Women packing dynamite cartridges, 1888. Explosives factory at, Val Bormida, near Cengio, North West Italy. 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. From La Nature, Paris, 1888. Engraving. .