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Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour That Changed the World
In 1856 eighteen-year-old English chemist William Perkin accidentally discovered a way to mass-produce color. In a "witty, erudite, and entertaining" (Esquire) style, Simon Garfield explains how the experimental mishap that produced an odd shade of purple revolutionized fashion, as well as industrial applications of chemistry research. Occasionally honored in certain colleges and chemistry clubs, Perkin until now has been a forgotten man.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2000
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About the author
Simon Garfield
36 books331 followersSimon Garfield is a British journalist and non-fiction author. He was educated at the independent University College School in Hampstead, London, and the London School of Economics, where he was the Executive Editor of The Beaver. He also regularly writes for The Observer newspaper.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
February 1, 2012
I have a confession to make - I work for a chemical company (not making dyes though), and used to be an engineer in a former existence, so I understood a fair amount of what this book says about chemistry. BUT, it's a great narrative of how one small moment in time, a mistake, an error, happened to completely revolutionize our lives today.
The chemical industry gets a bad wrap these days, sometimes fairly (chemical companies have done some pretty stupid/heinous things) and sometimes unfairly (trust me, life would be COMPLETELY different and much, much more difficult and dangerous without the chemicals we all use today perfectly safely), but this book actually tells the story of how the chemical industry developed (but in a non-tedious way), and how it was driven and why, and about some of the incredibly smart men who created some pretty amazing stuff in a wide range of fields.
Incidentally, this book gives some of the best insights into the Victorian age, and what motivated great Victorians. It really lets you feel how Victorians thought they could change the world (and actually did), and how that realization came to a crashing halt with increasing German aggression. It touches on nationalism (Germany believed in it, England believed it but almost too late to save itself). It touches on women's increasing independence and their spending power (their whims for a color drove the creation of a completely new industry), and the increasing spending power of the middle and working classes, and how they sought to use their money to improve the quality of their lives through increased color.
It touches on the inception of environmental regulation (even then, you couldn't get away with killing your neighbors for long), and made me think with some cynicism of the "new" sustainability and "eco" movements. These are not new at all, but rather standing on the shoulders of those who have come before them in creating the synthetic versions of "natural" products. I think maybe the author missed that the modern chemical industry is not a matter of synthetic versus natural - there is much to be said for both, and chemical companies understand this, but this book was written a few years before the sustainability movement really took off.
Best of all though, this is a story of a very bright, curious young man, who whilst seeking a synthetic source for the treatment of malaria, which would have saved millions of lives, stumbled upon something, which, whilst appearing nothing more than frippery, actually ending up providing the chemical stepping stones to some of the most valuable substances we use today, including medicines. He was a man of great humility, great persistence (against much snobbery from his purist chemistry pals, he scaled up his laboratory error into a factory) and ultimately just a man. He is not well-remembered, but maybe he'd prefer it that way?
4 stars. Great read.
The chemical industry gets a bad wrap these days, sometimes fairly (chemical companies have done some pretty stupid/heinous things) and sometimes unfairly (trust me, life would be COMPLETELY different and much, much more difficult and dangerous without the chemicals we all use today perfectly safely), but this book actually tells the story of how the chemical industry developed (but in a non-tedious way), and how it was driven and why, and about some of the incredibly smart men who created some pretty amazing stuff in a wide range of fields.
Incidentally, this book gives some of the best insights into the Victorian age, and what motivated great Victorians. It really lets you feel how Victorians thought they could change the world (and actually did), and how that realization came to a crashing halt with increasing German aggression. It touches on nationalism (Germany believed in it, England believed it but almost too late to save itself). It touches on women's increasing independence and their spending power (their whims for a color drove the creation of a completely new industry), and the increasing spending power of the middle and working classes, and how they sought to use their money to improve the quality of their lives through increased color.
It touches on the inception of environmental regulation (even then, you couldn't get away with killing your neighbors for long), and made me think with some cynicism of the "new" sustainability and "eco" movements. These are not new at all, but rather standing on the shoulders of those who have come before them in creating the synthetic versions of "natural" products. I think maybe the author missed that the modern chemical industry is not a matter of synthetic versus natural - there is much to be said for both, and chemical companies understand this, but this book was written a few years before the sustainability movement really took off.
Best of all though, this is a story of a very bright, curious young man, who whilst seeking a synthetic source for the treatment of malaria, which would have saved millions of lives, stumbled upon something, which, whilst appearing nothing more than frippery, actually ending up providing the chemical stepping stones to some of the most valuable substances we use today, including medicines. He was a man of great humility, great persistence (against much snobbery from his purist chemistry pals, he scaled up his laboratory error into a factory) and ultimately just a man. He is not well-remembered, but maybe he'd prefer it that way?
4 stars. Great read.
May 10, 2009
I am glad that Garfield wrote this book because I don't think I would otherwise have learned about the history and significance of synthetic dyes. However, this book seemed to be more a collection of facts than a narrative. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that Mauve contains the author's notes, which he planned to flesh out to create a coherent story, but then he ran out of time. In many instances, I wasn't sure what to make of the facts presented.
Example One: Garfield says that Perkin married his first cousin. Period. Did that make him a weird guy, or was this the type of marriage the norm in nineteenth century England? I have no idea. I also don't know how the union came to be: Were the Perkins madly in love? Did their parents (and aunts and uncles) approve? etc.
Example Two: "In movies that word (mauve) has been used imaginatively. In Bruce Robinson's screenplay for Withnail and I, the lecherous Uncle Monty defines Withnail with the disparaging phrase, He's so mauve.'" Since I've never seen this movie, I have no idea what kind of character Withnail is, and therefore don't know what mauve is meant to convey about Withnail. Does it have anything to do with Uncle Monty's lechery? Since Garfield has given no sense of how the word was used in this film, I'm forced to simply accept that it was used "imaginatively." Also, I'm left to wonder whether this paragraph added meaning to the book.
The best part of this book was seeing so many unfamiliar, beautiful words that are the names of colors. Apparently there are 7,500 unique color names. I'm going to try to get a hold of the full list!
