that it probably never had been used. This statement may indicate that by 

 1869 red-maple dye was obsolete; however, it definitely was known and 

 used in America during the 18th century, as indicated by Peter Kalm's 

 description of its application in the Philadelphia area in 1 748 : 



With the bark they dye both worsted and linen, giving it a dark blue colour. For that 

 purpose it is first boiled in water, and some copperas, such as the hat-makers and shoe- 

 makers commonly make use of, is added, before the stuff (which is to be dyed) is put 

 into the boiler. This bark likewise affords a good black ink (1772, vol. 1, pp. 131—132). 



Certainly maple bark would have been an uncommon source of blue dye ; 

 in fact one suspects that its "blue" was closer to the "slate" color mentioned 

 by other authors who combined maple bark with copperas (ferrous sulfate). 

 In addition it was used in black dyeing, sometimes substituted for white-oak 

 sawdust or sumach, and was also known to give "lasting" cinnamon-brown 

 tones to wool and cotton when used with an alum mordant. 



Purple Dyes 



ORCHIL (originally from Rocella sp., esp. R. tinctoria) 

 Also known as archil; orchille; orseille (Fr.) 



Orchil is an ancient dyestuff derived from several different varieties of 

 the lichen Rocella, which grew on rocks along the Mediterranean coast. 

 During the early 18th century a new source of Rocella was discovered in 

 the Canaries; a few years later it was found in the Cape Verde Islands. 

 These areas supplied most of the orchil used in Europe and probably 

 America until the 19th century. India and Ceylon supplied England with 

 Rocella in the 19th century, mainly due to decrease in quality of Rocella 

 supplied by island sources (Kok, 1966, p. 259).^ American dyers imported 

 the dye processed and ready for use. It may have been used here for dyeing 

 wool and silks during the 18th century, however, it is not mentioned in 

 American dyers' manuals or advertisements until the early 19th century. 



One of the few substantive dyes, orchil produced beautiful but light- 

 sensitive colors which included the whole range of hues between red and 

 blue. One American dyer writing in 1869 stated: 



It is seldom used by itself for dyeing, but usually to help or top other colors; when 

 used alone it can give very agreeable shades of violet, peach, and lilac, which colors are 

 very loose in air, fading almost visibly in sunlight ; in combination with other coloring 

 matters it usually darkens them, giving chocolate colored shades ; but archil is chiefly valued 

 for a peculiar softness and velvet bloom it communicates to colors (O'Neill, pp. 68-69). 



In processing orchil, whole lichens were first steeped in an alkali such 

 as fermented urine or slaked lime which were used often during the late 

 18th and early 19th centuries. This mixture was allowed to set for about a 

 week until it turned deep purple. After three more weeks, without the 



6 This article gives a complete history of orchil dyeing. 



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