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The matchwomen who were employed by Bryant and May went on strike over their working conditions in 1888. Their strike is historically significant due to the fact that it was led by working class women, many of whom were immigrants from Ireland. The year of the strike and the women's relationship to London dock workers have also led to the suggestion that their strike may in fact mark the beginning of New Unionism. These papers combine business records from Bryant and May with press coverage of the strike and photographs of the women who were involved.

Using Bryant & May's own material, combined with contemporary accounts in personal journals and diaries as well as newspapers, it was possible to reconstruct the events of the strike in detail, and show its seminal importance to a new wave of trades unionism

Louise Raw, Historian and author of 'Striking a Light'.

Key Documents

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Insights

These records provide a rare insight into the industrial practices and attitudes of the 19th century. Papers on the 'sweating system' cover a range of businesses and industries.

Coverage of the strike includes shareholders' reactions to claims made by Wilberforce Bryant as well as reactions to the strike by journalists and politicians.

Charles Dickens' journal Household Words features within papers from the early years of Bryant & May. The volume from May in 1852 includes a description of the damage done by phosphorus necrosis.

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