Specimen page from lichen collection found in Leeds archive, now held in the Economic Botany Collections, Kew. The botanist was J.M. Despréaux.
‘Connecting Collections’ is a series of National Archives blogs by academic researchers, exploring the connections between archives across the UK and around the world. Last year The National Archives held a competition inviting researchers to submit guest blogs. When I thought about it, I realised just how many such connections had been made in my early research into the lichen dye trade. My blog just made it on the closing day and I was delighted it it was accepted for publication – on 18th May. The title was A Purple Pursuit and you can read it here:
http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/purple-pursuit/
It is about my research into the history of a Leeds dye manufacturer whose early fortunes were based on a lichen-sourced dye called orchil.
Links
There are several other interesting blogs available at the Connecting Collections page on National Archives site
More on my Wood and Bedford / Yorkshire Chemicals research on this blog:
Tyrian Purple – from a Leeds archive?
Isabella Whitworth 