Example One: Garfield says that Perkin married his first cousin. Period. Did that make him a weird guy, or was this the type of marriage the norm in nineteenth century England? I have no idea. I also don't know how the union came to be: Were the Perkins madly in love? Did their parents (and aunts and uncles) approve? etc.
Example Two: "In movies that word (mauve) has been used imaginatively. In Bruce Robinson's screenplay for Withnail and I, the lecherous Uncle Monty defines Withnail with the disparaging phrase, He's so mauve.'" Since I've never seen this movie, I have no idea what kind of character Withnail is, and therefore don't know what mauve is meant to convey about Withnail. Does it have anything to do with Uncle Monty's lechery? Since Garfield has given no sense of how the word was used in this film, I'm forced to simply accept that it was used "imaginatively." Also, I'm left to wonder whether this paragraph added meaning to the book.
The best part of this book was seeing so many unfamiliar, beautiful words that are the names of colors. Apparently there are 7,500 unique color names. I'm going to try to get a hold of the full list!
May 24, 2010
This is the kind of book that gives history a bad name. The format is very "so and so was born on such and such date, and then on this date he did this." No emotional content, no larger over-arching narrative, nothing compelling whatsoever (and it covered two world wars in which dye works played some non-trivial role!). It could possibly have been more boring, but I'm not sure how. For instance, it contained no fewer than five seemingly real-time accounts of nine hour celebratory banquets held in William Perkin's honor (a couple of them posthumous), with long passages quoting the extremely boring speeches given at these extremely boring dinners. Really not the way to interest your audience.
I think the problem that faced the author was that Perkin made his discovery of mauve, the first chemical dye, at 18 and had left the business by his 30s. The author didn't know how to fill up the rest of the book and that's what most of it reads as--filler. There is a lot of disjointed/anecdotal discussion of the scientific advances that built on the invention of chemical dye, such cell staining leading to the discovery of bacteria, but these feel totally random instead of interesting and engaging.
It is possible to write a fascinating book about dye, as evidenced by A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire. The little chapter at the end of A Perfect Red that covers Perkin and subsequent dye developments is more interesting and informative than this entire book.
I spent about 8 weeks reading it; I only finished because I felt it would be unfair to write a scathing review on its boringness if I didn't know for sure it was boring all the way through. It was.
I think the problem that faced the author was that Perkin made his discovery of mauve, the first chemical dye, at 18 and had left the business by his 30s. The author didn't know how to fill up the rest of the book and that's what most of it reads as--filler. There is a lot of disjointed/anecdotal discussion of the scientific advances that built on the invention of chemical dye, such cell staining leading to the discovery of bacteria, but these feel totally random instead of interesting and engaging.
It is possible to write a fascinating book about dye, as evidenced by A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire. The little chapter at the end of A Perfect Red that covers Perkin and subsequent dye developments is more interesting and informative than this entire book.
I spent about 8 weeks reading it; I only finished because I felt it would be unfair to write a scathing review on its boringness if I didn't know for sure it was boring all the way through. It was.
June 5, 2014
While I loved the premise of this book, it was poorly written and needed a much better editor. The story goes back and forth in no chronological order and with no transitions. For instance, it starts out at the end of Perkins life with a long and detailed and boring description of some fancy dinner he was honored at in New York.
At some point the author appears to decides "Oh, maybe I should stick some info in here about the natural dye industry" and starts going on about madder. This book really rambled and was frustratingly incohesive.
As if you weren't confused enough it then introduces some irrelevant data about a person who works in the fashion design industry introducing each years "it" colors. WTF? Sticking with the story would be good and keeping it in order would have helped tremendously. I really wanted to read this and just could not do it.
At some point the author appears to decides "Oh, maybe I should stick some info in here about the natural dye industry" and starts going on about madder. This book really rambled and was frustratingly incohesive.
As if you weren't confused enough it then introduces some irrelevant data about a person who works in the fashion design industry introducing each years "it" colors. WTF? Sticking with the story would be good and keeping it in order would have helped tremendously. I really wanted to read this and just could not do it.
June 25, 2022
Very interesting biography on a man and entire industry that I knew nothing about. The impact of chemistry on colors and the textile industry and then the ripple across industries was illuminating. It was also encouraging to have the main person (Perkins) be a man of character and wisdom, faithful to his family and friends even with fame. Not a page turner, but like an interesting documentary.
August 13, 2020
நிறம்,வர்ணம் இவை இரண்டுமே ஒரே பொருளை குறித்தாலும் இன்று பெரும்பான்மையினர் கலர் என்கிற ஆங்கில சொல்லையே அதற்கு பெரிதும் பயன்படுத்துகின்றனர். கத்திரிப்பூ, மயில் கழுத்து,ஆரஞ்சு,கிளிப்பச்சை போன்று இயற்கை சார்ந்த நிறங்கள் புழக்கத்தில் வெகுவாக இருந்த காலத்தில் , பதினெட்டே வயதான ஒருவர் உலகமே வியக்கும் செயற்கை சாயம் ஒன்றை கண்டுபிடித்தார். அவர்தான் வில்லியம் ஹென்றி பெர்கின். அவர் கண்டுபிடித்த சாயம், மெல்லிய ஊதா நிறம்,"மாவ்(Mauve)".
எதிர்பாராவிதமாக இந்த புத்தகத்தில் நிகழ்காலத்திற்கு இரண்டு முக்கிய தொடர்பு இருப்பதை உணர்ந்தேன். ஒன்று, உலகில் மற்ற நாடுகளுக்கு டன் டன் ஆக இந்தியா அனுப்பிக்கொண்டிருக்கும் குளோரோகுயினைன் (chloroquinine) , அதன் கண்டுபிடிப்பிற்கு முன்னோடியாக இந்த சோதனைகள் இருந்தது. இரண்டாவது, இதே ஜூலை மாதத்தில் பெர்கின் உயிர் நீத்தது.
