Produced from plants by a process akin to alchemy, indigo has a unique chemistry that renders it compatible with all natural fibres. From the time of the ancient Egyptians it made an incredible impact worldwide as the world's only source of blue of every hue, and was also indispensable for creating a glorious range of colours when combined with other natural dyes. It is hard to imagine the incredible impact indigo must have made on the many civilizations that chanced upon it. This classic study, reissued with a new final chapter, examines this extraordinary dye from all angles: the historical, agricultural and botanical origins of the different plant sources; different production and dyeing methods; commerce and economics; various patterning techniques used on a wide range of beautiful textiles; indigo's continued presence in folklore, art and alternative medicine; and its iconic status as the dye that makes blue jeans blue. The accumulation of over twenty years research on the subject, Indigo: Egyptian Mummies to Blue Jeans is the richly told story of a commodity that has been central to international trade and textile production for centuries, across time and cultures. Richly illustrated throughout with stunning details and scenes from around the world, this is the definitive study of the fascinating dye behind blue denim.
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'Will become a classic on textiles...' --Textile Forum
'Thoroughly satisfying... comprehensive, accessible, and perceptive.' --Crafts Magazine
'The incredible story of indigo is a gateway by which students can connect personal experiences of their everyday lives (for example blue jeans) with the history, geography and culture of the rest of the planet.' --Yo-Yo Ma, Grammy-Award-Winning cellist and founder of the Silk Road Project
'This generously and beautifully illustrated book tell the 5,000-year story of indigo - a truly fascinating tale. (...) This newly revised edition of a classic work makes engrossing reading, and is an absolute must for anyone interested in art, fashion or history.' --Dales Life, Autumn 2011
'Thoroughly satisfying... comprehensive, accessible, and perceptive.' --Crafts Magazine
'The incredible story of indigo is a gateway by which students can connect personal experiences of their everyday lives (for example blue jeans) with the history, geography and culture of the rest of the planet.' --Yo-Yo Ma, Grammy-Award-Winning cellist and founder of the Silk Road Project
'This generously and beautifully illustrated book tell the 5,000-year story of indigo - a truly fascinating tale. (...) This newly revised edition of a classic work makes engrossing reading, and is an absolute must for anyone interested in art, fashion or history.' --Dales Life, Autumn 2011
About the Author
Jenny Balfour-Paul has published, lectured and broadcast extensively on indigo and related subjects.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A magical topic. Full of fascinating facts and inspiring images from the world over, this is my reference book on indigo. Keep coming back to it for history and ideas on colour, plants and organic processes, dyeing techniques and patterning, cultural traditions. I lost my original copy, and was delighted to find this latest edition has a fascinating new chapter on blue jeans and the future of natural indigo - currently being revived in France, India, Japan and many other countries serious about ethical, ecologically sound, sustainable production. Also a really important education project with young people of Harlem NYC for which Balfour Paul was consultant, initiated by Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road team - connecting everyday blue jeans to history of world trade, including slavery.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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Sir Isaac Newton described indigo in spectrography as a color between the purples and the blues. More recent studies found out indigo falls either into onw of these two categories, being indigo itself a sort of unstable, non existing hue. This book is comprehensive and well documented by maps, pictures and interesting material. I would suggest this book to students interested in the history of colors but also to anyone with an appetite for random bits of culture and keen to mindtravel.
Carlo Muttoni
Carlo Muttoni
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
18 Mar 2013
By Marieke
- Published on Amazon.com
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Very good copy and informative book about the process of indigo dying. It is a British Museum publication and very well researched.
Not much about the pigment for painting but mostly concentrated on the coloring of cloth world wide.
Not much about the pigment for painting but mostly concentrated on the coloring of cloth world wide.
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE indigo reference book
16 Feb 2013
By Paula Bernard
- Published on Amazon.com
A magical topic. Full of fascinating facts and inspiring images from the world over, this is my reference book on indigo. Keep coming back to it for history and ideas on colour, plants and organic processes, dyeing techniques and patterning, cultural traditions. I lost my original copy, and was delighted to find this latest edition has a fascinating new chapter on blue jeans and the future of natural indigo - currently being revived in France, India, Japan and many other countries serious about ethical, ecologically sound, sustainable production. Also a really important education project with young people of Harlem NYC for which Balfour Paul was consultant, initiated by Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road team - connecting everyday blue jeans to history of world trade, including slavery.
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