An Introduction to Textile Bleaching

Abstract

THE bleaching of textile materials is undoubtedly an ancient art, the origins of which are lost in the mists of antiquity. Like other such arts, it was for many centuries based simply on traditional and empirical knowledge. As the author of the present volume, speaking of the state of textile bleaching prior to 1914, states in his preface, “The purification of textile materials, scouring and bleaching, followed a characteristic routine in which secret recipes were handed down from father to son, surrounded by such an aura of mystery that it was impossible to approach the subject on a rational basis”. The purpose of the present work is to set forth the rational basis on which the new science, as distinct from the old art, of bleaching must rest, in the light of the new know ledge which the past two decades of intensive research on textile fibres have revealed. An Introduction to Textile Bleaching By J. T. Marsh. Pp. xiii + 512 + 32 plates. (London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1946.) 32s. net.