Colours: from Cave Paint to Nanotube Black
Patented: History of Inventions
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The Origins of Color
William Perkins created the first artificial mauve dye in 1856. Queen Victoria wore a mauve dress to her daughter's wedding and it became fashionable. London caught the mauve measles because so many people were wearing mauve, he says. The color is very bright but was difficult to create using lichen or other rare dyes.
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