பதினேழு,பதினெட்டு வயதில் நாமெல்லாம், கண்ணை கட்டி காட்டில் விட்டது போல கல்லூரியில் சேர்ந்து , எதை படிப்பது எதை விடுவது என்று புரியாமல் விழித்துக்கொண்டிருந்துருப்போம். ஆனால், நம் கதாநாயகன்,வேதியியலாளர் வில்லியம், மலேரியாவுக்கு மருந்து கண்டுபிடிக்கும் முயற்சியில் இறங்கி, அதில் அப்போது வெற்றி காணமுடியாமல் போனாலும் உலகிற்கு செயற்கை சாயத்தை அறிமுகப்படுத்தியிருக்கிறார். ஆதலால், தற்செயலான கண்டுபிடிப்புகள் பட்டியலில் இதுவும் சேர்ந்துகொண்டது. எனக்கு தெரிந்த இன்னொரு தற்செயல் கண்டுபிடிப்பு, குமிழி உறை (bubble wrap). வேதியலாளர்களுக்கு பெரிய எதிர்காலம் இல்லையென்று அவரது தந்தை நினைத்த போதிலும், செயற்கை சாயத்தை பெரிய அளவில் உற்பத்தி செய்யவேண்டி தம் படிப்பை பாதியில் நிறுத்தவேண்டியிருக்கும் என்ற போதிலும் விடாது மனம் தளராது உழைத்த பெர்க்கினின் முயற்சி மிகுந்த பாராட்டுக்குரியது மட்டுமின்றி நாம் அனைவரும் அவரிடமிருந்து கற்றுக்கொள்ள வேண்டிய பாடமும் கூட.
பெர்க்கினின் இந்த கண்டுபிடிப்பு, செயற்கை சாயம் மட்டுமின்றி, மருத்துவம், புகைப்படத்துறை,வாசனை திரவியங்கள் போன்ற பலவற்றிலும் பயன்பாட்டுக்கு உள்ளது.
நாம் பள்ளியில் படித்தபொழுது பிரவுன் ரிங் டெஸ்ட் (brown ring test) என்று ஒன்று உண்டு. இரண்டு ரசாயனத்துக்கு நடுவிலே அந்த பிரவுன் ரிங் பார்ப்பதற்கு அவ்வளவு அழகாக இருக்கும். ஆனால் என் அனுபவத்தில் ஒரு முறை கூட அது சரியாக வந்ததில்லை. ரசயானத்தில் ஆராய்ச்சி செய்யும் என் கணவர் பெரும்பாலும் குளிர்சாதன பெட்டியில், நிறைய சிறிய ரசாயன குப்பிகள் வைத்திருப்பதும், என்னை அதையெல்லாம் தொடாதே என்று எச்சரித்துக்கொண்டிருப்பதும்,இந்த புத்தகம் படிக்கும்போது ஞாபகம் வந்தன.
பெர்க்கினின் நூற்றியென்பதாவது பிறந்ததினத்தை முன்னிட்டு மார்ச் 12 ஆம் தேதி கூகிள், ஒரு கூகிள் டூடுள் (google doodle) வெளியிட்டது. 1906 முதல் பெர்கின் மெடல் என்று ஒன்று இந்த துறையில் சிறந்தவர்களுக்கு கொடுக்கப்படுகிறது. இதன் முதலில் பெற்றுக்கொண்டவர், பெர்கின் ஆவார்.1907 இல் அவர் நிமோனியாவால் இறப்பதற்கு ஒரு வருடம் முன்னால் வழங்கப்பட்டது. நூலின் கடைசியில் ஒரு சிறு மர்மம் இருப்பது போல தொடங்கி, பெர்க்கினின் எள்ளு பேத்தி மர்மத்தை விலக்குவதோடு நூல் முடிவடைகிறது.
எதிர்பாராவிதமாக இந்த புத்தகத்தில் நிகழ்காலத்திற்கு இரண்டு முக்கிய தொடர்பு இருப்பதை உணர்ந்தேன். ஒன்று, உலகில் மற்ற நாடுகளுக்கு டன் டன் ஆக இந்தியா அனுப்பிக்கொண்டிருக்கும் குளோரோகுயினைன் (chloroquinine) , அதன் கண்டுபிடிப்பிற்கு முன்னோடியாக இந்த சோதனைகள் இருந்தது. இரண்டாவது, இதே ஜூலை மாதத்தில் பெர்கின் உயிர் நீத்தது.
பதினேழு,பதினெட்டு வயதில் நாமெல்லாம், கண்ணை கட்டி காட்டில் விட்டது போல கல்லூரியில் சேர்ந்து , எதை படிப்பது எதை விடுவது என்று புரியாமல் விழித்துக்கொண்டிருந்துருப்போம். ஆனால், நம் கதாநாயகன்,வேதியியலாளர் வில்லியம், மலேரியாவுக்கு மருந்து கண்டுபிடிக்கும் முயற்சியில் இறங்கி, அதில் அப்போது வெற்றி காணமுடியாமல் போனாலும் உலகிற்கு செயற்கை சாயத்தை அறிமுகப்படுத்தியிருக்கிறார். ஆதலால், தற்செயலான கண்டுபிடிப்புகள் பட்டியலில் இதுவும் சேர்ந்துகொண்டது. எனக்கு தெரிந்த இன்னொரு தற்செயல் கண்டுபிடிப்பு, குமிழி உறை (bubble wrap). வேதியலாளர்களுக்கு பெரிய எதிர்காலம் இல்லையென்று அவரது தந்தை நினைத்த போதிலும், செயற்கை சாயத்தை பெரிய அளவில் உற்பத்தி செய்யவேண்டி தம் படிப்பை பாதியில் நிறுத்தவேண்டியிருக்கும் என்ற போதிலும் விடாது மனம் தளராது உழைத்த பெர்க்கினின் முயற்சி மிகுந்த பாராட்டுக்குரியது மட்டுமின்றி நாம் அனைவரும் அவரிடமிருந்து கற்றுக்கொள்ள வேண்டிய பாடமும் கூட.
பெர்க்கினின் இந்த கண்டுபிடிப்பு, செயற்கை சாயம் மட்டுமின்றி, மருத்துவம், புகைப்படத்துறை,வாசனை திரவியங்கள் போன்ற பலவற்றிலும் பயன்பாட்டுக்கு உள்ளது.
