gun cotton

method, process, technology

A colloquial term for cellulose nitrate. A white, fibrous, odourless and tasteless mass. It is used in paints, glues, membranes, gunpowder, etc.

Gun cotton was discovered and first described in 1846 by Christian Friedrich Schönbein in Basel.

Traveljournal 1851

Fischer’s seventh visit, 1 July 1851

Fischer, Johann Conrad: Tagebücher. Bearbeitet von Karl Schib. Schaffhausen 1951.

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Cite as: gun cotton. In: Travel Reports of a Pioneer: Digital Edition of the Travel Journals of Johann Conrad Fischer 1794–1851. Published by Franziska Eggimann. Edited by Franziska Eggimann, Nicolau Lutz, Valerija Rukavina und Christopher Zoller-Blundell. Schlatt 2023, Version 1.2, https://johannconradfischer.com/en/keywords/gfa-keywords-8484, viewed on 7 June 2025.

[[title]] — Remains of wet gun cotton (photograph from 1893)