I found this little gem at a bookstore in Dinkytown one day.
It's about the surprisingly interesting story of the color mauve and its creator, William Perkin. It is hard to imagine a time when there weren't a million shades of clothing in the stores, but there was a time when dyes in new colors were a very precious thing. What's amazing about the discovery is its far-reaching consequences - Perkin was one of the first to propose that chemistry could be more than just an intellectual curiosity, it could be a commercially profitable science. Also, his discovery led to the discovery of dyes for cells and touched off the beginnings of molecular biology.
In the 1800's, there was a lot of coal tar around, it was the byproduct of creating the gas that lit the streetlamps in London. People tried various ways to get rid of it and some useful products were invented - the original macintosh was cloth treated with chemicals derived from coal tar.
Perkin was inspired by his teacher at the Royal College of London, Professor Hofmann to work with aniline. Hofmann hoped to figure out how to create quinine from aniline derived from coal tar, in order to further British explorations. Quinine was the only effective known treatment for malaria and its natural source, cinchoa bark, was expensive.
Instead, Perkin accidentally discovered mauve, and well, the rest is in the book. :)
