Blank greetings card with envelope featuring:

Sir William Henry Perkin NPG x21764

© National Portrait Gallery, London

after Elliott & Fry

In 1856, while still a student at the Royal College of Chemistry, Perkin discovered a process for creating the first ever coal-tar dye, a purple, later to be named 'mauve'. This discovery, and Perkin's continued research into the dying process, eventually led to the displacement of natural by artificial or synthetic dyestuffs in the textile industry. In 1870 Perkin opened a plant for the manufacture of a synthetic alizarin, which replaced the widely used red dye, derived from the madder plant. His contribution to science... more

Card size: 125mm x 175mm

Images are printed in their original proportions, within a white border.