14 American Se ash ells 



produced at low cost, so that one has no assurance that a souvenir textile is 

 actually dyed with molluscan purple. 



The Mediterranean area and the west coast of Africa were not the only 

 regions where mollusks were used for dyeing. In the British Isles the art 

 seems to have been known from very early times. The Celts of England and 

 the Lake Dwellers of Ireland (about looo B.C.) used the common Thais 

 Japilhis which is also abundant on New^ England shores. As late as the eight- 

 eenth century this species was used for marking linen in England, Scotland, 

 France and Norway. The French used molluscan purple to dye the parch- 

 ment of rare books, some examples of which are still bright after 800 years. 



Had the Phoenicians possessed the compass and ventured to the West 

 Indies, they would have marveled at the abundance of our Wide-mouthed 

 Purpura, Fiirpura patuJa, and its large production of rich violet dye. Collec- 

 tors who have put live specimens in a cloth bag will recall the bright, durable 

 stains that have appeared soon afterward in the fabric. Many shell collections 

 contain this species in which specimens still retain purple stains on the out- 

 side of the shell. The subspecies, pansa, was used in prehistoric times for 

 dyeing cotton on the northwest coast of South America and the west coast 

 of Central America. Even today the Tehuantepec Indians of Mexico use the 

 Pansa Purpura for dyeing cotton threads. The natives have put into effect a 

 plan of conservation and, instead of crushing the shells, they carefully "milk" 

 the living specimens by pressing in the animal to squeeze out the juice. They 

 then return the mollusks to the rocks and revisit them at a later date. The 

 cotton threads are individually drawn through the liquid to obtain the fast 

 dye. 



In 1 7 1 1 Reaumur accidentally discovered that the t^g capsules of Thais 

 lapilhts were a simpler and more abundant source for the purple dye. As 

 Miirex egg capsules mature, they take on a characteristic purplish hue. It is 

 possible that this was the secret, if such existed, that the Tyrians guarded so 

 jealously. Latest experiments indicate that the purple dye is a derivative of 

 indigo containing bromide. 



Probably most, if not all, species of Murex, Thais, P^irpiira and other 

 members of the Muricid family produce this bromide, dye-giving secretion. 

 It has been suggested by some workers that this secretion serves as an anes- 

 thetic on various oysters, clams and chitons upon \\'hich they prey. How- 

 ever, the presence of purpurase in the Qgg capsules does not favor this view. 

 In addition, the dye-producing gland is closely associated with the reproduc- 

 tive system and not with the salivary glands or any other organs of the 

 proboscis. Many other carnivorous families which attack other living mol- 

 lusks in a manner similar to that of the A4uricids do not produce this dve. 



Inks and dyes are produced by many other mollusks, the Sepia cuttlefish 

 being an outstanding example. Purple dye has been recorded in the Purple 



