In this sixth book in the series the author has teamed up with Alan Dronsfield to bring the synthetic dye revolution to print.

Textile dyes have been recorded in the earliest history of mankind and until the middle of the 19th century were derived solely from naturally occurring plant and  other organic material. The discovery that an infinite range of dyes and pigments could be derived from a chemical compound that could be isolated from so unlikely a source as coal-tar was an incredible intellectual leap of the imagination. This discovery not only completely changed the textile industry, but gave rise to the whole science of organic chemistry. This change was comparable to the invention of aviation, the internal combustion engine or the splitting of the atom and the rise of nuclear physics.

All these discoveries can now be seen as part of an intellectual explosion occupying no more than 100 years of human existence. As one great scientist remarked, we now stand on the shoulders of intellectual giants. Nothing comparable to this had occurred before in human history. This booklet attempts to recapture something of the excitement felt by our Victorian forebears in Chemistry.

Alan Dronsfield, Professor of the History of Science at the University of Derby is the author of a number of papers on chemistry, dye chemistry and the history of science.

N.B. This book contains 5 sample silk swatches using the19th Century recipes described in the book.