538432 Women packing dynamite cartridges, 1888. Explosives factory at, Val Bormida, near Cengio, North West Italy. From La Nature, Paris, 1888. Engraving. .; (add.info.: Nitroglycerin was mixed with Kieselghur (a diatomaceous earth) to produce Dynamite. Patented by Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) in 1867. Dynamite is a more stable high explosive than gunpowder and nitroclycernin and quickly gained popularity for blasting in mining, tunnelling and quarrying. A blasting cap was used to activate the Dynamite. ); Universal History Archive/UIG; out of copyright.