DYEING. 



Discovery 

 of (he ni- 

 trate of tin 

 as mor- 

 dant. 



ilyeing in 

 Knglani 



Europeans, and to have used an aluminous mordant to 

 give it fixity. It appears even that for a considerable 

 time after the introduction of the cochineal into Europe, 

 this was the only mordant employed in dyeing with it; 90 

 that the only colour obtained from cochineal at first must 

 have been a crimson, which we learn indeed was the case, 

 on the testimony of Cancparius (De Altramfiitis, p. 19'-) 

 About the year 1630, it was accidentallydiscovered that the 

 nitrate of tin possessed the property of exalting, in a very 

 eminent degree, the colour of this drug, and converting 

 it from a dull crimson to nn intense and brilliant scarlet. 

 Kunckcl and some others inform us, that a German che- 

 mist, of the name of Kuster or Kuffler, having acciden- 

 tally dropped a solution of tin by aquafortis into a decoc- 

 tion of cochineal, was the first who observed the singular 

 effect ; while Beckmann asserts, that we owe the disco- 

 very of scarlet to a Dutch chemist of the name of Cor- 

 nelius Drcbbel, who was born in Alkmaar, and died at 

 London in 16S4; and that Drebbel communicated the 

 discovery to Kuffler, who was then an eminent dyer at 

 Lcyden, and afterwards became the son-in-law of Dreb- 

 bel. Beckmann also states, that Kuffler soon after took 

 advantage of the discovery, and reduced it to prac- 

 tice in his dye-house ; and that the scarlet thus obtained 

 was at first named Kuffler's colour, and afterwards Dutch 

 scarlet. A Flemish painter of the name of Klocck or 

 G I tick got possession of the secret, either directly from 

 Kuffler himself, or by means of some hints which he had 

 obtafned concerning the process employed by the latter. 

 Gluck communicated the information which he had thus 

 procured to the famous Gobelins at Paris ; and another 

 Fleming, named Kepler, carried the secret to England 

 about the year 1643. A dye-house was soon after esta- 

 blished at Bow, near London, and hence the new scarlet 

 was for some years called the Bow Aye. See Bancroft, 

 vol. i. p. 448. 



24. About the year 1662, the Royal Society of Lon- 

 don, then recently established, directed their attention 

 to dyeing ; and in order to promote the improvement of 

 the art, desired Dr Haak to prepare a translation of the 

 work, entitled, Plictlio, which, as we have already stated, 

 had been published about a century before in Italy. This 

 translation, however, was never executed ; but at that time 

 Sir William Petty, inconsequence of a request from the 

 Society, laid before them " An Apparatus to the History 

 of the common practice of Dyeing," which afterwards ap- 

 peared in Dr Spratt's History of the Royal Society, and 

 is perhaps the first original treatise on dyeing which lias 

 appeared in our language. Soon after, Mr Boyle gave an 

 account to the Society of his experiments on colours; and 

 towards the conclusion of 1664, the Society enjoined that 

 " the way of fixing colours should be recommended to 

 Mr Howard, Mr Boyle, and Dr Meritt." This recom- 

 mendation does not appear to have been productive of 

 any useful discovery in dyeing, or even of any improve- 

 ment of its processes ; but it served to turn the attention 

 of other members to the subject, and on the 1 Hh of No- 

 vember 1669, " Mr Hook," who was always distinguish- 

 ed by the ingenuity and originality of his views, " pro- 

 duced a piece of calico stained after the way contrived by 

 himself, which he was desired to prosecute on other co- 

 lours besides those that appeared in this piece." (Birch, 

 Hist. Roy. Sac. vol. ii. 401.) And accordingly, on the 9th 

 of the following month, " he produced another specimen 

 of staining with yellow, red, green, blue, and purple co- 

 Jours, which he said would endure wasliing with warm 



water and soap." It was not to be expected, however, l!i>tory. 

 that, in the very imperfect state of chemical science at **"""" 

 that time, a lew random experiments could give much in- 

 formation to practical dyers, who had better opportuni- 

 tic-. ot' observing the result of fortuitous mixtures, and 

 were equally well prepared to take advantage of what- 

 ever accident might present to their notice. We accord- 

 ingly find, that for nearly a century afterwards, no im- 

 portant improvement in dyeing was suggested by men 

 of science in this country. 



25. In France, industry, which had languished du- in France. 

 riii;; the administration of Hichlieu and Mazarin, was re- 

 vived by the fostering care of Colbert, and raised to a 

 high pitch of pre-eminence among that of the other na. 

 tions of Europe. That enlightened statesman, among 

 other objects of his care, turned his attention to the im- 

 provement of dyeing. He invited the most skilful artists 

 to settle in France, and afforded every encoui-agement to 

 the establishment of manufactories in various parts of 

 the country. In order to correct, as well as to prevent 

 the frauds which were practised by dyers, he published, 

 with the assistance of M. D'Albo, a set of regulations in 

 1669, and afterward in 1672, under the title of In- 

 struction gciieralc ft jtour la tcinltire dcs laines ct ma- 

 il n fact n rex tlex lainfx de tonics nuances, et pour la cul- 

 ture des drogues qii'on y emploie. This legislator first 

 endeavours to shew that dyeing is an object deserving 

 public attention, from the additional value which it con- 

 fers upon many of the articles of commerce. " If the 

 manufactories of silk, wool, and thread, arc to be reckon- 

 ed among those which most contribute to the support of 

 commerce ; dyeing," says Colbert, " which gives them 

 that striking variety of colour, by which they resemble 

 what is most beautiful in nature, may be considered as 

 the soul of them, without which the body could scarcely 

 exist. Wool and silk, the natural colour of which ra- 

 ther indicates the rudeness of former ages, than the ge- 

 nius and improvement of the present, would be in no 

 great request, if the art of dyeing did not furnish attrac- 

 tions which recommend them even to the most barba- 

 rous nations. All visible objects are distinguished and 

 recommended by colours; but, for the purposes of com- 

 merce, it is not only necessary that they should be beau- 

 tiful, but that they should be good, and that their dura- 

 tion should equal that of the materials which they adorn." 

 The regulations of Colbert were intended, however, ra- 

 ther as restrictions to controul, thin as directions to in- 

 struct the dyers in the management of their operations. 

 They admitted the former division of dyers " en grand," 

 who were confined to colours deemed permanent, and 

 dyers " en petit tcint," who were permitted to dye only 

 such as were fugitive ; while they particularly specified 

 the different substances which both were to employ in 

 their respective processes. These restrictions, which 

 were imposed chiefly with the view of guarding the pub- 

 lic against imposition, would have been productive of 

 still greater evils than those they were intended to ob- 

 viate, had they not been easily eluded, and had not the 

 government at the same time held out the promise of re- 

 wards to those whose experiments contributed to the pro- 

 gress of the art. 



2(>. During the administration of M. D'Orry, the Theoretics) 

 " Instruction" of Colbert was in a great measure annul!- opinion oi' 

 ed by a new legislative act, passed in 1737, which re- 

 moved the restrictions that had been imposed upon the 

 practical operations of dyeing, and afforded more scope 