நாம் பள்ளியில் படித்தபொழுது பிரவுன் ரிங் டெஸ்ட் (brown ring test) என்று ஒன்று உண்டு. இரண்டு ரசாயனத்துக்கு நடுவிலே அந்த பிரவுன் ரிங் பார்ப்பதற்கு அவ்வளவு அழகாக இருக்கும். ஆனால் என் அனுபவத்தில் ஒரு முறை கூட அது சரியாக வந்ததில்லை. ரசயானத்தில் ஆராய்ச்சி செய்யும் என் கணவர் பெரும்பாலும் குளிர்சாதன பெட்டியில், நிறைய சிறிய ரசாயன குப்பிகள் வைத்திருப்பதும், என்னை அதையெல்லாம் தொடாதே என்று எச்சரித்துக்கொண்டிருப்பதும்,இந்த புத்தகம் படிக்கும்போது ஞாபகம் வந்தன.
பெர்க்கினின் நூற்றியென்பதாவது பிறந்ததினத்தை முன்னிட்டு மார்ச் 12 ஆம் தேதி கூகிள், ஒரு கூகிள் டூடுள் (google doodle) வெளியிட்டது. 1906 முதல் பெர்கின் மெடல் என்று ஒன்று இந்த துறையில் சிறந்தவர்களுக்கு கொடுக்கப்படுகிறது. இதன் முதலில் பெற்றுக்கொண்டவர், பெர்கின் ஆவார்.1907 இல் அவர் நிமோனியாவால் இறப்பதற்கு ஒரு வருடம் முன்னால் வழங்கப்பட்டது. நூலின் கடைசியில் ஒரு சிறு மர்மம் இருப்பது போல தொடங்கி, பெர்க்கினின் எள்ளு பேத்தி மர்மத்தை விலக்குவதோடு நூல் முடிவடைகிறது.
April 26, 2024
Crazy how what was technically a failed experiment created an entire industry that we now take for granted, and helped to build the foundation for modern chemistry.
Very interesting content, it gets more interesting as you go but the beginning of it is kinda a slog. Also the author does this thing where he will jump from the past to the present between paragraphs without necessarily noting that he has done so. Kind like a Tarantino movie but not as artistic.
Very interesting content, it gets more interesting as you go but the beginning of it is kinda a slog. Also the author does this thing where he will jump from the past to the present between paragraphs without necessarily noting that he has done so. Kind like a Tarantino movie but not as artistic.
April 12, 2021
This book has no structure, the writting gets mixed up with notes of the author and as others have said it's a mix of facts that end up saying nothing.
Most of the time the writer goes on a tangent that has absolutely nothing to do with the history, also this book is way longer than it should and uses alot of technical jargon that makes no contribution to the essence of the book aside from making it longer and tedious to follow.
The life of Perkins can be summed up in probably 50 pages and not 200 as this book does.
Most of the time the writer goes on a tangent that has absolutely nothing to do with the history, also this book is way longer than it should and uses alot of technical jargon that makes no contribution to the essence of the book aside from making it longer and tedious to follow.
The life of Perkins can be summed up in probably 50 pages and not 200 as this book does.
July 22, 2007
This was a fascinating book, albeit on a very specific topic. Nicely done and full of interesting nuggets of information about life in Victorian England.
April 28, 2021
Wanted to like this, but it was difficult to read and felt like a chore
September 29, 2019
As one newspaper stated at Sir William Perkins' death, his triumphs regarding coal-tar caused 'the deliverance from their chemical dungeon of the imprisoned spirits of the rainbow'.
It was an accident. He was trying to find a synthetic version of quinine, the only effective treatment against malaria. This was the initial decades where science was just beginning to understand the different elements and how various compounds interacted and how molecules were created. The basics of organic chemistry were barely recognized. Yet, somehow, he took a hydrocarbon, subjected it to other chemicals, rinsed it with this, heated it for this long, rinsed until clear with that, heated again, stirred in this which precipitated out this other thing. . . and got . . . an intense violet. Mauve.
It was only good fortune that he found someone in the textile industry who was willing to take a chance on this new color. And it was a hit. Especially when Queen Victoria came out of her black mourning into mauve.
That was only the beginning of the synthetic colors distilled from bituminous coal. Chemists everywhere wanted to come up with the next popular dye. And many of the coal-tar/aniline colors would be unfamiliar to today's ear - Bleu de Paris; Nicholson's blue; Turkey red; Scheele's green; Britannia violet - and of course, fushsine, rosaniline, solferino and the more commonly known, magenta.
The coal-tar synthetic color dyes not only changed the textile industry with new colors of clothes, upholstery, curtains but also stamps, foodstuffs, wallpaper, banknotes and even lead into photochemicals, artificial scents and flavoring (like saccharine) aspirin, malarial treatments, modern explosives, furniture stains, hair dyes, cosmetics, staining of cells/tissues/bacteria for medicine, botany, physiology, microbiology and far more.
The book especially covers the years after Perkins great discovery. The mess in patents as well as the loopholes that Germany utilized extensively (Britain recognized German patents but Germany would not recognize British ones among other problems). The massive development of the German artificial dye and base liquid corporations that overwhelmed the other countries manufacturing. Which was very obvious with the First World War and dyes for uniforms and chemicals for explosives were mainly an export of the German enemy.
The book started with the 50th anniversary celebration of Perkin's discovery in NYC, noted chemists and scientists with various excerpts of their speeches. Then it jumps into Perkin's life, his schooling, training with August Hofmann. About 30% into the book, the chapters end with several paragraphs regarding the modern fashion industry and who and how the 'popular colors' of the next year are chosen. It is very disconcerting and completely derails the train of thought previously constructed. And it happens repeatedly for several chapters.
All from an 18-year-old who decided to see what he could do with some brightly colored leftovers from a failed experiment.
2016-136
It was an accident. He was trying to find a synthetic version of quinine, the only effective treatment against malaria. This was the initial decades where science was just beginning to understand the different elements and how various compounds interacted and how molecules were created. The basics of organic chemistry were barely recognized. Yet, somehow, he took a hydrocarbon, subjected it to other chemicals, rinsed it with this, heated it for this long, rinsed until clear with that, heated again, stirred in this which precipitated out this other thing. . . and got . . . an intense violet. Mauve.
