{"id":1712,"date":"2025-11-20T21:58:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/?page_id=1712"},"modified":"2026-05-29T07:45:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:45:45","slug":"on-line-exhibit-jones-vs-watts-libel-case","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/on-line-exhibit-jones-vs-watts-libel-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Jones vs Watts libel case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Exhibitor : <a href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/2025\/11\/21\/on-line-exhibitor-alan-middleton\/\">Alan Middleton<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the strange story of the world&#8217;s first libel case related to Friction Matches. It took place in a Committee Room of the House of Commons 22<sup>nd<\/sup> November 1831 between <strong>Samuel Jones<\/strong> and <strong>George Frederick Watts<\/strong>, where they both claimed to have invented the lucifer match sold in their respective London chemist shops<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1870\" class=\"alignright fixed\" style=\"width: 300px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"Royal Institution ca. 1838, Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (1793-1864), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1870 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-90x60.jpg 90w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-56x37.jpg 56w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-535x355.jpg 535w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-258x171.jpg 258w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH-112x74.jpg 112w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1024px-Royal_Institution_Shepherd_TH.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Royal Institution ca. 1838, Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (1793-1864), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Spreading the news<\/h2>\n<p>It took a little while for news of Walker&#8217;s 1826 invention to reach the Scientific Community and the public.<\/p>\n<p>The first ever public mention was on 30<sup>th<\/sup> September 1829 in The Globe newspaper, quoting from the soon to be published October edition of the prestigious Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature and Art under the title \u201c<strong>Instantaneous Light Apparatus<\/strong>\u201d. (This scientific journal was to a large extent a vehicle for authors associated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rigb.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Royal Institution<\/strong><\/a>, who took it over in 1830 and it then appeared as the \u2018Journal of the Royal Institution\u2019 from 1832.) The entry read :<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Amongst the different methods invented in latter times for obtaining a light instantly, ought certainly to be recorded that of <b>Mr. Walker<\/b>, Stockton-upon-Tees. He supplies the purchaser with prepared matches, which are put up in tin boxes, but are not liable to change in the atmosphere, and also with a piece of fine glass-paper folded in two. Even a strong blow will not inflame the matches, because of the softness of the wood underneath, nor does rubbing upon wood or any common substance produce any effect except that of spoiling the match, but when one is pinched between the folds of the glass-paper, and suddenly drawn out, it is instantly inflamed. Mr. Walker does not make them for extensive sale but only to supply the small demand that can be made personally to him&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Unfortunately there is no contemporary evidence of who wrote the article, but the Journal was widely respected and read and undoubtedly spread the word about John Walker&#8217;s invention.<\/p>\n<p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/William_Thomas_Brande\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>W T Brande<\/strong><\/a> was the editor for the October 1829 edition of the Quarterly Journal. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Michael_Faraday\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Michael Faraday<\/strong><\/a> was also one of the editors for this prestigious Journal but was working in North Yorkshire in August 1929 and was not available to edit the October Journal (which covered the months July to September 1829) due to his consultancy commitments at the Loftus Alum Works. I surmise that the Mr Walker article in the 1829 Journal may have come from Faraday as he was probably shown Walker&#8217;s Friction Lights by his host Sir Robert Dundas MP at Upleatham Hall &#8211; we know from John Walker&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/daybook\/\"><strong>Day Book<\/strong><\/a> that Sir Robert Dundas and his land agent Major Tod both bought Friction Lights from him.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2752\" class=\"alignright fixed\" style=\"width: 300px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"London Atlas, 10th January 1830\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2752 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract-300x135.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract-300x135.jpg 300w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract-134x60.jpg 134w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract-56x25.jpg 56w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract-350x157.jpg 350w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract-258x116.jpg 258w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract-112x50.jpg 112w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/thumbnail_Atlas-January-10th-1830-extract.jpg 526w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>London Atlas, 10th January 1830<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-wp-editing=\"1\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-wp-editing=\"1\">The London Atlas newspaper on 10<sup>th<\/sup> January 1830 carried the same article as The Globe on 30<sup>th<\/sup> September 1829 about Walker&#8217;s invention. It appeared on page 21 of the newspaper in the SCIENTIFIC NOTICES column.<\/p>\n<h2>Samuel Jones<\/h2>\n<p>In my opinion it was the Freemason inventor and chemist Samuel Jones of the Light House, 201 The Strand, London reading about Walker&#8217;s invention in either The Globe newspaper in September 1829 or in The Atlas in January 1830, who realised the enormous potential to the world of such a match and set about trying to replicate one he could sell himself.