If Books Could Kill (um, actually, they can…): Robert C. Kedzie and Shadows from the Walls of Death

In this episode, I discuss Robert Clark Kedzie (1823-1902), a Michigan doctor, chemist, and professor, and explain why his 1874 book, Shadows from the Walls of Death, can be considered one of the deadliest books ever written. ***** References Bien, Laura. “In the Archives: Poison Pages.” https://annarborchronicle.com/2012/05/03/in-the-archives-poison-pages/index.html Harvey, Mark. “Shadows from the Walls of Death.” https://michiganology.org/stories/shadows-from-the-walls-of-death/ Kedzie, R.C. Shadows from the walls of death: facts and inferences prefacing a book of specimens of arsenical wall papers. https://archive.org/details/0234555.nlm.nih.gov/page/n3/mode/1up Lindley, Robin. “Arsenic, but No Old Lace—Medical Historian James C. Whorton on the Poisoning of Nineteenth-Century Britain.” https://hnn.us/article/131120#:~:text=Arsenic%20was%20used%20even%20in%20medications%20to%20treat,this%20age%20of%20laissez-faire%20capitalism%20and%20governmental%20indifference. Michigan State University. “Robert C. Kedzie.” https://onthebanks.msu.edu/Object/162-565-3181/robert-c-kedzie/ Norman, Jeremy N. “Robert Clark Kedzie Issues ‘Poisonous Paper,’ and a Poisonous Wallpaper Book Published in an Edition of 100 Copies.” https://historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3404 Zawacki, Alexander J. “How a Library Handles a Rare and Deadly Book of Wallpaper Samples.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/shadows-from-the-walls-of-death-book And, if you haven’t yet listened to my previous episode on arsenic and its frequent usage during the Victorian Era, you can check it out here! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marisa-d96/episodes/The-Ubiquity-of-Arsenic-During-the-Victorian-Era-e1dafc0 ***** Thanks again to one of my favorite podcasts, Noctivagant: A Paranormal Book Club, for mentioning TVVS in their most recent episode, which you can listen to here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4xZBWRYmvLLkCx1HWFA2X1?si=3jrjGcFsTauLgodSQqNOTA ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!