It was only good fortune that he found someone in the textile industry who was willing to take a chance on this new color. And it was a hit. Especially when Queen Victoria came out of her black mourning into mauve.
That was only the beginning of the synthetic colors distilled from bituminous coal. Chemists everywhere wanted to come up with the next popular dye. And many of the coal-tar/aniline colors would be unfamiliar to today's ear - Bleu de Paris; Nicholson's blue; Turkey red; Scheele's green; Britannia violet - and of course, fushsine, rosaniline, solferino and the more commonly known, magenta.
The coal-tar synthetic color dyes not only changed the textile industry with new colors of clothes, upholstery, curtains but also stamps, foodstuffs, wallpaper, banknotes and even lead into photochemicals, artificial scents and flavoring (like saccharine) aspirin, malarial treatments, modern explosives, furniture stains, hair dyes, cosmetics, staining of cells/tissues/bacteria for medicine, botany, physiology, microbiology and far more.
The book especially covers the years after Perkins great discovery. The mess in patents as well as the loopholes that Germany utilized extensively (Britain recognized German patents but Germany would not recognize British ones among other problems). The massive development of the German artificial dye and base liquid corporations that overwhelmed the other countries manufacturing. Which was very obvious with the First World War and dyes for uniforms and chemicals for explosives were mainly an export of the German enemy.
The book started with the 50th anniversary celebration of Perkin's discovery in NYC, noted chemists and scientists with various excerpts of their speeches. Then it jumps into Perkin's life, his schooling, training with August Hofmann. About 30% into the book, the chapters end with several paragraphs regarding the modern fashion industry and who and how the 'popular colors' of the next year are chosen. It is very disconcerting and completely derails the train of thought previously constructed. And it happens repeatedly for several chapters.
All from an 18-year-old who decided to see what he could do with some brightly colored leftovers from a failed experiment.
2016-136
July 27, 2017
Mauve as a color has always been a bit of a puzzle. It’s not exactly purple, or lilac, or magenta. It’s certainly not very popular today, and if you showed up at work wearing mauve you’d raise eyebrows. Somehow it conjures up images of grandmothers and musty old drawing rooms with fading wallpaper. It’s yesterday’s color — so what could it possibly have to do with innovation?
A lot, as it turns out. As Simon Garfield explains, eighteen-year-old William Perkin was trying to make quinine in his home laboratory one day in 1856, using the waste product coal tar. Malaria was still a reality in England at the time, and coal tar was piling up in waste sites and streams as coal was converted to methane to light Victorian street lamps. By accident, he synthesized a strange black powder he couldn’t identify. Instead of throwing it away, he purified it and soon realized it was a dye, turning textiles like wool and cotton a pale purple color. He called the substance mauvine.
Perkin was studying chemistry under the famous Professor August Wilhem von Hofmann at the time, but wasn’t eager to show off his discovery to his mentor. For one thing, he believed correctly that Hoffman would consider it a useless distraction from more refined academic pursuits. Perkin instead struck out on his own, contacting a Scottish dyer and sending him a sample of fabric dyed with his new substance. The response was enthusiastic, and he quickly realized there was a commercial future for his discovery.
He managed to convince his father and brother of the same thing, and they spent the family savings building a factory at Greenford in northwest London. Within six months they were manufacturing and selling mauve and seeing real revenues. Word of the new dye spread quickly, and the color soon became very fashionable, especially when Empress Eugénie (wife of Napoleon III) began favoring mauve in 1857 because it matched her eyes, and Queen Victoria wore a mauve dress to her daughter’s wedding in 1858. Almost overnight, mauve was everywhere, and Perkin become astonishingly rich.
This story isn’t just about fashion innovation. It matters because mauve was the first step in the creation of the global chemicals industry, proving that chemistry had valuable commercial applications and creating revenue streams to pay large numbers of chemists to work on further practical discoveries. For all its flaws, we literally couldn’t have modern life without commercial chemistry: pharmaceuticals, agriculture, plastics, textiles, fuel, and countless other products that we use every day are made by it. Had Perkin been a little less daring and entrepreneurial — or perhaps a little older and more jaded — he might have thrown the mauvine down the drain, and the world would have had to wait for the beneficial innovations that it sparked.
So why don’t we all know this story? The answer is the same thing that complicates Garfield’s narrative and makes the book less than it should be: Perkin was basically boring. Despite the brilliant color that his discovery unleashed, he led a largely colorless life. He continued to work diligently but unremarkably through his later years, rarely traveled, had few hobbies and fewer vices, and lived a long, pious life of charity and modest research. Where’s the fun in that? Garfield has so much trouble rescuing Perkin from modest obscurity that he’s reduced to literally recounting the hurrahs received at the gala dinner in honor of the 50th anniversary of his discovery.
In fact, the much more compelling personality in these pages is von Hoffman, who taught Perkin chemistry and launched countless brilliant careers in between hanging out with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. His story is much glitzier: he had four wives and eleven children, made fundamental contributions across many fields in chemistry, and inspired gushing biographies. His statue in Berlin was destroyed by an RAF raid during World War II, which somehow seems appropriate given the fact that after he left England to return to Germany, the German chemicals industry grew to significantly out-compete the English one that Perkin launched. (It’s worth remembering that industrial chemistry played a huge role in World War I, enabling Germany to fight for years with very limited sources of fuel and ammunition.)
Yet this is the truth of innovation: the real innovators aren’t always the ones in the limelight. Quiet, diligent, outwardly unremarkable people often are the true source of the key technical advances or the fundamental insights that are critical for innovation. That’s an important thing to remember in the age of charismatic, outspoken technology entrepreneurs like Musk and Zuckerberg. Perkin, great innovator that he was, probably wouldn’t have had any followers on Twitter.
One of the other fascinating parts of this history is the impact of mauve and other synthetic dyes on society. In today’s world we see color everywhere we look — our clothes, cars, buildings, signs, and screens all pulse with a million different shades — and we can’t imagine life without it. But the early 19th century was a much more drab place. Because dyes were expensive, only the rich could afford things with deep, vibrant colors, and even those tended to fade quickly. Color was a luxury, and the world that people saw every day reflected that economic and technological fact.
