source incorrectly ascribes the origin of its name "sapan" to a misinterpre- 

 tation of "Japan," one of its countries of origin. Sapan, the most ancient 

 source of brazilwood, remained in common use until some time after the 

 middle of the 19th century. 



Haematoxylon brasiletto 



The third important source of brazilwood dyes was a shrub grown in 

 Nicaragua, Colombia, and Venezuela {Haematoxylon brasiletto). Its export 

 began about 1848, and its trade continued into the early 20th century 

 when the First World War caused a brief revival of interest in natural dyes. 

 The heartwood of this tree produced hues that ranged from reds to purples. 

 Since the dye was fugitive, it was replaced by synthetic dyes soon after the 

 war. Besides being called by the other common names for brazilwood, 

 braziletto was also known as Nicaragua wood and hypernick. 



All brazilwoods that contained the basic dye ingredient brasilin were 

 processed in the same manner. The reddish heartwood, shipped in log or 

 stick form, was rasped or chipped before it could be used. It was treated 

 like logwood : placed in a sack, immersed in a water bath until the dye 

 was released, then the sack of chips removed before the wool, silk, or cotton 

 material was entered. Different mordants such as nutgalls and alum with 

 tartar produced a variety of red hues, values, and intensities, but none were 

 as fast to light and washing as madder and cochineal. These mordants 

 could be applied to a textile before, during, or after dyeing. 



Brazilwood which gives textiles pink and claret hues was often used in 

 calico printing and as a finishing dye in combination with other more 

 stable but less brilliant hues. In this way it could be combined with log- 

 wood to produce violet or brown or used to brighten madder scarlets; it 

 was frequently one of the many ingredients used in black dyeing. 



CAMWOOD or BARWOOD (mainly Baphia nitida and varieties of Pterocarpus) and 

 Sanders or Red saunders {Pterocarpus santalinus) 

 Also known as das Kamholz (Ger.) 



Dye manuals of the 18th and 19th centuries distinguish between cam- 

 wood, barwood, and sanders wood; however, all three can be discussed 

 as a group since they all share a common dye principle, santalin, and the 

 same botanical genus, Pterocarpus. Each has a different place of origin: 

 camwood from the West Coast of Africa, barwood from Sierra Leone, and 

 sanders (also spelled saunders, red sanders, santal, or sandal) from India, 

 Ceylon and other parts of tropical Asia, and the Coromandel Coast (many 

 1 9th century works mention the latter as the source of sanders). 



These woods superficially resemble brazilwood in their red coloration 

 (under certain conditions) and in imparting in textiles similar fugitive red 

 hues. Their dyes were more lasting but much more time-consuming to 



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