Viscose: Direktfarbstoffe. Colorants directs. direct colours

1930. WALTER, Richard. Viscose: Direktfarbstoffe. Colorants directs. Direct colours. 13 pp. text and 7 pp. containing 128 mounted fabric samples. 8vo, 245 x 167 mm, publisher's cloth. Basel: Sandoz, 1930. A handsome work on dyeing from the renowned Basel bio-chemichal company, Sandoz. As usual with these works, it is rare, with OCLC listing only one copy worldwide in Basel. Founded in 1886, like most of the famous European pharmaceutical giants, Sandoz began in the dyestuffs industry. Its original specialties were alizarian blue and auramine, a fluorescent yellow dye. Both dyes had applications in laboratories in addition to textiles dying. While it began producing pharmaceuticals after the death of its founder in 1885, Sandoz continued to be an international leader in the production of dyes and moved into global dominance with the disapearance of German dyestuffs from the market during World War I. At the time this catalogue was published, Sandoz was using the financial success from its dyes to fund its shift to the emerging markets of pharmaceuticals, but they had yet to hit on a bestseller.