The invention of mauvine, and the other cheap synthetic dyes that followed it, dramatically changed this. Mauve itself replaced the color previously known as Tyrian Purple, which was made from hand-collected sea snails and so expensive that it became associated with royalty. But Perkin’s discovery meant that even the poorest of consumers could suddenly wear the color of kings and queens, and the world was transformed. People’s daily experience became increasingly saturated with color, with dyed clothing, wallpaper, and other objects everywhere. In a sense, mauve made the world that we see today.
On a recent visit to London I took the Underground to Greenford and walked the short distance to the spot where the Perkins built their factory. It’s now a parking lot and office building, but a blue plaque marks this seminal site of modern chemistry, and the Black Horse pub still stands next door.
As if to make up for Perkin’s lack of sex appeal, about five hundred yards away is the former location the Oldfield Hotel, where The Who had their first gig in 1964. Sadly, there’s no evidence that the rockers knew about their connection to the invention of modern color, except for one intriguing possibility. Keith Moon’s famous Rolls Royce (which he may or may not have driven into a swimming pool) was at one point painted the most appropriate color for his wild lifestyle: mauve. Maybe he realized that he owed a debt to the man who invented it.
A lot, as it turns out. As Simon Garfield explains, eighteen-year-old William Perkin was trying to make quinine in his home laboratory one day in 1856, using the waste product coal tar. Malaria was still a reality in England at the time, and coal tar was piling up in waste sites and streams as coal was converted to methane to light Victorian street lamps. By accident, he synthesized a strange black powder he couldn’t identify. Instead of throwing it away, he purified it and soon realized it was a dye, turning textiles like wool and cotton a pale purple color. He called the substance mauvine.
Perkin was studying chemistry under the famous Professor August Wilhem von Hofmann at the time, but wasn’t eager to show off his discovery to his mentor. For one thing, he believed correctly that Hoffman would consider it a useless distraction from more refined academic pursuits. Perkin instead struck out on his own, contacting a Scottish dyer and sending him a sample of fabric dyed with his new substance. The response was enthusiastic, and he quickly realized there was a commercial future for his discovery.
He managed to convince his father and brother of the same thing, and they spent the family savings building a factory at Greenford in northwest London. Within six months they were manufacturing and selling mauve and seeing real revenues. Word of the new dye spread quickly, and the color soon became very fashionable, especially when Empress Eugénie (wife of Napoleon III) began favoring mauve in 1857 because it matched her eyes, and Queen Victoria wore a mauve dress to her daughter’s wedding in 1858. Almost overnight, mauve was everywhere, and Perkin become astonishingly rich.
This story isn’t just about fashion innovation. It matters because mauve was the first step in the creation of the global chemicals industry, proving that chemistry had valuable commercial applications and creating revenue streams to pay large numbers of chemists to work on further practical discoveries. For all its flaws, we literally couldn’t have modern life without commercial chemistry: pharmaceuticals, agriculture, plastics, textiles, fuel, and countless other products that we use every day are made by it. Had Perkin been a little less daring and entrepreneurial — or perhaps a little older and more jaded — he might have thrown the mauvine down the drain, and the world would have had to wait for the beneficial innovations that it sparked.
So why don’t we all know this story? The answer is the same thing that complicates Garfield’s narrative and makes the book less than it should be: Perkin was basically boring. Despite the brilliant color that his discovery unleashed, he led a largely colorless life. He continued to work diligently but unremarkably through his later years, rarely traveled, had few hobbies and fewer vices, and lived a long, pious life of charity and modest research. Where’s the fun in that? Garfield has so much trouble rescuing Perkin from modest obscurity that he’s reduced to literally recounting the hurrahs received at the gala dinner in honor of the 50th anniversary of his discovery.
In fact, the much more compelling personality in these pages is von Hoffman, who taught Perkin chemistry and launched countless brilliant careers in between hanging out with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. His story is much glitzier: he had four wives and eleven children, made fundamental contributions across many fields in chemistry, and inspired gushing biographies. His statue in Berlin was destroyed by an RAF raid during World War II, which somehow seems appropriate given the fact that after he left England to return to Germany, the German chemicals industry grew to significantly out-compete the English one that Perkin launched. (It’s worth remembering that industrial chemistry played a huge role in World War I, enabling Germany to fight for years with very limited sources of fuel and ammunition.)
Yet this is the truth of innovation: the real innovators aren’t always the ones in the limelight. Quiet, diligent, outwardly unremarkable people often are the true source of the key technical advances or the fundamental insights that are critical for innovation. That’s an important thing to remember in the age of charismatic, outspoken technology entrepreneurs like Musk and Zuckerberg. Perkin, great innovator that he was, probably wouldn’t have had any followers on Twitter.
One of the other fascinating parts of this history is the impact of mauve and other synthetic dyes on society. In today’s world we see color everywhere we look — our clothes, cars, buildings, signs, and screens all pulse with a million different shades — and we can’t imagine life without it. But the early 19th century was a much more drab place. Because dyes were expensive, only the rich could afford things with deep, vibrant colors, and even those tended to fade quickly. Color was a luxury, and the world that people saw every day reflected that economic and technological fact.
The invention of mauvine, and the other cheap synthetic dyes that followed it, dramatically changed this. Mauve itself replaced the color previously known as Tyrian Purple, which was made from hand-collected sea snails and so expensive that it became associated with royalty. But Perkin’s discovery meant that even the poorest of consumers could suddenly wear the color of kings and queens, and the world was transformed. People’s daily experience became increasingly saturated with color, with dyed clothing, wallpaper, and other objects everywhere. In a sense, mauve made the world that we see today.
On a recent visit to London I took the Underground to Greenford and walked the short distance to the spot where the Perkins built their factory. It’s now a parking lot and office building, but a blue plaque marks this seminal site of modern chemistry, and the Black Horse pub still stands next door.
As if to make up for Perkin’s lack of sex appeal, about five hundred yards away is the former location the Oldfield Hotel, where The Who had their first gig in 1964. Sadly, there’s no evidence that the rockers knew about their connection to the invention of modern color, except for one intriguing possibility. Keith Moon’s famous Rolls Royce (which he may or may not have driven into a swimming pool) was at one point painted the most appropriate color for his wild lifestyle: mauve. Maybe he realized that he owed a debt to the man who invented it.
