Oriental Rugs Dictionary
Aniline Dye
In 1856, von Hofmann's student William Henry Perkin discovered mauveine and went into industry producing the first syntheticdye. Other aniline dyes followed, such as fuchsine, safranine, and induline. At the time of mauveine's discovery, aniline was expensive. Soon thereafter, applying a method reported in 1854 by Antoine B_champ, it was prepared "by the ton". The B_champ reduction enabled the evolution of a massive dye industry in Germany. Today, the name of BASF, originally Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik, now among the largest chemical suppliers, echoes the legacy of the synthetic dye industry, built via aniline dyes and extended via the related azo dyes. The first azo dye was aniline yellow. Aniline dyes are synthetic dyes introduced in the mid-19th century, derived from coal-tar chemical compounds. They were first developed in Europe and quickly spread throughout the oriental rug industry. These dyes produced extremely bright colors and were easier to manufacture than traditional vegetable dyes, but early aniline dyes often proved unstable and prone to fading or bleeding. The introduction of aniline dyes significantly changed the appearance of many carpets produced during the late 19th century.
