History of Dyes/Colours

Heinrich/Henry was a colour maker in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green in from 1798 until he died in 1838.

Until the explosion of content on the internet, it was difficut to find out much about the industry.

Visit to Bishopsgate Library in London 3 June 2009

On a visit to London, we did look at a few books etc about Spitalfields and the silk industry. I had often wondered how one person like Henry Brecht could compete in the dye industry on his own and found an interesting entry in one of the books about the silk industry:

“Dyeing has always been a secretive and competitive business for various sects…. Little was written down and a lot of techniques were confined to memory and passed from generation to generation. The use of natural ingredients was a necessity until the introduction of synthetic dyes. Making the colours fast posed other constraints.”

A Poison Chalice

We know that dyes were needed in London's silk-weaving and wallpaper & decorating industries including Berger's paints.

Heinrich/Henry Brceht came over from Germany and became a colour maker circa 1798. Between 1814-1824 he lost his wife and 4 daughters all at a young age. Later the family were engaged in paper-staining and hanging.

There would have been disease in over-crowded Spitalfields, which may have been why so many of the family died and the remainder moved to Bethnal Green.

Another possible explanation for the deaths is the toxicity in the dyes and colours being made.

In the 1770s, a Swedish chemist developed a green pigment from a compound of copper arsenic.

In 1814, a company in Germany developed a new green dye that became popular because it was brighter than most traditioinal dyes. Unfortunately the reason that the dye was so bold and striking was that it was made with arsenic!

Goods with the new green pigment,such as clothing, curtains, carpets and wallpaper, made people ill.

It was well into the 19th Century before the danger of arsenic was realised and regulated in Britain.

Around 1870 many manufacturers like William Morris bowed to public opinion and began producing arsenic-free wallpaper.

Future Research

It seems unlikely but it would be interesting to know where Henry Brecht obtained the materials to make colours and to whom the colours were sold.

Where did he learn to make colours?

Was it for silk-weavings and/or wallpaper manufacture?

Where would records, if any, be held?

A project for someone.

Colin Bower
22 August 2021

Where the Brechts lived and what they did

Brecht Study Contents