Chemical Colour: Evidence for ‘Coal-Tar’ Pigments in British Printing Ink, 1860–1914

Описание: This is a recording of a lecture given in-person and online at St Bride Foundation on 6 November 2024.

This talk explores the introduction and continued use of synthetic organic pigments for printing ink during the late nineteenth century. Synthetic pigments introduced brilliant never-before-seen colours for printing that could not be produced by naturally derived pigments. They are derived from synthetic dyes which began commercial production in the late 1850s. But we don’t know when they were introduced as pigments, for how long they were used, or for what kind of printed material they may or may not have been used for. This talk draws mainly from St Bride Library’s unparalleled collection of specimen books, ink manufacturers’ printed samples of available colours, to track the introduction, appearance, and uses of these pigments. Specimen books reveal the advantages and disadvantages of using these new colours and how they forever changed how books looked.  

Ian Dooley is a third year PhD student at the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study (University of London). This talk is based on work from their thesis: Printing Ink Manufacturing In Britain And Its Impact On Print Culture And Society: 1850–1900 which explores how industrial ink making fundamentally changed printed material into chemical-industrial products; altering printed material, British culture, and industrial society. Ian is a former library worker at Princeton University Special Collections specialising in book history, nineteenth century illustration techniques, and children’s literature.

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All lectures are held at the St Bride Foundation to help fund the upkeep of our Grade II listed Victorian building, management and conservation of our unique and irreplaceable library collections and running of our print workshop and learning programme. To find out more about us and other events we hold, please visit: https://www.sbf.org.uk/