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Natural Dyeing

Upcoming Program: The Evolution of Colour

by Felicia Lo on November 19, 2008

Date: November 20, 2008 at 12 noon

Speaker: Penny Le Couteur

Title: The Evolution of Colour: How Dye Molecules Changed the World

Description: Did you know that the dye alizarin (Turkey Red) was probably responsible for Alexander the Great’s 320 B.C. defeat of the Persian Army, that a German dye company (Bayer) was the first to recognize the possibility of commercial pharmaceuticals and that the rare and expensive Tyrian Purple dye is chemically very, very similar to the widespread and widely used
dye, indigo? This presentation discusses the surprising influences of natural and synthetic dyes on our culture, our history and our lives as seen through the eyes of a chemist.

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Book Review: A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield

June 24, 2008

A Perfect Red – Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire
By Amy Butler Greenfield
Harper Collins Publishers, 2005
The desire for a rich red permanent dye and pigment was a major factor in exploring and establishing global trade routes in the 16th and 17th centuries. Early Spanish explorers found that the Aztecs, in what [...]

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Inspired by India

September 20, 2007

Jo Anne Ryeburn and Dorothy Cross showed slides and textiles that they collected on their individual trips to India. Jo Anne also had the opportunity to attend the UNESCO Symposium on Natural Dyeing.

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