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Receipts for dyeing wool and woolen cloths
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Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]181 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19717-5267
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
John Rauch worked in Switzerland, France, Germany, and America in the process of dyeing cotton and woollen goods.
Rauch produced a written guide,
John Rauch's Receipts on Dyeing, which was published in New York in 1815. He also created a substitute for woad, an herb used to produce blue dye. However, his recipe for the woad substitute did not appear in his published work. He sold the instructions separately through "Letter LXIV" (Special Collections TP897 .R332).Catalog Entry for Rauch, John. Receipts on dyeing, 1815-1817. Winterthur Library (Doc. 308) (accessed October 19, 2007) http://library.winterthur.org:8000/cgi-bin/webgwRauch, John. John Rauch's Receipts on dyeing, in a series of letters to a friend. Containing correct and exact copies of all his best receipts on dyeing cotton & woollen goods, obtained and improved by him, during twelve years practice at different manufactories, in Switzerland, France, Germany & America. Also a true description of his invented substitute for woad, being a cheap and preferable material, and the produce of this country. Printed for Joseph I. Badger & Co. Proprietors in New-Haven, 1815. Available in Special Collections TP897 .R33
John Rauch produced this small paper-covered, hand-sewn booklet of manuscript dyeing recipes. It contains twenty-six pages filled with writing in ink.
The first page of the book is titled “Receipts for Dyeing Wool & Woolen Cloths.” The following pages include receipts for different dye procedures. Inside the back cover, Rauch has written the words “Invoice of Cloths 1814.”
The receipts include “Process of Setting a Blue Vat,” “Good common Black,” and “Madder Red.” Most of the receipts in this volume are prescribed for dye lots of forty yards of broadcloth. Some of the entries reference letters that will be written with more instructions. The entries included here are identical to receipts appearing in Rauch's published work,
John Rauch's Receipts on dyeing. The handwriting in this manuscript may be compared to Rauch's holograph signature on a broadside published as "Letter LXIV." This item is available in Special Collections (call number TP897 .R332).- Item 0103: Shelved in SPEC MSS 0097
Purchase, November 1983.
Processed and encoded by Lindsey Baker, June 2007. Updated by E. Evan Echols, August 2015.
People
Subject
- Color in the textile industries--History--19th century
- Dyes and dyeing--Handbooks, manuals, etc
- Dyes and dyeing--History--19th century
Occupation
- Publisher
- University of Delaware Library Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
- Finding Aid Date
- 2007 July 27
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/
Collection Inventory
1 volume