Professional dyers, although generally more sophisticated in their methods, 

 utilized the same raw materials for dyeing buff-colored cottons. A typical 

 recipe, by Thomas Cooper in his 1815 manual, stated that buffs could be 

 made by dipping textile material in a hot copperas solution, taking them 

 out, wringing, opening and airing them, then raising the color in lime water. 

 This procedure was repeated until the desired depth of color was reached 

 (p. 309). 



The above directions for iron buff" dyeing are typical of those found in 

 dyers' books until after the middle of the 19th century, when the buffs 

 seem to have become unfashionable with the advent of the rainbow of 

 clear, fresh colors and new methods introduced by scientifically oriented 

 dyers. 



Copperas (ferrous sulfate) was the main ingredient in dyeing cotton buff 

 color. Hazael Warfield, in his Clothier'' s guide, explains the composition of 

 copperas in this way: 



Copperas is an extract of Iron corroded with acid, or for a substitute for copperas, take 

 the fiUngs of iron put it in vinegar, let it stand one month and you will have a much 

 better darkening substance ; the best copperas is the brown or that which appears to be 

 mouldy, deep green copperas will make the brightest blue but it is not so strong as the 

 other, and will not make so good a black, that of a pale green colour is worth but little. 

 Copperas ought to be kept in a cellar where it is not very damp nor open that the acid 

 may evaporate (1832, pp. 27-28). 



While one might deduce correctly that iron buff" would not necessarily 

 produce a lively color, it was expected to last for the life of the textile. 

 Many times this was true, but with faulty dyeing procedures, the textiles 

 themselves were sometimes rather short-lived. Iron salts, especially those 

 applied in large concentrations, caused textiles to become brittle and 

 tender. Bancroft noted that most people had observed examples of iron 

 spotting (then called iron-mould) on linens which produced holes long 

 before any occurred in the body of the cloth. This effect can be noted 

 in some early printed textiles in which one colored figure, usually brown 

 or black, has been completely disintegrated because of the corroding effects 

 of its iron mordant. Thus a well-dyed buff-colored cotton retained not 

 only its color but also its strength throughout a reasonable period of use. 



Regarding the color itself, buff seems to have covered a considerable 

 range of values and intensities of red-yellows. The generally accepted 

 version is a somewhat brownish yellow, originally the color of oil-tanned 

 calf or goatskin "buff" leather. Although buff was originally derived from 

 the Italian word "bufalo" it referred to the common European ox, rather 

 than the buffalo that roamed our Western Plains. 



49 