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1685\" class=\"alignright fixed\" style=\"width: 116px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"The Lighthouse, Jones&#8217; shop in The Strand, London\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1685 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted-116x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"116\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted-116x300.jpg 116w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted-23x60.jpg 23w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted-43x112.jpg 43w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted-350x901.jpg 350w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted-258x664.jpg 258w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted-87x224.jpg 87w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-advert-adjusted.jpg 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The Lighthouse, Jones&#8217; shop in The Strand, London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For him it was a new commercial business opportunity and during the autumn of 1829 and early 1830 he experimented to get the chemical formula of the match head right as the composition of John Walker&#8217;s &#8216;Friction Light&#8217; was known only to him and was not public knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>As an experimental chemist like John Walker, Jones would have known about the properties of the chemicals used in Walker&#8217;s matches, but not the actual chemical formulation to bring about combustion by friction. Only one of John Walker&#8217;s &#8220;Day Book&#8221; ledgers has survived, and the last entry in it was the 23<sup>rd<\/sup> September 1829, so we have no way of knowing, but it is possible Samuel Jones purchased or obtained a &#8216;Walker Friction Light&#8217; sometime in late 1829 to analyse what their heads contained so that he could make his own matches.<\/p>\n<p>The first Samuel Jones advertisement for &#8216;Lucifers or Matches&#8217; was in the London Morning Herald newspaper on the 30<sup>th<\/sup> November 1830. This advert is an important and key announcement in the history of &#8216;instantaneous light&#8217; match development. It was the earliest &#8216;Lucifer&#8217; advert in the world. He tells the public about them for the first time and names them &#8220;LUCIFERS or MATCHES&#8221;, and explains how to ignite them, saying they are not equal to his own (existing) Prometheans but are &#8220;one-third the price&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1627\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"width: 531px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"Jones&#8217; original advert, London Morning Herald, 30 Nov 1830\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1627\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-300x52.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"531\" height=\"92\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-300x52.png 300w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-768x133.png 768w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-347x60.png 347w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-56x10.png 56w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-535x92.png 535w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-350x61.png 350w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-258x45.png 258w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert-112x19.png 112w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jones-Lucifer-advert.png 833w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Jones&#8217; original advert, London Morning Herald, 30 Nov 1830<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We now know Jones&#8217;s Lucifers were a &#8216;direct imitation&#8217; of John Walkers &#8216;Friction Lights&#8217; invention containing potassium chlorate and interestingly the advert does not claim Jones invented them, which is very revealing as surely he would have said so if it was true.&nbsp;<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n<figure id=\"attachment_1630\" class=\"alignright fixed\" style=\"width: 300px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"Watts original advert, The Age, 20 Feb 1831\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1630 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-300x146.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-124x60.png 124w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-56x27.png 56w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-535x260.png 535w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-350x170.png 350w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-258x125.png 258w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert-112x54.png 112w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watts-lucifer-advert.png 746w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Watts original advert, The Age, 20 Feb 1831<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>George Frederick Watts<\/h2>\n<p>In &#8216;The Age&#8217; London newspaper on the 20<sup>th<\/sup> February 1831, George Frederick Watts, a chemist of Stamford Street, London was first off the mark with an advertisement for &#8216;Chlorate Matches or Lucifers&#8217;. A further Watts advert in &#8216;The Age&#8217; on the 20<sup>th<\/sup> March 1831 stated his matches did not require Sulphuric Acid, a not very subtle reference to Jones&#8217;s existing &#8216;Promethean&#8217; matches.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_1_placeholder\n<figure id=\"attachment_1896\" class=\"alignright fixed\" style=\"width: 235px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"The Age, 10th April 1831\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1896 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3-235x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3-235x300.png 235w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3-47x60.png 47w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3-56x71.png 56w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3-350x446.png 350w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3-258x329.png 258w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3-112x143.png 112w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture3.png 507w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The Age, 10th April 1831<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>The battle begins<\/h2>\n<p>In &#8216;The Age&#8217; on the 10<sup>th<\/sup> April 1831, Jones and Watts both advertised their own &#8216;Lucifers or Chlorate Matches&#8217; and the gloves were off. Their respective adverts seem to have caused much bad feeling, and the enmity began between them, especially when Jones for good measure claimed on his lucifer box label &#8216;Royal Patent&#8217;. He had taken out a patent in 1828 for his own &#8216;Promethean&#8217; match invention but he could not patent his &#8216;chlorate match&#8217; as it contained no new novel feature and it should not have been printed on that box.