The Colourful Past
Origins, Chemistry and Identification of Natural Dyestuffs

Judith H. Hofenk de Graaff
with contributions from Wilma G. Th. Roelofs and Maarten van Bommel

This publication provides an overview of natural dyestuffs that can be found in historic textiles. It presents fundamental information on the most relevant dyestuffs and historical recipes, many published for the first time and all extensively discussed. Emphasis is placed on the combination of historical, technical and scientific knowledge and the way it can be used in the conservation of historic textiles.

The author is a textile chemist and historian. Over the past thirty years she has investigated hundreds of historic textiles using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). From many investigations carried out for museums and institutions, she has selected case studies to illustrate both the possibilities and limitations of dyestuff analysis.

An essential reference book for conservators, conservation students, curators and textile historians.

This title is jointly published by Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg (Switzerland) and Archetype Publications Ltd., London.

CONTENTS

Dyeing with natural dyes
 History of textile dyeing
Principles of textile dyeing

Identification of natural dyestuffs
 Introduction
Microchemical analysis
Thin-layer chromatography
High performance liquid chromatography

Red, yellow, blue, purple and black dyestuffs
Altogether 39 dyestuffs, including for each:
Current terminology – Obsolete terminology and synonyms – Composition: main colouring matters – Chemical properties – Source – History of use – Preparation – Dyeing method – Historical recipes – Mordants – Lightfastness – Identification – Case studies – Further reading

Appendix: Essays
Dyeing black in 17th-century Holland
Textile dyeing in Leiden: changes in the use of dyestuffs from the 16th to the 17th century
Historical sources from a scientific point of view
Recycling in the 17th-century textile industry
Indian chintz and its European imitations: unravelling the technology

Excerpt