1830: When Asbestos Became Useful in England

There is very little, asbestos wise, more fun than a deep dig into historical issues. Today, we examine exactly when asbestos became useful rather than primarily a play-thing. Fortunately, I happen to have a hard copy of a document which conclusively answers that question; well, at least for England. I believe that this document, an original of The Penny Magazine dated October 26, 1839 is one of the oldest originals collected for my library.

Pages 411 and 412 discuss asbestos, with a lead-in on fire proof asbestos cloth and then continuing discussing items such as the use of such cloth to protect firemen, developing asbestos paper, and the use of such paper for books. It also discusses the history of asbestos and the primary location of asbestos veins in rocks located in the countries of Savoy and Corsica. As to the timing for asbestos to be useful, page 411 includes the following statement:

“It has been known for ages that the fibres of a peculiar mineral, called asbestos or amianthus, might be woven into a type of cloth capable of resisting great heat; but it was not till about the year 1830 that the idea of applying it to a useful purpose in this country seems to have arisen.”

What better way to understand history in 2024 than to read what was known and what was happening in 1839.

Let me know what you think either by leaving a comment or emailing me at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thank you. Marty