Appendix E 



Excerpt from Cornelius Molony, The practical dyer. Boston: 1833, pp. 

 41—59. The following recipes produced the colors seen on the frontispiece. 

 Even after making allowances for changes in color which must occur 

 in the photographing and printing processes, the wide range of lively, 

 rich colors comes through as an impressive achievement for this early 

 19th-century craftsman. 



The recipes reveal a great deal about the craftsman's methods of working, 

 as well as the actual ingredients he combined. 



RECEIPTS FOR WOOLLEN GOODS 



Woollen goods, of all descriptions, ought to be well cleansed from oil or grease, and 

 thoroughly wet, going into the dyeing kettle. 



Pattern No. 1 . Stone Drab. 



50 lbs. weight. 



Use the strength of 1 lb. of fustick, 1 lb. of red tartar (argil); bring the liquor to 150 

 degrees of heat; enter the goods, turn briskly on poles for 7 turns; then, if you see it 

 necessary, bring the kettle to a greater heat; then turn the worsted or woollen yarn one 

 turn every five minutes, until you come almost to a conclusion; lift up or take out the 

 yarn; use a few drops of chemic (sulphate of indigo, see p. 4) very cautiously, observing 

 to cool the liquor with water every time the chemic is used. Done. 



When I mention the proportions of dye drugs for any given quantity of goods, it 

 signifies that these Patterns can be produced and done on the same principle, or method ; 

 but I do not pretend to say that the same quantity of drugs, &c. will always produce 

 the shade according to the numbered pattern, as the strength of dye drugs varies so 

 materially, and the different coarse and fine goods will have so different an affinity 

 for the dye drugs, as to alter the shade materially. The difference of wove goods from 

 carpet yarn, with regard to the quantity of dye drugs necessary for producing the colours, 

 will also vary materially, so that the practical workman must use his own skill in order 

 to come exactly to his pattern. These patterns of goods were dyed on the exact principle 

 and quantity of drugs as stated; they are true methods of producing these colours. 

 The methods are so simple, that, acting with caution, every shade of these colours 

 can be easily obtained by any dyer of common abilities. 



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