THE DYER AND SCOURER.
DYERS AT WORK.
The trade of the Dyer may be placed amongst the most ancient of the arts, and the tools that are used in it are so few that they need scarcely any description, since almost all the apparatus required are the various coppers, vats, and other vessels used for boiling the fabrics to be dyed, and immersing them completely in the liquors which have been prepared from the dye stuffs, the proper use of which is the principal secret in the business. With regard to the scouring or cleaning of fabrics, whether made into garments or not, the operation consists in applying detergents, or substances like soap and turpentine, for removing grease and dirt, or other liquids which have a detergent property but will not injure the colours; the use of these, with a sponge and a hard brush, is nearly all that is required; the garment sent to be cleaned being stretched on a frame and dried, either in the dyer’s drying room, or in some open situation, where they are least likely to be soiled or spotted.
Drying Room. Sponge. Hard Brush.
The art of dyeing was practised to a very great extent by the ancient Egyptians, Phœnicians, Greeks, and Romans; and the island of Tyre was, in very early times, celebrated for a purple dye which was, perhaps from its costliness, used for colouring the robes of kings and emperors, from which practice purple became the imperial colour.
Garment Frame.