. Discovery. Science. DISCOVERY 281 new dye, under the names of " Aniline Purple " and " Tyrian Purple," was supplied to one of the London silk dyers. The difficulties overcome in the production of the dye were as nothing to those still to be encountered in inducing the diffident manufacturer to use it. The silk dyer, the cotton dyer, and the printer of calico had each to be tackled in turn, and it must be confessed that the French were quicker than the British in grasping the meaning of the new discovery. In a lecture before the Society of Arts in iS68 Perkin tells us of h
. Discovery. Science. DISCOVERY 281 new dye, under the names of " Aniline Purple " and " Tyrian Purple," was supplied to one of the London silk dyers. The difficulties overcome in the production of the dye were as nothing to those still to be encountered in inducing the diffident manufacturer to use it. The silk dyer, the cotton dyer, and the printer of calico had each to be tackled in turn, and it must be confessed that the French were quicker than the British in grasping the meaning of the new discovery. In a lecture before the Society of Arts in iS68 Perkin tells us of his difficulties: " I distinctly remember, the first time I induced a calico printer to make trials of this colour, that the only report I obtained was that it was too dear, and it was not until nearly two years after- wards, when French printers put aniline purple into their patterns, that it began to interest EngHsh ; Through some technical error in the British patent, they were able to manufacture the dye independently. The name Mauve itself originated in France, and it was the importation from France of calicoes printed with the new colour that made the British manufacturer wake up. The new industry thus created immediately influenced pure science, and even Hofmann himself entered the field of tinctorial chemistry. Perkin did not allow his interest in the technical side to interfere with his passion for research, and though the far-reaching importance of the discoverv' of Mauve is apt to eclipse his other discoveries, these nevertheless were great enough to hand his name down to posterity. One of them, in fact, has done so, for the " Perkin Synthesis " by which he was able to prepare coumarin, the odorous substance contained in the tonka bean. Still bears his name. It is worth noticing that this was the first artificial perfume to be prepared from coal tar. With Duppa he carried out researches of the greatest importance synthesising glycocoU, a s
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