Ancient and Medieval Dyes

Book excerpt: William F. Leggett’s classic text, Ancient and Medieval Dyes, is an informative and easy-to-read introduction to the most common animal and vegetable dyes used before the introduction of synthetic chemical dyes. “Trade in dyestuffs began as soon as the sources of one district were recognized as superior to those used in another district, and, ultimately, this led to the elimination of many of the anciently used dyestuffs, so that of the many hundreds of original primitive dyes only a few survived to ancient and medieval times. The most important of these, divided into vegetable, animal, and mineral groups, are discussed in this book.”—Introduction