"This book represents an achievement in compiling and putting into order all the facts discovered in an intensive four-year study. Included is an important study of 'Indigofera tinctoria', the beautiful but malodorous dye plant, indigo; the tale reads like a novel and is the complete study in book form of the strange dye plant and of the uses of the blue dye. The book, enhanced by Mrs. Pettit's understanding of techniques and by authoriatative and scholarly facts gleaned from New England archives, also gives a lively picture of the eigteenth-century dyer's and printer's life as an artisan in the American colonies." - book jacket.

Persian blue, pomegranate flower, spiny lobster, wine soup, pale flesh, dove breast, golden wax, grass green, green sand, rotten olive, modest plum, agate, rich French gray, gunpowder of the English……..just some of the color names of old fabric to fire the imagination. Memoirs on Dyeing concerns a unique manuscript from the eighteenth century; a dyers memoirs from Languedoc, containing recipes for dyes with corresponding color samples. It is an exceptional document, hugely rare and of great significance not only to textile historians but dyers and colorists today, as thanks to the information in the manuscript the colors can be reproduced exactly, with the same ingredients, or reproduced using modern techniques by matching the color samples. To the English translation of the text, together with facsimile pages reproduced in color from the original manuscript, are added essays meant to situate it in its historical, economic and technological contexts. For those historians who have long been fascinated by the change in scale and the amount of innovation that occurred in woollen cloth production in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Memoirs on Dyeing bring firsthand insight into the daily preoccupations and tasks of a key actor in the success story of the Languedocian broadcloth production specially devised for export to the Levant. Even non-specialists may be interested in understanding the clever management and technical organization that made it possible for the author to produce, dye, finish, pack and export up to 1,375 pieces of superfine broadcloth per year, representing nearly 51 km of cloth.

The role indigo has played elsewhere has been fairly well documented, but in the case of the Arab world, little or no thorough investigation has been previously undertaken. Sets out to provide comprehensive coverage of the subject from its earliest history to the present day.

Handbook of Natural Colorants Second Edition A detailed survey of a variety of natural colorants and their different applications including textiles, polymers, and cosmetics Colorants describe a wide range of materials such as dyes, pigments, inks, paint, or chemicals, which are used in small quantities but play an important role in many products such as textiles, polymers, food, and cosmetics. As the effects of climate change begin to be felt, there has been a shift in focus in the field to renewable resources and sustainability, and an interest in the replacement of oil-based products with greener substitutions. As the push to adopt natural resources grows, there have been significant developments in the research and application of natural colorants as a step in the transition to a bio-based economy. The second edition of Handbook of Natural Colorants provides a detailed introduction to natural colorants in a marriage of theory and practice, from seed of plant to consumer demand. Presenting a wide range of viewpoints, the book briefly discusses the history of coloration technology and the current position of natural colorants before highlighting detailed information on regional plant source availability, colorant production and properties, as well as analytical methods for isolation, identification, and toxicity aspects. It also presents key applications in technical use and consumer products, including the use of natural colorants in textiles, hair dyeing, printing, and packaging. Finally, the text considers environmental and economic aspects of natural colorants. Handbook of Natural Colorants is a useful reference for dyers, textile producers, and researchers in the evolving field of sustainable chemistry, environmental sciences, agricultural sciences, and polymer sciences. Revised and updated content throughout to reflect developments in research and applications over the past decade New content on biotechnology in natural colorant production, natural colorants for mass coloration polymers, natural colorants in printing/packaging, and plant-based pigments Discusses strategies for scale-up, including consideration of energy, waste, and effluents For more information on the Wiley Series in Renewable Resources, visit www.wiley.com/go/rrs