ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 6 days ago
Same thing happened to blue dyes. It used to be very expensive, but Prussian Blue being invented in the 18th Century made it show up everywhere.
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 6 days ago
Same thing happened to blue dyes. It used to be very expensive, but Prussian Blue being invented in the 18th Century made it show up everywhere.
rain_enjoyer@sopuli.xyz 6 days ago
there’s indigo and another plant that grows in europe and also makes indigo but less, so you can just farm this thing, unlike purple dye that requires tons of work, and depending on period it was used by commoners (before 1200 or so, in western europe)
it’s a bit funny to look at this today, but woad (that euro indigo) trade was a big deal, it got protected by tariffs and blockades and diplomacy, and all for nothing, ultimately both woad and indigo farming was completely destroyed by synthetic indigo production. indigo wasn’t first/easiest dye to make, but it’s far from the most complex thing you can cook, even in 1900s. prussian blue is much cheaper than synthetic indigo anyway