until they bought automobiles after 1945 and commuted from more distant suburbs in privacy and comfort on asphalt highways.<ref>John D. Fairfield, "Rapid Transit: Automobility and Settlement in Urban America" ''Reviews in American History'' 23#1 (1995), pp. 80–85 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2703240 online].</ref> === Canada === {{See also | Bitumount | History of the petroleum industry in Canada (oil sands and heavy oil)}} Canada has the world's largest deposit of natural bitumen in the [[Athabasca oil sands]], and Canadian [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] along the [[Athabasca River]] had long used it to waterproof their canoes. In 1719, a [[Cree]] named Wa-Pa-Su brought a sample for trade to [[Henry Kelsey]] of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], who was the first recorded European to see it. However, it wasn't until 1787 that fur trader and explorer [[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)|Alexander MacKenzie]] saw the Athabasca oil sands and said, "At about 24 miles from the fork (of the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers) are some bituminous fountains into which a pole of 20 feet long may be inserted without the least resistance."<ref name=oilsandfacts/> The value of the deposit was obvious from the start, but the means of extracting the bitumen was not. The nearest town, [[Fort McMurray, Alberta]], was a small fur trading post, other markets were far away, and transportation costs were too high to ship the raw bituminous sand for paving. In 1915, Sidney Ells of the Federal Mines Branch experimented with separation techniques and used the product to pave 600 feet of road in [[Edmonton]], Alberta. Other roads in Alberta were paved with material extracted from oil sands, but it was generally not economic. During the 1920s [[Karl Clark (chemist)|Dr. Karl A. Clark]] of the [[Alberta Research Council]] patented a hot water oil separation process and entrepreneur Robert C. Fitzsimmons<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.canadianpetroleumhalloffame.ca/robert-fitzsimmons.html | title = Robert C. Fitzsimmons (1881–1971) | year = 2010 | publisher = Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame | access-date = 20 January 2016}}</ref> built the [[Bitumount]] oil separation plant, which between 1925 and 1958 produced up to {{convert|300|oilbbl|sigfig=1}} per day of bitumen using Dr. Clark's method. Most of the bitumen was used for waterproofing roofs, but other uses included fuels, lubrication oils, printers ink, medicines, rust- and acid-proof paints, fireproof roofing, street paving, patent leather, and fence post preservatives.<ref name = oilsandfacts/> Eventually Fitzsimmons ran out of money and the plant was taken over by the Alberta government. Today the Bitumount plant is a [[Provincial historic sites of Alberta|Provincial Historic Site]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.history.alberta.ca/energyheritage/bitumount/default.aspx | title = Bitumount | year = 2016 | publisher = Government of Alberta | access-date = 20 January 2016}}</ref> === Photography and art === Bitumen was used in early photographic technology. In 1826, or 1827, it was used by French scientist [[Joseph Nicéphore Niépce]] to make the [[View from the Window at Le Gras|oldest surviving photograph from nature]]. The bitumen was thinly coated onto a [[pewter]] plate which was then exposed in a camera. Exposure to light hardened the bitumen and made it insoluble, so that when it was subsequently rinsed with a solvent only the sufficiently light-struck areas remained. Many hours of exposure in the camera were required, making bitumen impractical for ordinary photography, but from the 1850s to the 1920s it was in common use as a [[photoresist]] in the production of printing plates for various photomechanical printing processes.<ref>[http://www.niepce.org/pagus/pagus-inv.html Niépce Museum history pages.] Retrieved 27 October 2012. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070803222723/http://www.niepce.org/pagus/pagus-inv.html |date=3 August 2007 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/wfp/ The First Photograph (Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227215421/http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/wfp/ |date=27 December 2009 }} Retrieved 27 October 2012.</ref> Bitumen was the nemesis of many artists during the 19th century. Although widely used for a time, it ultimately proved unstable for use in oil painting, especially when mixed with the most common diluents, such as [[linseed oil]], [[varnish]] and [[turpentine]]. Unless thoroughly diluted, bitumen never fully solidifies and will in time corrupt the other pigments with which it comes into contact. The use of bitumen as a glaze to set in shadow or mixed with other colors to render a darker tone resulted in the eventual deterioration of many paintings, for instance those of [[Eugène Delacroix|Delacroix]]. Perhaps the most famous example of the destructiveness of bitumen is [[Théodore Géricault]]'s [[Raft of the Medusa]] (1818–1819), where his use of bitumen caused the brilliant colors to degenerate into dark greens and blacks and the paint and canvas to buckle.<ref>{{cite news |last=Spiegelman |first=Willard |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204119704574236393080650258 |title=Revolutionary Romanticism: 'The Raft of the Medusa' brought energy to French art |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |location=New York City |date=21 August 2009 }}</ref>
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