Artists and designers today have an assortment of colours at their fingertips but access to dyes has not always been so straightforward. Procuring and producing them has been fraught with hazards, ...

In 1581, England banned a tree. The dye that seeped from simmered chips of logwood, brought from far Belize by buccaneers, turned wool a marvelous range of pinks, reds, blues, and purples, depending ...