Toxic Walls: Why Was Victorian Green Wallpaper So Deadly?

The Victorian Era spanned from 1837 to 1901, and during that time green wallpaper became extremely popular as a color choice for homes. The problem was, to get green dye, the toxic metal arsenic was used, since its deadly properties were not known at the time. There were several different dyed green colors that contained arsenic, which, although once widespread, have now been entirely eradicated. 

Scheele’s Green, for example, was a pigment that was used in a lot of different dyes, even though it was made from arsenic, which German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who created the pigment, knew was poisonous. Paris green was another popular choice. These arsenic compound dyes were replacements of original green colors that contained copper carbonates. Green became the most desirable color to put up in the Victorian home, perhaps inspired by the need to mimic the greenery of the natural world in the home.

At the time Arsenic wasn’t considered as deadly as it is today. While it was known that large amounts could kill, small amounts were used in a variety of products including medicine and beauty creams used by women. Like lead in paint being dangerous from paint flaking off later, arsenic wallpaper dye could flake off from the wallpaper. It was dangerous if consumed, but that was not the only way that it could damage the families health. Shifts in the environment, whether it was moisture, or heat could release vapors that were toxic when inhaled.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring metal, the 53rd most abundant element in the soil. It is atomic number 33 and is a metalloid. Today the United States Environmental Protection Agency considers arsenic hazardous in all forms to humans. The word comes from a Syriac word. It is called the “poison of kings” because of its use in higher classes, and “the inheritance powder” in the Renaissance because of how easily it could be used to kill family members. Its widespread use as poison came about due to its undetectable taste and smell.

Despite knowledge of the dangers within the compound, arsenic was used by women for a variety of cosmetic processes. Eating arsenic mixed with vinegar and chalk was meant to help create the in vogue pale face favored by high society. It was also used in medicine and as a stimulant, prevalent in racing animals such horses and working dogs. Arsenic was also a component of insecticide before the invention of DDT in 1942.

Who Died of Arsenic Poisoning from Their Wallpaper?

While everyone who had arsenic laced wallpaper in their home was affected, children were particularly susceptible to its toxicity. A doctor named Thomas Orton tested one family home for what had sickened and killed their four children. The possible culprit? The green wallpaper on the bedroom could possibly have killed the children, even if they hadn’t possibly licked or even consumed pieces of it. 

In spite of rising concerns during the 1860s, many detracted this claim – even the Arts and Crafts designer William Morris stated that no one died from the arsenic in his home so it couldn’t have been as toxic as claims suggested. Even so, the London firm that made Morris’s wallpaper Jeffrey & Co., began advertising their wallpaper as arsenic free from the 1870s onwards.

While medical testing was less sophisticated that it is today, there are several well-known cases where arsenic was suspected to be the culprit of injury or death. In 1873, there was an incident in the state of Michigan, where a member of the House of Representatives and his two sons were suspected to have been killed by arsenic wallpaper. Even Queen Victoria took down green wallpaper in one of the rooms after a dignitary became ill while spending time there. Of course, some of the highest rates of victims from green wallpaper came from the people – especially women and children – who worked the factories that created the paper.

During the Victorian era anything that had the distinctive, almost fluorescent green look, had most likely utilized some form of arsenic in its dye. Without the use of arsenic, that specific bright color would have been difficult to create and maintain. The color under the new style of gas lighting made clothing look phenomenal. These include wall paints, textiles for clothing, books, insecticides, food dye, and even most surprisingly, a coating for candy. The clothing included a variety of items like dresses, shoes, and the faux flowers that decorated hair and wigs. 

The British Medical Journal described how an arsenic laced dress, “carries in her skirts poison enough to slay the whole of the admirers she may meet with in half a dozen ball-rooms.” It caused various illnesses for the women who wore them including bald spots, vomit with blood, sores on the skin, and kidney issues. Before the Victorian Era, arsenic had already been used as a pigment for various sources – studies reveal Rembrandt even used arsenic in the gold color of his painting, The Night Watch. This was only realized later after studying using x-ray fluorescence imaging technology.

When Did They Stop Using Arsenic in Green Wallpaper?

Surprisingly, it wasn’t evidence from doctors or scientists that initially turned many wallpaper manufacturers away from the preferred green color. Instead, it was peer pressure from the public. By the 1870s, the popularity of the deadly green wallpaper was starting to wane, even before factories eventually discontinued its production altogether due to rising medical evidence. This particular advertisement (above) from the late 1880s let the customers know that their product was safe for any home by showcasing that arsenic free dyes were used.

Robert Clark Kedzie, a Michigan physician and chemist wrote Shadows from the Walls of Death that talked about the dangers of arsenic laced wallpaper in 1874. Unfortunately (and somewhat ironically), this book contained actual samples of arsenic laden wallpaper from different stores in east Michigan. Today, only five copies of the book exist after many were destroyed out of caution. There is only a small handful of existing remnants of arsenic wallpaper still in existence today, which have largely been retained by museums, allowing for further, safer study that can do no more harm to the public.