Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World - Softcover

Garfield, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393323137 ISBN 13: 9780393323139

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002

Synopsis

"Garfield's engaging story of William Perkin's accidental discovery is an informative mix of science, history, and biography."―Boston Herald

In 1856 eighteen-year-old English chemist William Perkin accidentally discovered a way to mass-produce color. In a "witty, erudite, and entertaining" (Esquire) style, Simon Garfield explains how the experimental mishap that produced an odd shade of purple revolutionized fashion, as well as industrial applications of chemistry research. Occasionally honored in certain colleges and chemistry clubs, Perkin until now has been a forgotten man.

"By bringing Perkin into the open and documenting his life and work, Garfield has done a service to history."―Chicago Tribune "[A]n inviting cocktail of Perkin biography, account of the dye industry and where it led, and social and cultural history up to the present."―American Scientist "Garfield leaps gracefully back and forth in time, as comfortable in the Victorian past as he is in the brave new world of petrochemicals and biochemistry."―Kirkus Reviews starred review. "[T]he delight of this book is seeing parallels to present-day trends."―"New York Times Book Review 8 pages of color illustrations

About this title

About the Author

Simon Garfield is the author of the international bestsellers Just My Type, On the Map, and Mauve, among other books. He lives in London.

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393323137
• ISBN 13: 9780393323139
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 244