The Mystery Behind Poisonous Green Color During Victorian Era

In 1814, a new type of green pigment was invented by The Wilhelm Dye and White Lead Company in Schweinfurt, Germany. It was more vibrant than in comparison with other green pigments. It had a more assertive tone. It was immediately termed “emerald green” because of its jewel-like appearance. It was particularly popular among ladies. Especially because gaslighting was used during that period instead of candles. Also, the houses were much more vivid compared to a few decades earlier when women attended gatherings at night.

These socialites wanted to ensure they were dressed in outfits that caught the attention — dresses in emerald green, for example. Thus, people started to use this color for wall décor and carpets as well. “Bathed in green,” it was the statement of Victorian Britain.

Tragically, the color was synthesized with arsenic, which Alison Matthews David describes in-depth in her book Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present. Arsenic poisoning has horrible consequences. It is not only dangerous, but it also causes ulcers throughout the body. Thus, this is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous substances for a civilization to be “bathed in.”

This was particularly annoying for ladies who wore green clothing.

“One woman who purchased a box of green-colored gloves from a well-known and reputable house”

She was shocked to discover that after trying them on, caused blisters in her hands. Sweaty hands might induce the dye to flow into the user’s skin unless the color was insulated. Some reports from the same period state that newborns died in their cribs after pounding on green carpeting. Hang tight till you hear the story of the lady who worked with the pigment day after day to create them.

Matilda Scheurer, a 19-year-old lady who dyed artificial flowers with arsenic green color, died in a horrifying manner in 1861. She puked green vomit. The whites of her eyes became green, and before she died, she stated that,

“everything she looked at was green.”

When people started looking into these mills, they discovered other women in similar agonizing conditions. And physicians of that era were well aware of the situation. As early as 1857, they were addressing the,

“great deal of gradual poisoning happening in Great Britain.”

Sketches of skeletons dancing in green gowns began to appear in papers not long after.

Investigating an incidence of arsenic poisoning caused by the spreading via socks,

The New York Times questioned.

“What manufactured article in these days of high-pressure civilization can be trusted if socks may be dangerous?”

The British Medical Journal, on the other hand, stated like this —

“Well may the intriguing wearer of it be termed a murdering monster, She packs sufficient poison in her skirts to kill all the suitors she could encounter in a half-dozen ballrooms.”

Even after horrific tales like these would drive people to quit clothing the shade right away, unfortunately, they didn’t. For fashion, people have participated in a variety of outrageously harmful habits throughout history. Thus the color’s production was a large business!

For a long time, some individuals were able to tolerate these gruesome deaths. Some even attempted to convince themselves that as long as they didn’t taste or swallow the fabric or painting, they would be fine, but this was not the case. Some also argued that the physicians were merely bluffing since certain people will never accept science as something valid. Even though every Victorian family undoubtedly had a container of arsenic on hand to kill rats, thus, they were well aware that it was poisonous.

The green color has a poor image among stylists even today. Textile workers at Chanel think it has something to do with “bad luck.” Thankfully, arsenic is no longer used as a mixture of the green color on your clothes.

Thank you for reading ❤

Disclaimer: The original version of this story was published on another platform.

Link to original version:

https://medium.com/illuminations-mirror/the-mystery-behind-poisonous-green-color-during-victorian-era-7fe27e69795a

References:

Hickey, A. (2019, September 19). Victorians were obsessed with a shade of green that killed them. BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/agh/green-fashion-arsenic-victorian-1800s-killer-dye

Sumayao, M. (1970, January 1). Paris green: The trendy color that killed many in victorian society. Esquiremag.Ph. https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/paris-green-history

Diedfamous. (2020, January 17). Scheele’s green — the shunning of green in the victorian era. Diedfamous.Us. https://diedfamo.us/blog/2020/1/17/scheeles-green-the-shunning-of-green-in-the-victorian-era

Wright, J. (2017, March 17). The history of green dye is a history of death. Racked. https://www.racked.com/2017/3/17/14914840/green-dye-history-death