The eighteenth century

With commerce expanding England waxed fat, and for the first time her population reached eight millions. From all classes of this greater community came a big demand for textiles, which in turn focused attention on dyeing, and a new dynasty of 'dye-chemists' came into being. In 1760 the Frenchman Hellot all but forestalled Perkin by stumbling on aniline, but the full significance of his discovery escaped him.

By 1720 Restoration foppishness had given place to the dignity of the first Georgian period. The people's dress reflected their growing power as a maritime nation. Silks and cotton from the East and brocades from the silk looms of Lyons were the fashionable fabrics, and the importation of these luxuries caused severe heartburning among native weavers. But the dyers welcomed the new fabrics because they afforded greater opportunities for the display of ingenuity and skill.

Another century was to pass before aniline's secrets were laid bare and the way made clear for the development of the modern range of synthetic dyestuffs.