Goldenrod was applied to alum-mordanted wool and was suggested as a 

 substitute for weld in calico printing as well. It is mentioned by the nat- 

 uralist Peter Kalm in his mid- 18th-century publication, but it was certainly 

 used by American colonists before that time. Home dyers throughout the 

 19th century used goldenrod in areas where it grew. Goldenrod was 

 gathered just as it was beginning to bloom; its flowers could be dried and 

 stored until needed. 



*HICKORT {Carya tomentosa or Hicoria tomentosa) 



Also known as hiccory; niockernut; white hickory; das Hickoryholz (Ger.) 



Although the color of hickory bark was strong and stable it was apparently 

 of little interest to commercial dyers of yellow woolen textiles. It is men- 

 tioned several times in home dyeing manuals, sometimes as a substitute 

 for turmeric or fustic. This tree, common along the entire east coast of 

 America, was first noted here by a 17th-century observer, later mentioned 

 by Mark Catesby, and in 1749 referred to specifically as a yellow dye by 

 Peter Kalm. Bancroft in the late 18th century thought enough of its dyeing 

 possibilities to have it patented as a greenish yellow dye (Bancroft, 1814, 

 vol. 2, p. 164). Bancroft derived no profits from his patent though for a 

 number of reasons: The yellows it produced were duller than those made 

 from other dyes; its bark was tough and difficult to grind; the more con- 

 centrated quercitron was already successful commercially and there was no 

 need to add hickory bark to the long list of available yellow dyestufTs. 

 Hickory bark is not mentioned by professional dyers writing after the 

 mid- 19th century. 



PEACH {Prunus persica, known earlier as Amygdalus persica) 

 Also known as peche (Fr.); der Pfirsich (Ger.) 



A yellow dye was prepared from peach (and pear) tree leaves and bark 

 during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was applied mainly by home dyers 

 to alum-mordanted wool. Bronson believed the dye was more durable than 

 fustic and recommended in his recipe that as much as could be crowded into 

 a kettle should be used for each dye lot, indicating that its color was not 

 too concentrated. 



* PERSIAN BERRIES ( Rhamnus species, including R. infectoria and R. tinctorius) 

 Also known as berries or grains of Avignon; French berries; dyer's buckthorn; der 

 Ki^euzdorn (Ger.) 



Persian berries were well known in France during the 17th century; 

 in America they were probably used by professional dyers during the 18th 

 century and the first half of the 19th century. This dye never achieved 

 great popularity here because so many less expensive yellow dyes were 

 readily available, including the excellent quercitron, native to America. 



Various common names of this dye were derived from its places of origin. 

 For example, some Rhamnus species were grown in Persia (and Turkey) — 



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