Victorian Era ~ The Mystery Illness

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Big, bright, and bold patterned wallpaper was popular during the Victorian Era. Artists would create lavish patterns and the elite and rich would scramble to get them and have them in their dining and meeting rooms to show off to their guests. All colors were used but green had been rather dull and lifeless until a chemist, Carl Shields, came up with what was to call 'Shield's Green'. This new green color was vibrant, bright, and stayed. A chemical Shield"s had used in manufacturing this green color was arsenic> It could flake off and be injected or the vapor from the glue would be inhaled. This would cause a mysterious illness with such symptoms as pain in the throat, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and untimely death. These symptoms were similar to cholera which was quite common in London at that time. Lead was also a popular ingredient used in paint, especially high-gloss wood paint. It was found on doors, walls, and even children's toys. Lead poisoning leads to a grey pallor, a loss of energy, and a low IQ in children. Lead poisoning was quite common and just seemed to be a part of life during this time. There is no way of knowing how many deaths were caused by this and lead was not banned completely as an ingredient in the paint until 1978 with only some restrictions in 1972. Picture is from my collection.