Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World

by Simon Garfield

Overview

"Garfield's engaging story of William Perkin's accidental discovery is an informative mix of science, history, and biography."—Boston Herald

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.

"By bringing Perkin into the open and documenting his life and work, Garfield has done a service to history."—Chicago Tribune "[A]n inviting cocktail of Perkin biography, account of the dye industry and where it led, and social and cultural history up to the present."—American Scientist "Garfield leaps gracefully back and forth in time, as comfortable in the Victorian past as he is in the brave new world of petrochemicals and biochemistry."—Kirkus Reviews starred review. "[T]he delight of this book is seeing parallels to present-day trends."—"New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393323139
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	05/17/2002
Edition description:	1st American Edition
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Simon Garfield is the author of the international bestsellers Just My Type, On the Map, and Mauve, among other books. He lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

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Life is full of false starts and wrong turns, but rarely do they have the power to shape history. Mauve is the delightful story of one accident that did.

William Perkin was, by all accounts, a modest, pleasant Englishman with a talent for chemistry and a mind for research. In 1856, at the tender age of 18, he decided to put his chemistry studies to the test. Malaria was then prevalent in many countries, and the most effective treatment, quinine, was scarce and costly. Aiming to invent a synthetic form of quinine, Perkin instead happened upon an oily black substance that, when purified and dried, became a lovely shade of light purple. In short, he had discovered mauve. More specifically, he had discovered a way to produce color without relying on natural products like plants and bugs, with their limited hues. His experiment transformed fashion, but perhaps more importantly, it was the spark of genius that inspired a sequence of related chemical innovations with far-reaching implications for such industries as cosmetics, photography, and even medicine.

In Mauve, Simon Garfield recounts the appealing story of Perkin's life, while demonstrating the unexpected value of his simple (some would even say naïve) experiment. We watch Perkin wrestle with the dueling demands of pure science and lucrative commercialism and see him earn well-deserved international acclaim. The result is a refreshing and enlightening story of a man who put his curiosity to the test and scored a big and brightly colored success. (Summer 2001 Selection)

bn.com

In an engagingly simple manner . . . Garfield takes us by the hand through the mysteries of science. . . . [His] study is far more than a social history of fashion. It has much to tell us about the accidental nature of scientific discoveries . . . and the relationship between science and industry in Victorian times.

Daily Telegraph

Although Perkin's discovery was a stroke of luck, he was, as Simon Garfield's appreciative biography shows, the kind of exemplary juvenile who was almost bound to make his mark sooner or later.

[Sunday Times

Like those excellent and tastefully packaged true stories Longitude and Arcanum, Mauve is a stirring tale of triumph over adversity, of scientific progress made through the extraordinary exertions of a single person.

Associated Newspapers Ltd.

[A] book salted with fascinating data...

New York Times

[T]he delight of this book is seeing parallels to present-day trends.

New York Times Book Review

By bringing Perkin into the open and documenting his life and work, Garfield has done a service to history.

Chicago Tribune

[A]n inviting cocktail of Perkin biography, account of the dye industry and where it led, and social and cultural history up to the present.

American Scientist

Garfield's engaging story...is an informative mix of science, history, and biography.

Boston Herald

Garfield has fashioned a stylish compound of biography, cultural and scientific history, and literary detection....Mauve-lous.

Kirkus Reviews

Although Perkin's discovery was a stroke of luck, he was, as Simon Garfield's appreciative biography shows, the kind of exemplary juvenile who was almost bound to make his mark sooner or later.

Sunday Times London

Like those excellent and tastefully packaged true stories Longitude and Arcanum, Mauve is a stirring tale of triumph over adversity, of scientific progress made through the extraordinary exertions of a single person.

Associated Newspaper

A book salted with fascinating data…
—New York Times

Janet Maslin

An engaging and airy history.
—New York Times Book Review

Marcia Bartusiak

Garfield recounts William Perkin's accidental discovery of a factory-production dyeing process. He then assesses the impact of that event in fashion, chemistry, industry, and history. The book celebrates Garfield as both a scientist and a personality. Eight pages of illustrations and photographs (black and white and color) are featured. Garfield is an author with no university affiliation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Mauve is the unique and fascinating examination of a single hue which considers the man who accidentally invented a color which changed his world. Before 1956, colors came from insects, roots and dyeing. In 1956 chemist William Perkin discovered a way of mass producing color in a factory, found the color mauve by chance, and fostered a new era of applied chemistry. A fascinating survey evolves.