Fashion Victims - Arsenic Dyes and the Victorians

[Eva Elisabeth]

(01-29-2015 06:47 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Years ago, I read an article about how ladies were judged on their position in society according to the color of their skin - hence the aversion of white ladies to getting a sun tan. Freckles were fought with mixtures of lemon juice and buttermilk. One source went so far as to say that some ladies took tiny doses of arsenic each day in order to achieve that white, delicate skin color. I think I would have stuck to the white, rice powder that others used to keep their faces white - that's about all that showed on a Victorian lady anyhow!

Laurie , Wiki reads: "In the Victorian era, 'arsenic' ('white arsenic' or arsenic trioxide) was mixed with vinegar and chalk and eaten by women to improve the complexion of their faces, making their skin paler to show they did not work in the fields. Arsenic was also rubbed into the faces and arms of women to 'improve their complexion'. In France, Louis Dufresne, taxidermist at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, popularized arsenical soap in a 1793 article in the 'Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle'"
Please notice the left ad reads: "safe - absolutely harmless"...
       
Biology teachers will know (and warn and watch their students)- till the mid-1990s arsenic had been used for taxidermy, i.e. to stuff animals. But the golden age of taxidermy was during the Victorian era, when mounted animals became a popular part of interior design and decor in every “civilized” Victorian home. Taxidermists were also increasingly used by the bereaved owners of dead pets to 'resurrect' them.
   
The Deyrolle Taxidermy Shop in Paris, established in 1831.