February 9, 2020
The tale of one man and his curiosity and how with a lot of hard work and persuasion he got his invention accepted, an invention that ultimately laid the foundation of modern chemistry, industry and all other aspects of modern life that are linked to them and to all the colors we use today.
Quite fascinating how sometimes the smallest thing can have such a long lasting impact.
Would recommend to others, even those not that interested in chemistry.
Quite fascinating how sometimes the smallest thing can have such a long lasting impact.
Would recommend to others, even those not that interested in chemistry.
July 31, 2023
A fairly interesting volume of the now forgotten William Perkin's career and how his discovery of mass producing the colour mauve later helped change many fields in science and industry. The narrative while engrossing can sometimes be all over the place as Garfield switches context suddenly without warning, losing a fair bit of focus. The writer had amassed a lot of facts and anecdotes while doing research for the book but he doesn't really know how to weave them into a coherent whole. The volume needs an editor.
A fairly decent read.
A fairly decent read.
January 11, 2025
It took me years to finish this weird little book, partly because I misplaced it. It is enlightening.
October 12, 2020
Did not finish. Read over half of it, it doesn’t have enough science to use for a living science book in high school and it wasn’t interesting enough to make up for the lack of actual science.
July 22, 2019
Very interesting, but not as riveting (obviously) as some of Simon Garfield's others
March 23, 2021
Packed with information. The chemistry was completely beyond me. Loved the fact that the last sentence was about the author finding Perkins grave - which, of course, was not where they thought it should be!
May 1, 2022
For anyone who ever spent time in the dye lab at the Scottish College of Textiles in Galashiels. A celebration of enquiring minds and scientific research. An amazing journey from the Victorian era to present day - thought provoking and quirky - i loved nerding out on this!
August 15, 2019
A combination of the history of science, the history of fashion, and biography, and remarkably not a heavy read. Enjoyable, interesting and a good opportunity to fill in the details about a well known name of chemistry.
March 8, 2019
On it's face, this is a story about the discovery of mauve; more so, this book presents a picture of chemistry and the surrounding zeitgeist in Victorian England, the field of chemistry and it's growth from abstract science to industrial dye making and on to the creation of modern medicines and materials of biochemistry and material science. The author includes many tangents of information, which are interesting and informative.
However, the story is very non-linear, choppy, and does not flow between chapters. While the story of Perkins' life is told, on the whole, linearly, the text jumps between time points often and in ways that do not further the narrative. For example, the author describes in detail a number of commemorative banquets and celebrations and meetings that feel very repetitive and don't add much to the story; he opens the book with one such celebration at the end of Perkins' life, which is not only disorienting, but in trying to introduce the central character of this biography, also spoils many of the implications of Perkins' research that make the story gripping.
Overall, this is an interesting book on the history of science which tells an engaging story of scientific discovery and connects it well with the state of scientific discovery today. As a biography, you do not get a good feel for Perkins' personality and character, and the story of his life is told in a way that falls a bit flat.
However, the story is very non-linear, choppy, and does not flow between chapters. While the story of Perkins' life is told, on the whole, linearly, the text jumps between time points often and in ways that do not further the narrative. For example, the author describes in detail a number of commemorative banquets and celebrations and meetings that feel very repetitive and don't add much to the story; he opens the book with one such celebration at the end of Perkins' life, which is not only disorienting, but in trying to introduce the central character of this biography, also spoils many of the implications of Perkins' research that make the story gripping.
Overall, this is an interesting book on the history of science which tells an engaging story of scientific discovery and connects it well with the state of scientific discovery today. As a biography, you do not get a good feel for Perkins' personality and character, and the story of his life is told in a way that falls a bit flat.
November 24, 2019
Science, like art, is largely perspiration with a minute amount of inspiration thrown into it. Occasionally, however, the greatest discoveries can come about through sheer luck.
However, William Perkin was more than merely a lucky amateur. Humble, soft spoken and yet gifted, talented, blessed with a curious, keen intellect and scientific know-how, Mr. Perkin set out to find a cure for malaria and stumbled across something just as wonderful—a brand new color that would end up revolutionizing the world.
Mr. Perkin’s discovery was partially luck, but also partially a reflection of changing times. In an era when chemistry wasn’t highly regarded and anything approaching commercialism of pure science was regarded with ridicule and disdain, Mr. Perkin strove hard to find people who would take his new discovery seriously. He amassed a fortune and considerable fame during his lifetime only to fall into obscurity after it. His name graces a medal but his tombstone in the graveyard where he was buried is not to be found. How did this happen?
Delving into old scientific treatises, articles, journals and verbal accounts, Mr. Garfield has spun an enchanting story around what could have been very dry matter indeed—scientific research and development. Mr. Perkin’s creation of mauve was more than a fashion fad; it paved the way for all sorts of fantastic, wonderful and useful inventions in the years and decades that followed. He influenced everything from clothing to explosives, medicines to food additives.
A story of a true scientific genius, Mauve inspires, informs and entertains. I found this novel insightful and I was never bored. Mr. Garfield brings his subject alive and gives the modern reader a look into a vanished era and a very special man.
However, William Perkin was more than merely a lucky amateur. Humble, soft spoken and yet gifted, talented, blessed with a curious, keen intellect and scientific know-how, Mr. Perkin set out to find a cure for malaria and stumbled across something just as wonderful—a brand new color that would end up revolutionizing the world.
Mr. Perkin’s discovery was partially luck, but also partially a reflection of changing times. In an era when chemistry wasn’t highly regarded and anything approaching commercialism of pure science was regarded with ridicule and disdain, Mr. Perkin strove hard to find people who would take his new discovery seriously. He amassed a fortune and considerable fame during his lifetime only to fall into obscurity after it. His name graces a medal but his tombstone in the graveyard where he was buried is not to be found. How did this happen?
Delving into old scientific treatises, articles, journals and verbal accounts, Mr. Garfield has spun an enchanting story around what could have been very dry matter indeed—scientific research and development. Mr. Perkin’s creation of mauve was more than a fashion fad; it paved the way for all sorts of fantastic, wonderful and useful inventions in the years and decades that followed. He influenced everything from clothing to explosives, medicines to food additives.
