The history of Arsenic
Pg 92 Arsenic soap sold under the British brand Dr Mackenzie in the 1890s, boasting a ‘Doctor’s certificate with each cake, certifying to its harmlessness’.
Wellcome Library, London
Pg 91 Victorian arsenical household product, Paris green, a rodent and insect poison
From the private collection of Madame Talbot
Pg 62 Illustration from a French medical journal in 1859 showing typical damage caused to hands by exposure to arsenical dyes. The skin is discoloured, both as a result of the poison in the bloodstream and the staining effect of the green dye itself. Characteristic skin lesions, small keratoses and patchy areas of hyperpigmentation are evident.
Wellcome Library, London
Pg 100 (left) Arsenical green- and mauve- dyed fashions in Paris (c. 1862) were so popular that evidence of their harm was long ignored
François-Claudius Compte-Calix, in L’ami des dames, c. 1862
The images in this gallery are used with permission and are subject to copyright conditions.
