Michigan: “Warning! The poison on the pages of this book can kill you! ”This is a summary of the warning that was published in 1874 under the title“ Shadows from the Walls of Death ”. Prominent in the book.
The book was published in Michigan by Dr. Robert M. Cadzi, an American surgeon and chemist.
The 86-page book, which is only 100 pages long, contains samples of decorative wallpapers made using arsenic.
It should be noted that arsenic is so toxic that even a few milligrams of it is enough to kill a human being, however, this was only an assumption at that time.
As a surgeon and chemist, Dr. Robert was well aware of the toxicity of arsenic, while in those days decorative wallpapers containing arsenic were widely used in the United States.
Dr. Robert came to know that there were many incidents when people applied wallpapers to enhance the interior beauty of their homes, but then the disease and sudden deaths in the family increased significantly.
The problem was that no one was willing to accept Dr. Robert’s assumption that arsenic used in wallpaper was the cause of illness and death in people.
To help people understand and prove their point, Dr. Robert printed the book and sent it to various American libraries with warning words.
In each letter sent with the book, Dr. Robert explicitly instructed librarians to keep it out of the reach of children and not to allow anyone to touch the book without wearing gloves.
Despite this clear instruction, many people did not give up due to carelessness and deteriorated in the process of reading this book. This proved that what Dr. Robert was saying about the toxic effects of arsenic wallpaper was absolutely correct.
Only 100 copies of the book were made, but after these incidents all public libraries burned all copies of the book.
Today only four copies of the book remain, two at separate universities in Michigan, a third at the Harvard University Medical School Museum and a fourth at the National Library of Medicine.
Chemical analysis of these prescriptions has shown that it is indeed a very toxic book that can kill anyone who touches it without wearing gloves and a mask.
Dr. Robert’s campaign soon came to fruition, and in addition to wallpapers, many other products stopped using arsenic.
However, the title of “the most poisonous book in the world” is still with this book.