A story of a true scientific genius, Mauve inspires, informs and entertains. I found this novel insightful and I was never bored. Mr. Garfield brings his subject alive and gives the modern reader a look into a vanished era and a very special man.
January 31, 2012
A slim but broad-reaching tale of the beginning of artifiical dyes. At the time Perkin made his discovery that coal-tar could be transformed into mauve dye, chemistry was thought of like philosophy--a gentleman's pursuit with no worldly or industrial value. Perkin's discovery and subsequent ability to make money off of it changed that perception forever. By the time he died, chemistry was a roaring industry.
The history of artificial dyes is a fascinating one. Before Perkin discovered mauve, all dyes came from natural sources like plants or sea creatures. The array of colors was small, particularly for the poor. But chemical processes created not only a wide variety of colors, but made them available to everyone. Soon, bright, vibrant colors were a sign of being low-class instead of rich. Trying to cut corners in the chemical process led to colors that bled (even upon people's skin as they wore their clothes), or colors that were actually poisonous. Bright green was particularly likely to be rife with arsenic (could this be part of why the poison cake in Peter Pan is colored bright green?). Meanwhile, analine dyes were being used to discover the microbial world and eventually, even treat diseases. The tale of how mauve came to be is a fascinating one, and fairly well encapsulated herein.
The history of artificial dyes is a fascinating one. Before Perkin discovered mauve, all dyes came from natural sources like plants or sea creatures. The array of colors was small, particularly for the poor. But chemical processes created not only a wide variety of colors, but made them available to everyone. Soon, bright, vibrant colors were a sign of being low-class instead of rich. Trying to cut corners in the chemical process led to colors that bled (even upon people's skin as they wore their clothes), or colors that were actually poisonous. Bright green was particularly likely to be rife with arsenic (could this be part of why the poison cake in Peter Pan is colored bright green?). Meanwhile, analine dyes were being used to discover the microbial world and eventually, even treat diseases. The tale of how mauve came to be is a fascinating one, and fairly well encapsulated herein.
December 22, 2011
The story of William Perkin, a British chemist who as a teenager accidentally stumbled upon coal-tar derivative dyes --- mauve being the first. Beyond its immediate impact of creating a new industry and economy (“mauve measles” was a huge fad), the dyes were later found to have applications in cell research, medicines, explosives and plastics.
It is an intriguing story, but it’s better suited to a New Yorker article; the book itself is a bit much. Perkin wasn’t a very interesting man apart from his discovery: he was deeply religious, assiduous, and modest, like a lot of Victorians. So there’s not much entertainment to be had from that quarter. Also, Garfield stuffs his book with lengthy excerpts from testimonial dinners (all right! we get the idea! Perkin was important! enough!), statistics, and continues writing long after Perkin’s death about the aniline dyes’ importance in other areas, which had long been granted already.
It is an intriguing story, but it’s better suited to a New Yorker article; the book itself is a bit much. Perkin wasn’t a very interesting man apart from his discovery: he was deeply religious, assiduous, and modest, like a lot of Victorians. So there’s not much entertainment to be had from that quarter. Also, Garfield stuffs his book with lengthy excerpts from testimonial dinners (all right! we get the idea! Perkin was important! enough!), statistics, and continues writing long after Perkin’s death about the aniline dyes’ importance in other areas, which had long been granted already.
May 2, 2019
It’s not that this book is bad, per se, but it’s dry and organized in an odd way. Part of it is this book doesn’t know what it wants to be - it’s part history, part biography, and part journalism strung together haphazardly. At some points, it lists a bunch of scientists and awards they’ve won because they attended a conference loosely related to Perkins.
I can’t recommend this for the casual reader, but if you’re obsessed with learning about color it does have some interesting parts. IMO the biographical aspects of the book were the most interesting and I wish it delved into Perkin’s life in more detail.
I can’t recommend this for the casual reader, but if you’re obsessed with learning about color it does have some interesting parts. IMO the biographical aspects of the book were the most interesting and I wish it delved into Perkin’s life in more detail.
September 28, 2007
It is hard not to be impressed by an author who can take such a seemingly mundane topic as the development of a dye for a particular purple hue and produce from it such a readable story . Of course, it helps that there is already a surprisingly interesting untold tale to be told, and it covers quite a bit of ground - from the staid and stiff academic institutions of Europe, through the establishment of the early applied synthetic chemistry laboratories, to the very founding of the pharmaceutical industry. And, of course, a Parisian fashion craze, when only the *true* Mauve would do.
November 22, 2017
2.5 stars. An obviously well-researched book, but altogether pretty dryly presented with just spurts of being truly engaging. Finished the book (skimming at the end) thinking that the credo for writing good fiction applies to historical nonfiction, too--don't just TELL me all the facts, SHOW me how they interweave with time and place and custom to create the rich story we call history. I do recommend this book for teachers who wish to integrate their chemistry and history curriculums.
November 7, 2021
I enjoyed the topic. Many other reviews touched on the book’s organization. The second third of the book really seems to be an add on. I think the book should have started with an overview, connecting the various uses for Perkin’s techniques. It would have helped keep the connection between uses and technique.
I did learn quite a lot about dyes and the color industry and also the various business struggles between Britain and Germany.
I did learn quite a lot about dyes and the color industry and also the various business struggles between Britain and Germany.
November 29, 2011
Astonishing -- a story most of us never knew or have forgotten. Did you know that sticky, smell, humble coal tar has given us everything from fashion's bright colors to a variety of medicines? I had no idea.
Unfortunately, the story is told in a strange order that makes it hard to follow, but the facts are interesting and the writer does his best to stick to what people really said and did.
Unfortunately, the story is told in a strange order that makes it hard to follow, but the facts are interesting and the writer does his best to stick to what people really said and did.
September 19, 2018
I usually love micro-histories and was looking forward to reading about something I'm not familiar with. But this just wasn't very well done, or terribly interesting. Very slow going, very technical, with no humanizing of Mr. Perkins at all. Pretty bland.
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