Smyrna times., 1888-08-01
THE ART OF DYEING.
SOMETHlNe ABOUT WHICH BUT
LITTLE is POPULARITY KNOWN.

LITTLE IS POPULARITY KNOWN.
Less a Mystery Now Than in Olden Time.
An Advance in the Art-DiscOveries in
Chemistry - An Important Industry.
COlOrs.
But this is the age of color; and in moth
ing else during the last thirty years has
science made such a forcible impression
on the usages of domestic life as it has
made through it's contributions to the
resources of the dyer. Go through the
dry goods district and observe the win
dows. Look into the carpet ware rooms,
the furniture ware rooms, or even into
the gentleman's furnishing store. Every
where the rainbow seems to have been
caught and reproduced in fresh hues The
very flowers and fruits, though still beau
tiful and attractive on account of their
odOr and flavor, have lost the transcend
ing superiority in tints for which they
were once noted, and must consent to be-
come only common contributors to an
ocean of color, where every wave is a
translucent marvel According to M.
Chevreul the resources of the dyer now
cover IL, 900 chrOmatic shades. But after
counting 1889 shades it would have
been just as well had this author stopped
calculating and pronounced the remainder
infinite in number.
This sudden advance in the art of dye
ing has been due to the general cause that
has contributed so mach to civilization
during the last hundred years. 1t has
been due to the discoveries in chemistry.
oil Of
the world knew only of natural dyes, and
down to the beginning of the present cen
tury, or rather till past the middle of this
century, it still busted itself with the dis
covery of new natural agents. 1t had
found indigo cOchineal, lOgwood, madder,
quercitron bark, sumach, Brazil wood,
and other vegetable or wood dyes, and it
learned by various means to be more or
less successful, by the use of chemicals in
a process technically known as mOrdant-
ing, i'll making permanent the colOrs pro-
duced by these agents. But it had not
learned to distill color from the elements.
1t could reach only the boundaries of an
empire that was not yet quite won.
Finally, the chemist Unverdarben discOv-
cred aniline, purely chemical agent, the
distillatiOn from coal tar. This discovery
opened the way for an industrial revOlu-
tion, which is perhaps even yet only in
the infancy of its movement This hap
pened in 1926. But the utility of the dis
cOvery was not known until many years
later. 1t was not until the year 1858 that
the tint known as Perkins purple, a pro
duct of aniline, followed soon afterward
by aniline red, or Magenta became known.
Then the revolution was fairly Inaugural
ted and since this latter date the advance
has been rapid. All that is most brilliant
in color is credited to this new chemical
agent.
But the body of the art remains un-
changed. What are technically known as
the wood dyes have more substance and
permGnency than the aniline dyes. Indigo
still forms the basis for blue. The scarlet
on the coats of the British soldiery, war
ranted not to run, is mainly produced
frca cOchineal; madder is the basis for
crimson red and Turkey red, and yellow is
produced by fustic, quercitron bark, or its
concentrated extract, called favine, and
from AvignOn or Persian berries. The
mOrdants remain also unchanged. Chief
among them is the oxide of tin, called tin
spirits by the trade. This fixes the scarlet
cOlors founded upon cochineal but alum
is used as mOrdant for crimson red, and
cherry red is produced with a tin NOR
dant from ammoniacal cOchineal. Turkey
red is produced from madder on an alumni
nous basis. Thus ran the formula in the
old art of dyeing, and thus it runs still.
Aniline is rather a reinforcement than an
Independent agent. Prussian blue, how
ever, is purely chemical product, and its
discovery antedated the discovery of ami
line colors.
But after the production of the simple
or primary cOlOrs comes the production OF
the infinite variety of tints that 90 tC
make up the total used in the industrial
arts. In this work the process of tho
| dyer differs from the process of the painter
| rather in the means of execution than il
! the principles on which he works Does
the dyer wish to produce a green fabric
He may mix indigo (blue) with fustic Of
! quercitrOn bark yellow, handling at the
! same time the mOrdants in accordance
with the teachings of the best experience
and the result will be the desired color
Does he want orange? The dyes that pro
duce yellow and red will give him al
orange fiber, and by the same process O
combination he may have purple, violet
mauve, gray, drab, black. or any one O
NJ. CheYreui's 1900 chromatic tints. Bu
he should be a man with trained eye
and person who IS color blind will
hardly make a dyer.
Dyeing is one of our most important in
dustries, employing in New York alon
nearly 5000 men, at wages averaging
about $18 a week. It does not belonl
strictly to the process of manufacture
as commonly supposed, but it is separ
ate art. 1t may be easily seen, too, tina
there is no other industrial art wher
there is more likely to be a marked differ
ence in the capacity Of different wOrkmen
First, there is demanded the accomplish
ment of knowing the mechanical process
to perfection. 1t is an operation tina
must be timed to a nicely, as the best re
suits may be lost even at the moment 0
fruition. Then, again, no man can eve
become good dyer, no matter what tn
length Of his training, who is in any wa
defective in his sense of cOlO<. in a cel
tain sense the dyer is professional color
ist, and though dyeing is usually done i
the skein, and much of the beauty of th
finished fabric is due to the taste for con
binatiOn in the designer of patterns, tn
dyer has his share, and a very large shar,
In the success of the work. 1t is the aC
vance in the art of dyeing that makes tn
chief superiority in the colOring Of til
iAANAD AAANACAA IA EppNAof anu Alob llAt uAlNdllN
in the art of combination and design.
Were the subject of dyeing to /
treated broadly it might be made to il
clude other arts besides the art Of dyein
textile fabrics. Other material may
made to receive coloring matter in a maj
ner to change its appearance as con
pletely as the appearance Of these fabri,
is changed. The endolithic process in,tl
treatment of marble furnishes an i
stance. Marbles subjected to this pr
cess are as completely dyed when it
thought worth while to change the enti
substance, as o skein of silk, and made
initiate perfectly the product of al
ancient or modern quarry, or to absol
pictures. But this is not credited to Il
dyer's art and stands as a distinct di
covery, with only the antiquity of a fe
years to make il venerable. The tn
dyer can trace his lineage back almost
far as the shoemaker.-New York Sun.
An UndevelOped Art.
The attention of experimenters is bein
directed to the subject of photograph
| Vuif Il