The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Coloring Finishing And Painting Wood
Many people have the erroneous impression, however, that all coal-tar dyes should be called aniline dyes, partly because the term is often used in the more inclusive sense in the trade.
93. History of Coal-Tar Dyes.—Mauve, a fine purple color and a basic dye, was the first of the aniline colors. It was discovered by "William Henry Perkin, an English student working under Hofmann in Germany in 1856. This new color, sometimes known as Perkin's Violet, was of great value and brought about a revolution in the dyeing industry and manufacture of colors. Other important coal-tar dyes, called anilines, were discovered by chemists within a few years.
Magenta, another basic dye and an attractive red, appeared in 1838 or 1859, about the time of the battle of Magenta in Italy, which occurred in 1859. In 1862 an aniline black was discovered by an Englishman, Lightfoot, and a blue was produced by Nicholson. Methyl Violet, also a basic dye, was discovered in 1866, and Alizarine appeared in 1868. Between the years 1873 and 1893 the following colors appeared: a sulphur yellow, called Cachou de Laval, in 1873; Methylene Blue, in 1877; the Azo Scar-lets, in 1878; Indigo, in 1880; Tartrazene, an acid yellow, in 1885; and Rhodamine, a pink blue, in 1893.
Prior to the beginning of the "World "War in 1914 coal-tar dyes were manufactured in Europe, largely in Germany, and up to that time there had been little effort to make them in the United States. The war cut off further shipments of German dyes, and our country was without aniline and other synthetic dyestuffs from abroad for several years. The shortage became very great, because the raw materials required for coal-tar dye manufacture are the same as those used in the making of explosives. The very few factories in the United States which previously had made dyes had obtained their raw materials from Germany. Some of the most difficult problems that the dye manufacturers had to face were the lack of skill in the technology of dye-making, and lack of necessary experience and knowledge on the part of our chemists.
The lack of dyes in the United States gradually brought chemists and capitalists together, and factories for making raw materials and intermediates were slowly organized. Even tho the manufacture of explosives demanded practically all of the raw materials of some kinds which were available, the production of dyes was gradually brought about during the war. Peace left the United States with a number of dye factories that could manufacture colors from the more desirable raw materials. Such hues as Direct Black for cotton, a Chrome Blue especially valuable for the dyeing of wool, synthetic Indigo in large quantities, and Alizarine made from anthracene which was derived from our own domestic coal-tars, were being produced soon after the close of the war. About 175 colors including the most needed of the shades and tints of the standard hues, were put on the market late in the year 1918.
