A New Colour

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 72, 26 March 1936, Page 10

A New Colour

Tho discovery of a new colour is a matter of great interest to women. We aro all anxiously watching for “monastral” frocks and hats. The new blue pigment which has been “isolated”— if that is the word —by tho dyestuffs group of Imperial Chemical Industries is claimed to bo the most important discovery of its kind for over a century. It is characterised by its brilliance of shade, and is said to .be fast to light, heat, acids, and alkalis, and insoluble in oil, in spirit, and in nitro-cellulose solvents. ' Once. again Britain leads. This new discovery, it appears, was made .by accident. A strange blue deposit was noticed on the side of tho vats during a dyeing experiment by one of the chemists, and subsequent tests resulted in the production of the new colour. Among artists, it is hailed as a great find. Art and commerce meet in welcoming it. The best blue of the old days was pure lapis lazuli ground to powder, but it was very expensive. Prussian blue dates from, 1704, and cobalt blue was introduced just a century later. In 1825 came synthetic ultramarine. Cobalt was expensive; Prussian faded and was attacked by alkalis; ultramarine could not withstand weak acids or sulphur. Examples of the new bluo have been shown in London in enamels, wallpaper, printing inksli and oil paintings.