Wichita eagle., 1888-08-04
THE ART OF DYEING.
SOMETHING ABOUT WHICH BUT
LITTLE IS POPULARITY KNOWN.

|
Chemistry An Important Industr,
Colors.
: But this is the age of color; and in moth
Ing else during the last thirty years ha.
science made such q forcible impression
on the usages of domestic life as it ha:
made through its contributions to tn,
resources of the dyer. Go through thu
dry goods district and observe the win
dows. Look into the carpet ware rooms
the furniture ware rooms, or even into
the gentlemans 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 favor, 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 q
| translucent marvel According to NJ.
Cheyreul, the resources of the dyer now
cover II, 900 chromatic shades. But after
counting 1899 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 much to civilization
during the last hundred years. 1t has
been due to the discoveries in chemistry.
Through all the many centuries of history
the world knew only of natural dyes, and
down to the beginning of the present CEN
fury, 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, madden,
qGercitron 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
process technically known as mOrdant-
ing, IN 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 Unverdar ben discov-
cred aniline, a purely chemical agent, the
aistillation from coal tar. This discovery
opened the way for an Industrial revoll-
ton, 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, pro-
duct of aniline, followed soon afterward
Dy 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 IN
changed. What are technically known as
the wood dyes have more substance and
permanency 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
from cochineal madden 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 a mOrdant for crimson red, and
cherry red is produced with a tin NOR
dant from ammoniacal cochineal. Turkey
red is produced from madden on an alumni
l
old art of dyeing, and thus it runs still.
Aniline is rather reinforcement than an
agent. Prussian blue, how
ever, is purely a chemical product, and it's
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 to
10 I hat ot o1 bo ND +r;o 81
arts. In this work the process of the |
dyer differs from the process of the painter
rather in the means of execution than in |
the principles on which he works Does !
the dyer wish to produce a green fabric?
He may mix indigo (blue) with fustic or
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 an
orange fiber, and by the same process of
he may have purple, violet,
mauve, gray, drab, black, or any one of
NJ. Chevreul's 1000 chromatic tints But
he should be man with a trained eye,
and a person who is color blind will
hardly make dyer.
Dyeing is one of our most important in
1ustries, employing in New York alone
nearly 5000 men, at wages averaging
about $1S a week. 1t does not belong
strictly to the process of manufacture,
rs commonly supposed, but it is separ-
ite art 1t may be easily seen, too, that
here is no other industrial art where
here is more likely to be marked differ
snce in the capacity of different workmen.
First, there is demanded the accomplish
nent of knowing the mechanical process
o perfection. 1t is an operation that
must be timed to a nicely, as the best re-
suits may be lost even at the moment Of
.ruition. Then, again, no man can ever
become good dyer. no matter what the
ength Of his training who is in any way
defective in his sense of color. In a GER
ain sense the dyer is professional color.
st, and though dyeing is usually done in !
he skein, and much Of the beauty of the
inished fabric is due to the taste for CON-
'ination in the designer of patterns, the
lver has his share, and very large share,
n the success of the work. 1t is the ad-
-ance in the art of dyeing that makes the =
hief superiority in the coloring of the
more modern goods, and not the advance
Il the art of combination and design.
Were the subject of dyeing to be \
reated broadly it might be made to in :
lude other arts besides the art of dyeing
exile fabrics. Other material may be
aade to receive coloring matter in man ,
er to change its appearance as com
lstely as the appearance of these fabrics =
) changed. The endolithic process in the Y
treatment of marble furnishes an ia
lance. Marbles subjected to this pro- 6
ess are as completely dyed when it is =
-, .,