Mauve
Created | Updated Jun 26, 2005
Book Review: (part of the Popular Science Book Project - A4166336)
Mauve - Simon Garfield
(How one man invented a colour that changed the world)
When the 18-year-old chemist William Perkin invented the first commercial aniline dye (mauveine), whilst attempting to make a synthetic quinine, he helped transform organic chemistry from an academic study to a massive industrial enterprise. The struggles and successes of his industrial enterprise, and the competition between the various British, German and French chemical are chronicled in this book.
Arguably someone in the right place at definitely the right time, when supplies of suitable precursor chemicals were available, yet when knowledge had not quite advanced to the point where his quinine-producing attempt would have been justifiably not attempted, Perkin was nonetheless an accomplished chemist, as evidenced by his advances in dyeing techniques, and his subsequent development of more synthetic dyes.
Though the initial production of his coloured mixture was unintentional, and other chemists had made potential dyes before, yet had noted them as simple curiosities, Perkin's skill in noticing and then purifying the interesting coloured component of his 'failed' product, and then his considerable efforts to get the textile-dyeing industry to take it seriously was what helped catalyse a whole industry.
With the demand for dyes being very strong, synthetic dyeing rapidly took off, and the efforts to understand organic chemistry, and the countless experiments undertaken in order to find new and better colours made for an explosion of knowledge and practical skill.
Unfortunately for Britain, the conditions for the chemical industry seemed more favourable in Germany, and German companies soon rose to dominance, though the need for independence from German imports resulting from the outbreak of war in 1914 caused the rapid expansion of both British and American chemical firms, making for a more internationally balanced situation.
Work around the turn of the 20th century on the use of dyes in biology (to stain cells or parts of cells for microscopy) led to the realisation that some dyes had definite medicinal value, and led to the development of several classes of important pharmaceuticals, notably the sulphonamide antibacterial drugs, which were very useful in the decade before the exploitation of penicillin.
Possibly not a 'must read' book, but one worth giving some consideration to.
Mauve - Simon Garfield
(How one man invented a colour that changed the world)
When the 18-year-old chemist William Perkin invented the first commercial aniline dye (mauveine), whilst attempting to make a synthetic quinine, he helped transform organic chemistry from an academic study to a massive industrial enterprise. The struggles and successes of his industrial enterprise, and the competition between the various British, German and French chemical are chronicled in this book.
Arguably someone in the right place at definitely the right time, when supplies of suitable precursor chemicals were available, yet when knowledge had not quite advanced to the point where his quinine-producing attempt would have been justifiably not attempted, Perkin was nonetheless an accomplished chemist, as evidenced by his advances in dyeing techniques, and his subsequent development of more synthetic dyes.
Though the initial production of his coloured mixture was unintentional, and other chemists had made potential dyes before, yet had noted them as simple curiosities, Perkin's skill in noticing and then purifying the interesting coloured component of his 'failed' product, and then his considerable efforts to get the textile-dyeing industry to take it seriously was what helped catalyse a whole industry.
With the demand for dyes being very strong, synthetic dyeing rapidly took off, and the efforts to understand organic chemistry, and the countless experiments undertaken in order to find new and better colours made for an explosion of knowledge and practical skill.
Unfortunately for Britain, the conditions for the chemical industry seemed more favourable in Germany, and German companies soon rose to dominance, though the need for independence from German imports resulting from the outbreak of war in 1914 caused the rapid expansion of both British and American chemical firms, making for a more internationally balanced situation.
Work around the turn of the 20th century on the use of dyes in biology (to stain cells or parts of cells for microscopy) led to the realisation that some dyes had definite medicinal value, and led to the development of several classes of important pharmaceuticals, notably the sulphonamide antibacterial drugs, which were very useful in the decade before the exploitation of penicillin.
Possibly not a 'must read' book, but one worth giving some consideration to.
