Historic 1930s processing and flammable chemicals?

[Charles Stankievech]

I'm a professor at University of Toronto and I'm inquiring into the veracity of a story I have come across in my research. "By 1937 even the Courtauld's town-house gentility had been stirred by politics. Stephen Rees Jones discovered that a member of the photographic department was using laboratory chemicals to make little bombs to throw at fascist marches." Could one in effect make a molotov cocktail like recipe out of BW processing/developing chemicals of the time? Anyone know what those chemicals would be?

Many thanks for any responses or theories.

 

[MattKing]

I'm not sure how prevalent wet plate collodion would have been in 1937, but it certainly involves/involved flammable materials - collodion also being known as gun cotton.
The Wikipedia article on collodion is interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion

 

[bdial]

Also, that was a time of nitrate film base which is very flammable as well. I suppose one could make a fire bomb from some strips of nitrate film.
As for chemicals, glacial acetic acid would be a possibility, I believe. In normal use it's highly diluted and used to halt the developing process.

 

[AgX]

For fast drying of processed film ethanol or methanol was used.
But for making a molotow-cocktail I can't imagine any special chemical the photographer had access to at his lab common people could not get an equivalent for.

However he had access to flash-powder, which by intention is fast combusting.

More excentric would be certain synthesis he could do based on silvernitrate, a substance he might have had in his lab for special processes.

 

[darkroommike]

Most photo chems would not do it and the working solutions are diluted with water but someone with access to a 1930's era chemistry lab had all sorts of options. Even in the 70's, our photo locker in the chemistry room of my high school had all sorts of interesting chemicals that could go boom. One of my fellow students flushed a large chunk of sodium down a commode, the commode did not survive the experience.