thus the name Persian berries. They also grew in southern Europe — 

 "grains of Avignon" is derived from the town of Avignon in southern 

 France. 



The shriveled yellowish-green berries were gathered before ripening, 

 then dried, and when ready for use were ground into a powder. Tin mor- 

 dant gave woolens colored with this dye bright yellow and orange shades, 

 which turned brown when exposed to light. Copper mordants produced 

 lightfast yellow-olive shades. Persian berries were used in wool and calico 

 printing, in addition to their use as a cloth dye. 



*SASSAFRAS (Sassafras albidum, called Laurus sassafras by P. Kalm) 



While visiting the Philadelphia area in 1748 Peter Kalm learned that 

 local residents used the bark of the sassafras tree as a dye and its leaves as 

 a tea. The bark was used for dyeing worsted a fine lasting orange color, 

 which was sunfast. The wool was dyed in a brass boiler, with urine used 

 in place of the usual alum mordant (Kalm, 1772, vol. 1, pp. 114—115). 

 Later Asa Ellis told of the light brown and ash colors it produced and of 

 its ability to leave cloth soft and pliable. He also believed that this bark 

 was profitable to country dyers when they did not have a supply of nvitgalls. 



Only one 19th-century dye manual lists sassafras among its dye ingredi- 

 ents, implying that, although it was readily available along the east coast 

 of America, professional dyers of the time did not rely on it because similar 

 results were obtained with other substances. There is a strong possibility, 

 however, that home dyers continued to use sassafras during the 19th 

 century when they lived near a source of supply. 



TURMERIC {Curcuma longa) 



Also known as turmerick; turmerech; curcuma; terre merite (Fr.); das Kurkumagelb 

 (Ger.) 



Yellow dyes were extracted from the ground root of the turmeric or 

 Indian saffron plant. This bright orange powder was a rich but fugitive 

 dye, considered the finest yellow by many professional dyers and used 

 frequently throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Turmeric was the only 

 yellow dye that did not require a mordant to fix it on wool, cotton, or silk ; 

 but its sensitivity to light, soap, and alkali reduced its value considerably. 

 It was used principally in combination with other dyes to make browns 

 and olive greens. 



WELD {Reseda lutea) 



Also known as wold; dyer's weed and dyer's mignonette; reseda des teinturiers 

 (Fr.); der Wau (Ger.) 



This excellent dye may have been the most common yellow dye used in 

 England until the advent of synthetic dyes. Although it was employed by 



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