… were continually found and developed, especially with the new resources being discovered in North America with the creation of the United States.  Accidental discovery of beehives yielded yellow and gold. Blackberries and Bilberries gave pale blues and purples, although they were not fast – they did not stay dyed …

.. “in the wood” in England meant using locally found plant based and natural dyestuffs without alteration or use of mordants. The poor had natural colors; whites, blacks, browns, grays, and tans dyed onto fibers like wool or flax also available locally. The rich had the resources of the exotic …

… cloth before dying it using seawood from their coast.  Later they would use chlorine.  The MORDANT was being developed in many places and from many sources. A MORDANT was a substance used to precondition fabric so that its specific pH (acidity or alkalinity) would alter the chemistry of the …

.. Around 1500 France, Germany, and the Netherlands started to cultivate and farm plants specifically to be used as dye.  England in the 1600’s used the Logwood Tree, and a Dutch chemist figured out how to take the red cochineal and add tin to it. This started the concept of …

.. to make “Cardinal’s Purple”, which was really scarlet.  It became the “new Purpurea” worn by royalty and elites. (Portrait: Leopold Medici in “Cardinal Purple” in the mid 1600’s.. really red)

… or mollusk based, the big breakthrough came when Mayans discovered the cochineal insect that could be ground to make crimson red dye. This red was so valuable the Spanish conquerors took it from the Mayans. (Photo: Mayan woman today weaving with cochineal dyed yarn)

… the grades of dyes and regulated the market.  Spain controlled the trade of cochineal, another key dyestuff (to be discussed in detail). The 17th century would see world trade of dyes with extensive legislation created in most countries which protected growers and users, and set the standards of quality. …

.. where indigo and other dye materials were shipped back and forth between Pisa, Florence, London, and ports of France. Venice was the distribution center for saffron, a crocus type plant that gave bright yellow.  Italy imported saffron at the time, but would later learn how to grow and market …

.. was Indigo, another plant based dye that yielded deep blue.  Early on, shipping trade centers like Venice dealt in dyestuffs and fabrics as a central distribution point. (Sketch & Photo: Indigo. To be discussed later)

.. and awareness in the Renaissance brought exotic colors from the Orient and Europe – and later from America. Trade routes across the Gobi Desert and from China to the Mediteranean had dye sources moving all over the world. Things like walnut shells, oak bark, pomegranite flowers, and sumac were …