Research Catalog

Title

A perfect red : empire, espionage, and the quest for the color of desire

Author

Greenfield, Amy Butler, 1968-

Publication

New York : HarperCollins, c2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

viii, 338 p., [8] p. of plates : col. ill.; 22 cm.

Summary

This book recounts the colorful history of cochineal, a legendary red dye that was once one of the world's most precious commodities. Treasured by the ancient Mexicans, cochineal was sold in the great Aztec marketplaces, where it attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors in 1519. Shipped to Europe, the dye created a sensation, producing the brightest, strongest red the world had ever seen. Soon Spain's cochineal monopoly was worth a fortune. Desperate to find their own sources of the elusive dye, the other Europeans tried to crack the enigma of cochineal. Did it come from a worm, a berry, a seed? Could it be stolen from Mexico and transplanted to their own colonies? Pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies--all joined the chase for cochineal, a chase that lasted more than three centuries.--From publisher description.

Subject

• Geschichte
• Geschichte
• Cochineal > History
• Dyes and dyeing > History. > Europe
• Dyes and dyeing > Mexico > History
• Cochineal insect

Genre/Form

History

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-318) and index.

Contents

Prologue: the color of desire -- 1. dyer's lot -- 2. Color of the sun -- 3. Ancient art -- 4. Emperor's new dye -- 5. Profitable empire -- 6. Cochineal on trial -- 7. Legacies -- 8. Trade secrets -- 9. Pirates' prize -- 10. Wormberry -- 11. Through the looking glass -- 12. Curious gamble -- 13. Spy in Oaxaca -- 14. Anderson's incredible folly -- 15. Red and revolution -- 16. Scarlet fever -- 17. Lump of coal -- 18. Renaissance dye -- Epilogue : cheap color.

ISBN

0060522755 (acid-free paper)

LCCN

^^2004042376

OCLC

• 56413818
• SCSB-10379328

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library