Libraries Destroyed This Book So It Wouldn't Destroy You | Tales From the Bottle

Shadows from the Walls of Death is a pretty menacing book title and for good reason. The 86-page book is about 22 inches by 30 and is perhaps one of the most dangerous works ever bound. In 1874, just 100 copies of Shadows from the Walls of Death were printed. However, it was considered so dangerous the majority of the books were destroyed by the libraries that had it in their possession. And today, only four copies are known to survive. Once kept in Michigan State University, another at the University of Michigan, the Harvard University Medical School holds one, and so does the National Library of Medicine. To ensure they won't harm the public, the books are either kept in isolation or had their pages sealed in plastic by workers in protective gear. It might therefore surprise you to learn the contents of the book. There are very few words. Instead, almost every page consists of wallpaper samples. It was compiled by Dr. Robert Kedzie, a Union surgeon during the American Civil War who came to serve on Michigan's Board of Health in the 1870s. During this time, one of his aims was to raise awareness about the dangers of wallpaper. Hilarious as that may sound, this was a real danger at the time as wallpapers commonly contained arsenic. You see, compounds containing arsenic were used to create some of the brightest greens achievable in the 18th and 19th centuries. Arsenic-based green was somewhat revolutionary because it was easy and cheap to mass produce and had an intense vibrant color that didn't fade as quickly as other greens. Arsenic is, of course, notoriously toxic and poisonous to living organisms. So, paints and dyes with this pigment could also inhibit mold growth and to bugs. For these reasons, arsenic was a pretty popular element in Victorian times. It was used in the aforementioned paints and dyes, which found use in everything from wallpapers to children's toys, but it was also used in face powder, hair creams, and even medicines, as it acts as a stimulant in small doses. For this reason, racehorses and dogs were frequently given it. Now, this might seem bizarre, but people did know arsenic was poison that's been known since ancient times, earning a nickname as the king of poisons and the poison of kings due to its use by the ruling classes throughout the ages, because it was not only potent, but very hard to detect until the development of the Marsh test in the 1830s. So, why the hell were they using it in everything? Well, people knew you shouldn't be making a meal of it, but it was generally thought that was the only way it could harm you, a bit like how you'd put paint on your walls, but you wouldn't drink the stuff. But, arsenic was more harmful than that. In certain compounds, it can be absorbed by your skin, and its presence in wallpaper might have been one of the more dangerous applications. The ink could flake off in microscopic portions that were easy to unknowingly inhale, and in certain conditions, like heat or damp, the pigments could chemically break down and release toxic vapors. And obviously, in wallpaper form, arsenic was literally all around you. So, not only were you touching it frequently, you were breathing it in. One theory for Napoleon's death was arsenic poisoning, as high concentrations of it were found in his hair samples. They were also found in samples from his family. The living room of his residence in Saint Helena was found to be covered in wallpaper with an arsenic concentration of 0.12 g per square meter. So, why didn't people figure out that wallpaper and everything else was killing them? Well, they were getting it in such low doses that it wasn't really a problem for most adults. It was more vulnerable children and the elderly who were at risk. In 1862, Dr. Thomas Orton was attending to the Turner family in their home in London. As fate would have it, all four of the Turner's children would grow sick and die. But Dr. Orton could not figure out why this was happening. He made notes on the family's home but couldn't find anything wrong. It wasn't dirty, the water was okay, seemingly no sort of contaminants anywhere. The only thing he could think of was the bright green wallpaper in the Turner's bedroom as he knew it had arsenic in it. He would later come to realize that arsenic in wallpaper was not an uncommon problem writing, "I have known of a family of children sickening for a while. They have been sent to the country and got well. They have been brought home again and again taken ill. The paper has been removed and the sickness has ceased. A few days ago in my own neighborhood, a person in cleaning her house gently brushed over the green paper on the walls. In an hour or two, she and her husband were seized with pains in the eyes and head, irritation about the upper lip and nostrils, and a sense of suffocation so that they could not sleep all night. With these warnings, the matter now rests with the public." Despite the growing awareness of the dangers in the medical community, not everyone was convinced and the use of arsenic in green pigment continued for decades. I'd be shocked if this happened today. There'd be people on TikTok brushing their teeth with it to own the experts. Dr. Robert Kedzie wanted to spread awareness of the dangers and so obtained dozens of samples of arsenic-laced wallpapers from common merchants for his 1874 book Shadows from the Walls of Death. He sent 100 copies to libraries around the USA to inform members of the public that may have pasted their walls with something that's slowly poisoning them. Through a modern lens, this is somewhat questionable as the use of real wallpaper meant the book was page-to-page arsenic. Terrible read for people who lick their finger before turning the page. In the last decades of the 19th century, manufacturers moved away from arsenic as public awareness made it worthwhile to market wallpaper as arsenic free. Governments started to regulate its usage, too. One thing that still bothers me about this whole thing is why are the arsenic wallpaper samples so nice? I don't hold wallpaper in high regard because all the examples of it I've seen in person have been unpleasant, but these look so fancy. Maybe it's a different story when it's actually on the wall, but I just can't picture room not looking real classy with this. Imagine drinking cans of lager surrounded by this sophistication. Sure, you'd have to pour the can out into a clean glass to maintain the refined air of the room. As you've probably ascertained by now, I am also a refined classy individual. So, watch more of my videos to preserve this luxurious atmosphere I have created for you. You can subscribe to see more swanky videos in the future and join the channel membership to ensure I live a life of the quality I am deserving. Thank you and until next time, I bid you a good day. The living room in his residence in Saint Helena was found to be covered in wallpaper with an arsenic concentration. No. Uh I don't think that take was very good, to be honest. They were also found No. One theory for Napoleon's One theory for Napoleon's death was arsenic. I'm saying this all wrong. Through a modern lens, this is somewhat questionable as the use of real wallpaper meant the book was page-to-page arsenic. Terrible read for I mean people are What the [ __ ] are you saying? I don't know what wallpaper What is that? As you've probably ascertained by now, I am also a refined, classy individual. So, watch more of my videos to perverse [ __ ] you.