<\/p>\n<p>Watts in his advert claimed the &#8216;chlorate&#8217; matches were his own invention and in print bad mouthed Jones 1828 patented &#8216;Promethean&#8217; match invention which used a vial of Sulphuric Acid as unsafe and dangerous. (Watts was right about that).<\/p>\n<p>In an advertisement in the London &#8216;Atlas&#8217; newspaper for the 31<sup>st<\/sup> July 1831 Jones refers to an &#8216;unprincipled fellow&#8217; (Watts) imitating his matches when the spat between them came out into the open.<\/p>\n<p>Jones&#8217;s last advert found for his &#8216;chlorate matches&#8217; was on the 21<sup>st,<\/sup> October 1832 in &#8216;The Age&#8217; and &#8216;Atlas&#8217; as after this date they were referred just as &#8216;lucifers&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the Spring and Summer of 1831 bickering continued in the newspaper advertisements between Jones and Watts neither man giving way and understandably Jones&#8217;s &#8216;Promethean&#8217; match sales plummeted by Watts&#8217;s accusations and assertions of them being dangerous.<\/p>\n<h2>Jones sues Watts, November 1831<\/h2>\n<p>Jones had had enough and on the 22<sup>nd<\/sup> November 1831 sued Watts for &#8216;Malicious Libel&#8217;, which he claimed were contained in four advertisements in the weekly newspaper &#8216;Age&#8217; from the 10<sup>th<\/sup> April to 1<sup>st<\/sup> May 1831, in a Commons Plea in Committee Room 12 of the House of Commons before Mr. Justice Park.<\/p>\n<p>Jones had a poor case on Watts copying his &#8216;chlorate&#8217; lucifer matches but a better and stronger argument on him talking down the safety of his &#8216;promethean&#8217; matches resulting in a fall off of sales.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1898\" class=\"alignright fixed\" style=\"width: 198px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"Report of the &#8220;Jones v Watts Libel Case&#8221;, The Age, 27th November 1831\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1898 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4-56x85.png 56w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4-350x531.png 350w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4-258x392.png 258w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4-112x170.png 112w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Picture4.png 371w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Report of the &#8220;Jones v Watts Libel Case&#8221;, The Age, 27th November 1831<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Libel Case took several hours and the Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff Samuel Jones of \u00a36, that being the amount of &#8216;special damage&#8217; proved by Jones. The Judge ruled the words Jones complained of were not libellous beyond his losses incurred in the drop of &#8216;Promethean&#8217; sales brought on by the influence of the Watts advertisements.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel Jones had won his libel case but it was a hollow victory as his Promethean Match invention was no longer viable and was not popular with the public. (However Jones continued to advertise his own Promethean matches in Trade Directories until at least 1842).<\/p>\n<p>The genie was out of the bottle for the chlorate type lucifer matches and in the next few years many other companies throughout Britain and the world began producing matches of a similar composition as word spread of this marvellous, safe and instant flame available at ones fingertips. Jones own Lucifer matches were on sale until at least 1846.<\/p>\n<p>The transcript of the Libel case published in the &#8216;Age&#8217; newspaper of the 27<sup>th<\/sup> November 1831 is very interesting and some untruths were said in Court under oath by Jones and Watts.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_744\" class=\"alignright fixed\" style=\"width: 60px;\"><a class=\"zoom-hover fb\" data-fancybox-group=\"post-1712\" data-fancybox-title=\"Transcript\" href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Re-typed-transcript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-744 size-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pdf-60x60.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"60\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pdf-60x60.png 60w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pdf-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pdf-238x238.png 238w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pdf-56x56.png 56w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pdf-112x112.png 112w, https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pdf.png 256w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 60px) 100vw, 60px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Transcript<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jones said he had not secured a patent for his Lucifer match (which was true) but the reason why, was not given. In particular the &#8216;Age&#8217; newspaper said &#8216;when the invention of Jones was lectured upon at the Royal Institution, the defendant (Watts) made an exact imitation of Jones&#8217;s &#8216;Lucifer Match&#8217; a year afterwards and said he (Watts) was the sole inventor&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Jones also said in Court he invented the Lucifer match, which again was untrue as it was his version and a direct copy of a Walker&#8217;s Friction Match, that Jones first advertised in November 1830.<\/p>\n<p>Categorically and without any doubt, Walker&#8217;s Friction Light was the subject of the article in the Quarterly Journal July-December 1829 published in The Atlas 10th January 1830 and they were never the subject of a lecture at the Royal Institution.