Black oaks grow throughout Eastern United States, with Georgia, 

 Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas supplying the greatest quantity. Al- 

 though mainly used in wool dyeing, it was also applied to cottons and to 

 a lesser degree, to silks. Recipes for drabs, smoke, olive, snuff, oranges, 

 yellowed reds, cinnamon brown, and a range of yellow called for quer- 

 citron alone or combined with other dyestuffs. 



Other Yellow Dyes 



Yellow-dyeing plants are everywhere. A complete palette of yellows, 

 golds, and browns can be created from products of roadsides, forests, and 

 gardens. From this wide range of possibilities only a few of the most widely 

 used plants are mentioned here. Local supplies of dyes varied with the 

 location of the dyer, the season, and the effects the dyer wished to achieve. 



ARSEAdART {Polygonum persicaria) 

 Also known as smartweed 



This weed, a member of the buckwheat family, grows along roadsides 

 in many parts of the Northeast. During the 18th and early 19th centuries 

 it was recommended by professional dyers because of the durable yellow 

 color it imparted to woolens, cottons, and linens. Thomas Jefferson made 

 no record of its intended uses, but he did list a species of arsemart {P. 

 sagittatum) among the plants grown at his home in Charlottsville, Virginia 

 (Jefferson, 1944, p. 644). 



Plants were cut while in blooni, then dried, and soaked for several days 

 to induce fermentation. The dye liquid was then heated and alum- 

 mordanted cloth immersed in it. One 19th-century dyer suggested its use 

 in compound colors such as black, smoke, snuff, and green. 



ASH, WHITE {Fraxinus americana) 



Also known as frene (Fr.); die Esche (Ger.) 



The bark of the white ash produced a dye valued for the beauty of its 

 clear yellows and tans and for its colorfastness. It could be prepared 

 "green or dry, boiled or simmered" and was especially useful when nut- 

 galls were unavailable. 



BARBERRY TREE {Berberis vulgaris) 



Also known as epine-vinette (Fr.); die Berberitze (Ger.) 



Thomas Cooper mentioned that barberry root was imported to Pennsyl- 

 vania from Boston, and that its fruit made "an excellent tart, and a 

 beautiful pickle" (1815, p. 20). Besides these valuable properties, barberry 

 supposedly produced a fugitive but rich, bright yellow dye without mordants. 

 It was used by leather dyers and in textile dyeing when combined with 

 other moie permanent coloring agents. 



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