1. The art of dyeing consists in impregnating flexible fibres with any
color which may be desired, in such a manner, that it will remain
permanent, under the common exposures to which it may be liable.
2. The union of the coloring matter with the fibres receiving the dye,
is purely chemical, and not mechanical, as in the case of the
application of paints. Wool has the greatest attraction for coloring
substances; silk comes next to it; then cotton; and, lastly, hemp and
flax. These materials, also, absorb dye-stuffs in different
proportions.
3. Previous to the application of the dye, the greasy substance which
covers the fibres of wool, and the gluey matter on those of silk, are
removed by some kind of alkali. Their natural color is, also,
discharged by the fumes of sulphur. The resinous matter and natural
color of cotton and linen, are removed by bleaching.
4. The materials used in dyeing are divided into two
classes--_substantive_ and _adjective_. The former communicates
durable tints without the aid of any other substance previously
applied; the latter requires the intervention of some agent which
possesses an attraction for both the coloring matter and the stuff to
be dyed, in order to make the color permanent. The substances used for
this purpose are usually termed _mordants_.
5. Agents capable of acting in some way as mordants, are very
numerous; but _alumina_, _alum_, the _sulphate_ or _acetate of iron_,
the _muriate of tin_, and _nut-galls_, are principally employed. The
mordant not only fixes the color, but, in many cases, alters and
improves the tints. It is always dissolved in water, in which the
stuffs are immersed, previous to the application of the dye. Dyeing
substances are also very numerous; but a few of the most important
have, in practice, taken precedence of the others.
6. Blue, red, yellow, and black, are the chief colors, for which
appropriate coloring substances are applied; but, by a judicious
combination of these same materials, and by a proper application of
mordants, intermediate hues of every shade are produced; thus, a green
is communicated by forming a blue ground of indigo, and then adding a
yellow by means of quercitron bark.
7. The _blue dye_ is made of indigo; the _red dye_, of madder,
cochineal, archil, Brazil-wood, or safflowers; the _yellow dye_, of
quercitron bark, turmeric, hickory, weld, fustic, or saffron; the
_black dye_, of the oxide of iron combined with logwood, or the bark
of the common red, or soft maple, and the sulphate or acetate of
iron. The dyes made of some of these substances require the aid of
mordants, and those from others do not.
8. In communicating the intermediate hues, the different dye-stuffs
forming the leading colors, are sometimes mixed; and, at other times,
they are made into separate dyes, and applied in succession.
9. In this country, the business of the dyer is often united with that
of the clothier; but, where the amount of business will justify it, as
in manufactories, and in cities or large towns, it is a separate
business. The dyers sometimes confine their attention to particular
branches. Some dye wool only or silk, while others confine themselves
to certain colors, such as scarlet and blue. The principal profits of
the dyer, when unconnected with manufacturing establishments, arise
from dyeing garments or stuffs which have been partly worn.
10. The origin of the art of dyeing is involved in great obscurity, as
the ancients have not furnished even a fable, which might guide us in
our researches. It is evident, however, that the art must have made
considerable progress, long before authentic history begins. Moses
speaks of stuffs dyed blue, purple, and scarlet, and of sheep-skins
dyed red. The knowledge of the preparation of these colors, implies an
advanced state of the art, at that early period.
11. Purple was the favorite color of the ancients, and appears to have
been the first which was brought to a state of tolerable perfection.
The discovery of the mode of communicating it, is stated to have been
accidental. A shepherd's dog, while on the sea-shore, incited by
hunger, broke a shell, the contents of which stained his mouth with a
beautiful purple; and the circumstance suggested the application of
the shell-fish, as a coloring substance. This discovery is thought to
have been made about fifteen hundred years before the advent of
Christ.
12. The Jews esteemed this color so highly, that they consecrated it
especially to the service of the Deity, using it in stuffs for
decorating the tabernacle, and for the sacred vestments of the
high-priests. The Babylonians and other idolatrous nations clothed
their idols in habits of purple, and even supposed this color capable
of appeasing the wrath of the gods.
13. Among the heathen nations of antiquity generally, purple was
appropriated to the use of kings and princes, to the exclusion of
their subjects. In Rome, at a later period, purple habits were worn by
the chief officers of the republic, and, at length, by the opulent,
until the emperors reserved to themselves the distinguished privilege.
14. There were several kinds of shell-fish, from which this coloring
substance was obtained, each of which communicated a shade somewhat
different from the others. The kind collected near Tyre was the best;
and hence the Tyrian purple acquired especial celebrity. So highly was
it esteemed by the Romans, in the time of Augustus, that wool imbued
with this color was sold for one thousand denarii per pound, which, in
our currency, amounts to one hundred and sixty-eight dollars.
15. After all, the boasted purple of antiquity is supposed to have
been a very inferior dye, when compared with many which we now
possess; and this is only one among many instances, wherein modern
science has given us a decided superiority over the ancients.
16. The color, second in repute with the people of antiquity, was
scarlet. This color was communicated by means of an insect, called
_coccus_, and which is now denominated _kermes_. Besides the various
hues of purple and scarlet, several others were in some degree of
favor; such as green, orange, and blue. The use of vegetable dyes
appears to have been but little known to the Romans; but the Gauls had
the knowledge of imparting various colors, even the purple and
scarlet, with the juice of certain herbs.
17. The irruption of the northern barbarians into the Roman empire,
destroyed this, with the rest of the arts of civilization, in the
western parts of Europe; but, having been preserved, more or less, in
the East, it was again revived in the West, principally by means of
the intercourse arising from the Crusades.
18. Although indigo seems to have been known to the ancient Greeks and
Romans, yet it does not appear to have been used for dyeing. The first
that was applied to this purpose in Europe, was brought from India by
the Dutch; but its general use was not established without much
opposition from interested individuals. It was strictly prohibited in
England, in the reign of Elizabeth, and, about the same time, in
Saxony. Many valuable acquisitions were made to the materials employed
in this art, on the discovery of America, among which may be
enumerated, cochineal, logwood, Brazil-wood, and Nicaragua, together
with the soft maple and quercitron barks.
19. The first book on the art of dyeing was published in 1429. This,
of course, appeared in manuscript, as the art of printing had not then
been discovered. An edition was printed in 1510. The authors to whom
the world is most indebted for correct information on this subject,
are Dufuy, Hallet, Macquir, and Berthollet, of France; and Henry and
Bancroft, of England; all of whom wrote in the eighteenth century.