Man-made and chemical dyes are a huge industry and one invented here, in Britain, by William Perkin in 1856. He became both rich and famous but the technology he developed was ignored in Britain only to flourish in the giant dye-works of Germany's Ruhr Valley. More than just a biography this covers the science, the characters and the social changes affected by these discoveries and shows an early example of British ingenuity being exploited abroad.
(Clive Yelf - bwl 24 June 2004 ) |
