Bright Colours from the Past: The History, Chemistry, Characterisation and Application of Synthetic Dyes Between 1856 and 1914

The invention of Mauveine by Perkin in 1856 led to a revolution in the world of textile

dyeing. In the second half of the 19th century, natural dyes were quickly replaced by newly developed synthetic dyes which resulted in a bright palette of colours. The synthetic dyes were not only cheaper to produce, but also easier to apply on textiles due to new dyeing mechanisms. As a result, production costs decreased tremendously and brilliantly dyed textiles became available to the larger public. Th...