The Dyer's Guide / Being a compendium of the art of dyeing linen, cotton, silk, wool, muslin, dresses, furniture, &c. &c.; with the method of scouring wool, bleaching cotton, &c., and directions for ungumming silk, and for whitening and sulphuring silk and wool; and also an introductory epitome of the leading facts in chemistry, as connected with the art of dyeing

by Thomas Packer

Chromate of lead for YELLOW on SILK and COTTON.

Chromate of lead, as a pigment has been for some time in use; M. Lassaigne, in 1820, made public a process for dyeing cloth with this article, which has since become pretty common in this country.

Immerse hanks of scoured silk for a quarter of an hour in a weak solution of acetate of lead at the ordinary temperature; take them out and wash them in a great deal of water: then dip them into a weak solution of chromate of potash. They immediately take a fine yellow colour; at the end of ten minutes the effect is complete. From this colour being decomposed in part by soap and water, it is chiefly applicable to silks. But by applying, however, a mordant of acetate or nitrate of lead, and passing the goods through bichromate of potash, a very beautiful and sufficiently fast yellow is now given to cotton goods in this country.