Clothes To DIE For
As an artist, I’m approached by different art material manufacturers. I’m on the Winsor & Newton mailing list. The most recent email from them (which often discusses Colour History, something I’m fascinated by), linked to an article they wrote about the colour Emerald Green, also known as Paris Green. They just posted the article on their IG feed as well ( @winsorandnewton ). A section of the article referred to clothing. The fact that white arsenic was used originally to produce the colour and hense the fabric dye to create much sought after green fabric, meant the gowns made in the era the colour was first manufactured, were actually discovered later to be poisonous. In fact deadly. (Below is an excerpt without the gown pictures, but I will link the full article with pictures below my excerpt):
“Clothes to die for
In 1862 The Times newspaper in London published an article written by chemist AW Hoffman about arsenic-laced green titled ‘The dance of death’. Hoffman pointed out that many green dresses and accessories, such as artificial flowers and socks, were full of copper arsenite or copper acetoarsenite. A published sketch soon followed, of a skeleton at a ball requesting a dance with a lady, highlighting just how sought-after the colour was deemed to be – adorning many a high-society ballroom – despite its cost. Even the British Medical Journal wrote that: ‘A lady in full dress, duly decorated with a modern wreath of fifty green leaves, carries on her head forty grains of white arsenic – enough to poison herself and nineteen friends… She actually carries in her skirts poison enough to slay the whole of the admirers she may meet with in half a dozen ball-rooms.’
The resulting effects of the dye were gruesome, causing ulcers and sores along the skin, and when it reached the bloodstream it could cause vomiting, hair loss and organ failure. Life expectancy of those who produced the dye in factories was markedly reduced due to the exposure, and some lost their hands in the process. Examples of Emerald Green Victorian dresses can be found today in museums across the world; their distinctive colouring remains as bright as ever.”
> And here is a direct link to the full article with pictures:
PS. The Winsor & Newton IG account often posts links to brief, interesting articles about colour history (“Colour Story:”) that they host on their website - www.winsornewton.com
Cheers!
Tim
@TimBissettMedia
Fascinating story!