<\/p>\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<p>John Walker&#8217;s invention started a revolution of the availability of an instantaneous flame throughout the world and became a boon to mankind. Many chemical refinements were made to the composition of the original &#8216;Friction Light&#8217; match over the years including the addition of phosphorus, no more than the aptly named &#8216;safety match&#8217;. John Walker gained no financial reward for his invention as he did not want to patent it and his contribution was effectively forgotten about for 25 years.<\/p>\n<p>In 1852 <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_Thomas_Clephan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>James Clephan<\/strong><\/a>, a fellow Stocktonian championed his remarkable achievement in a letter to the Jurors Report for the &#8216;Exhibition of Industry&#8217;. Their report erroneously did not include Walker&#8217;s invention but Clephan had first-hand knowledge as he had personally seen or was aware of the Day Book ledger 7<sup>th<\/sup> April 1827 entry for the first recorded sale of his &#8216;Friction Lights&#8217; to a Mr. Hixon and he began the campaign to raise the recognition of John Walker for his achievement.<\/p>\n<p>As a postscript, Miller Christy in his definitive 1926 Bryant &amp; May Museum Catalogue of &#8216;Fire Making Appliances&#8217; wrote John objected to his &#8216;Friction Lights&#8217; being called &#8216;lucifers&#8217; (derived from the Latin word meaning &#8216;bearer of light&#8217;) and as a result ceased selling his Friction Matches soon after lucifers came on the market. It could also be the name &#8216;Lucifer&#8217;, which is usually associated with Satan and John did not like this association.&nbsp; However, we have no proof he thought this way.<\/p>\n<p>It is my opinion that John Walker in Stockton would have known about this libel case as it was widely reported in the London newspapers at the time which were widely available in all parts of the country due to the coaching services into Stockton. He would probably have smiled with satisfaction at the turmoil and aggravation in London that the sale of direct chemical copies of his &#8216;Friction Match&#8217; had caused.<\/p>\n<p><em>Article first published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.phillumeny.com\/magazine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Match Label News<\/strong><\/a>, April 2025<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/on-line-exhibition\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a> to return to the Exhibition Catalogue<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><b>Newspaper references in date order<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Jones first Promethean advert p2, 29 March 1829 Bells Life in London and Sporting Gazette<\/li>\n<li>Jones Promethean London Evening Standard p1, 28 Dec. 1829<\/li>\n<li>Jones London Morning Herald 30 Nov. 1830 (first Lucifer advert)<\/li>\n<li>Watts the &#8216;Age&#8217; 20 Feb. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Watts London &#8216;Age&#8217; 20 March 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones and Watts advert London &#8216;Age&#8217; 10 April 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones London Weekly Despatch p7, 15 May 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones London Weekly Despatch p7, 22 May 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones and Watts London Morning Herald p1, 10 June 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones London Weekly Despatch p7, 12 June 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones London Weekly Despatch p7, 26 June 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones London &#8216;The Age&#8217; p8, 3 July 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones &#8216;Atlas&#8217; 31 July 1831<\/li>\n<li>Watts and Jones advert &#8216;Atlas&#8217; p14, 31 July 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones The Ballot p1, 7 Aug. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones The Ballot p1, 21 Aug. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones London The Ballot p1, 11 Sept. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Watts Chlorate Matches &#8216;London Constitution&#8217; p1, 18\/Sept\/1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones The Ballot p1 18 Sept. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones The Ballot p1, 2 Oct. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones The Ballot p1, 23 Oct. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Watts London &#8216;Albion and the Star&#8217; p1, 10 Nov.1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones The Ballot p1, 20 Nov. 1831<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Jones v Watts Libel Case&#8221; &#8216;Age&#8217; 27 November 1831<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Jones and Watts Libel Case&#8221; Nottingham Journal p2, 3 Dec. 1831<\/li>\n<li>Jones &#8216;Age&#8217; and &#8216;Atlas&#8217; 21 Oct. 1832<\/li>\n<li>Jones &#8220;Fire at a Lucifer Manufactory&#8221; London Sun p1, 12 July 1839<\/li>\n<li>Jones Prometheans &#8216;The Weekly True Sun&#8217; p1, Aug.1839<\/li>\n<li>Jones Prometheans &#8216;New Court Gazette&#8217; p15, 24 July 1841<\/li>\n<li>Watts London Morning Herald 15 June 1847<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i>Note: There were probably other similar adverts published<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exhibitor : Alan Middleton This is the strange story of the world&#8217;s first libel case related to Friction Matches. It took place in a Committee Room of the House of Commons 22nd November 1831 between Samuel Jones and George Frederick Watts, where they both claimed to have invented the lucifer match sold in their respective [&hellip;] <a href=\"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/on-line-exhibit-jones-vs-watts-libel-case\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<i class=\"icon-arrow-line-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1712","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1712"}],"version-history":[{"count":71,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7596,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1712\/revisions\/7596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}