The invention and eventual mass production of the synthetic dye Mauveine in 1856 by William Henry Perkin lead to an explosion of colorful fabrics in the mid-19th century. In this blog post I'll showcase some of the dyes that were created as well as examples of each when they could be found.
It should be noted that not all of the garments in the post have been proven to be colored by the given given dye. I did my best to find examples that had been labeled as such by museums or other bloggers more knowledgeable than myself. A blog post by the Dreamstress was especially useful.
As well, there very well may have been some synthetic dyes from the mid-19th century that I did not mention. I did my best to find as many dyes invented/patented in the 1850s-60s as I could, but there are not exactly a plethora of resources available on the topic. If you notice anything missing from this page, please let me know and I will add it.
Mauveine-1856
- "Dyes silk direct a reddish violet. Cotton requires a mordant of tannin and tartar emetic."
- Also known as "Rosolane (Poirrier), Chrome Violet, Mauve, Aniline Purple, Indisin, Perkin's Violet, Aniline Violet, Violein, Purpurin"
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 61
Magenta-1859
- "Dyes wool and silk from neutral baths. Cotton requires mordanting with tannin and tar-tar emetic. Fine blue-red shades are obtained, which are fast to light or washing."
- Also known as Verguin's Fuchsine, "Fuchsin, Rubin, Aniline Red, Rosein,"
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours pages 59-60
Hofman's Violet-1863
- "The red shades of this violet... Dyes wool in a neutral bath, silk also in a neutral bath (cotton requires a tannin and antimony mordant), fine bright bluish reds, not fast to light or washing."
- "The blue shades of Hofman's violets... dyes the fibers in the same way as the red shades, but gives pure violet shades; not fast to light or washing."
- Also known as "Iodine Violet, Dahlia, Primula, Red Violet 5R, Extra Violet 5R, Violet R."
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 56
- "Shares the same base structure as methyl violet... [but] is redder." (Source)
Crystal Violet-1861
- "Crystal violet is one of the components of methyl violet, a dye first synthesized by Charles Lauth in 1861. From 1866, methyl violet was manufactured by the Saint-Denis-based firm of Poirrier et Chappat and marketed under the name "Violet de Paris"." (Source)
- Also known as Methyl Violet, Violet de Paris
**Yellows**
Aniline Yellow-1861
- "Dyes wool and silk red in acid baths. On washing with water the dyes fiber turns yellow. It is not fast, the colour easily volatilising when heated."
- Also known as "spirit yellow"
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 12
Martius/Napthol Yellow-1864
- "Dyes wool and silk golden yellows, which are not fast to washing or acids."
- Also known as "Manchester Yellow, Martius Yellow, Naphthalene Yellow, Naphthylamine Yellow, Gold Yellow."
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 69
**Blues**
Aniline/Opal Blue-1860
- "Dyes cotton from a soap and alumina mordant, wool and silk direct fine greenish blues; very fast to light and acids."
- Also known as "Aniline Blue Spirit Soluble, Gentiana Blue 6B, Spirit Blue O, Night Blue."
Alkali/Nicholson Blue-1862
- "Dyes wool and silk by special method fine shades of blue; fast to acids and washing, fairly fast to light."
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 9
Aldehyde/Aniline Green-1861
- "Dyes wool and silk green in acid bath."
- Also known as "usebe green"
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 4
Aniline Black-1863
- "Fabric, such as cotton, is soaked in an aqueous solution of aniline hydrochloride and an oxidizing agent, such as chromic acid. This results in a strong black color that is not lightfast."
Bismarck/Manchester Brown-1865
- "Dyes wool and silk in neutral bath reddish brown shades; cotton requires a tannin mordant."
- Also known as "Phenylene Brown, Vesuvin, Aniline Brown, Leather Brown, English Brown, Gold Brown, Walnut Brown."
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 28
Magdala Red-1868
- "Dyes cotton mordanted with tannin and tartar emetc rose-red shades. Dyes silk from an acidulated soap bath fine rose-reds having weak fluorescence."
- A Dictionary of the Coal Tar Colours page 59
Sources:
