..a few Scottish tweed manufacturers were using exclusively natural dyes in commercial processes. With the synthetics and mass production of the Industrial Revolution, a rising middle class in particular were wanting the affordable and rich colors of the aniline dyes. (Photo: 1860’s wrapper dyed with new synthetic dyes of the …
.. was there was a rise in interest in chemistry in the 1870’s. Perkins, who had accidentally discovered the mauve dye “mauviene”, had his own London factory to produce it. From 1858 until the early 1900’s, magenta or fuchsine – two other purplish blue colors – had patents constantly revising …
.. was reasonable to produce commercially from the Baeyer “BASF” process of aniline dye. In 1897, 19,000 tons of plant based indigo were being produced, but by 1914 because of the new synthetics, it dropped to 1000 tons, and by 2011 50,000 tons were being produced worldwide. (Photo: the indigo …
.. specifically after that to come up with an aniline equivalent to the plant sourced dye. In 1865 he started, by 1878 he had a first attempt using the chemical “isatin”, and in 1880 he made a 2nd successful attempt using the chemical “2-nitrobenzaldehdye”. In 1883 he finally figured out …
.. who was trying to synthesize the medicine quinine to treat malaria. 18 year old chemistry student William Perkins made a murky residue which was the first aniline (synthetic) dye. It was called mauve, and it was consistent and permanent, unlike natural dyes. (Photo: the first aniline synthetic dye – …
… but the “Prussian Blue” which was made with iron salt and a process using potash plus aniline and bleaching powder made brighter blues than they could grow, so by 1834, they gave up.
.. had a high trading value into the 19th century around the world. There were many conflicts and misuse of indigenous people used to plant, cultivate, and process indigo in many places such as Bengal, and India, but the demand for the dye continued to climb. In 1897, 998 square …
… by Eliza Pinckney, where it became the colony’s 2nd most important cash crop behind rice. There were three species grown in the US, (“indigofera caroliniana, I tinctoria, and I suffruticosa”). It became an export crop. By 1775, South Carolinan indigo production exceeded 1,222,000 pounds. When Benjamin Franklin went to …
.. especially important during the Edo period because commoners had been banned from wearing silk, which led to increased production of cotton and indigo which was one of few chemicals they had available to dye it. (Photo: Edo period Japan, 1920’s cotton kimono dyed with indigo)
… wealth throughout west Africa, the Saharas to Cameroon, and Nigeria. The Mandinka of Mali were world renowned for their expertise in the growing and application of indigo. The communal dye pits in 16th century Mali are still used today. (Photo: 2003 Malian indigo master Ousmane)
