This year we are revisiting our Linnaeus Apostles, who were sent out into the world from the University of Sweden, Uppsala in the 1700s to gather plant specimens, name and classify them using the binomial naming system, and identify plants that could help Sweden be self sufficient. We'll take a look at their efforts, through the lens of textiles and plant dyes, with writer Viveka Hansen, author of Textilia Linnaeana: Global 18th Century Textile Traditions & Trade, as our guide.
Pehr Loffling (1729-1756) spent two years in Portugal and Spain, and then six months in South America, including Venezuela. He died at the age of 27 in South America, due to disease caught during his travels. He was a botanist primarily, and not very interested in textiles, but he did record a few things about plant dyes during his travels.
Loffling headed for Portugal in 1751 and spent two years searching the countryside of Portugal and Spain for plants. His letters to his sponsor, Eric Gustaf Lidbeck at Lund, and professor, Carl Linnaeus, describe the familiar dye plants, dyer's weld (Reseda luteola), and buckthorn (Rhamnus tinctoria). He also mentions alder bark which produces brown dye, and saffron (Crocus sativus) which produces an expensive yellow dye.
His letters also indicate that he knew about the harvest of cochineal lice that lived on cactus and was used to create a red dye. The cochineal insects, Dactylopius coccus, were harvested on plantations in South America, dried in the sun, and then exported to Spain.
Loffling headed for South America in 1754. His letters to his sponsor mention Indigo (Indigoferra) which produces blue dye, but he does not indicate whether the source was wild or cultivated. He also wrote about other exports from South America, including Dyer's broom (Genista tinctoria) used to produce a yellow dye, and Brazilwood (Caesalpinia gilliesii) used to produce shades of red, as well as yellow-wood, and sandalwood (Santalum album). Importing South American dye materials from Spain was very expensive, and Loffling recommended that Spanish-owned plantations in South America export to Spain.
Loffling was ill for most of his time in South America, but he reported that he had collected 550-600 distinct species during his travels. He succumbed to disease after six months in South America, and his plant collection was destroyed in a natural disaster. Sill his letters provide information and insight about the dye plants available in Portugal, Spain, and South America.
Pehr Loffling (1729-1756) spent two years in Portugal and Spain, and then six months in South America, including Venezuela. He died at the age of 27 in South America, due to disease caught during his travels. He was a botanist primarily, and not very interested in textiles, but he did record a few things about plant dyes during his travels.
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| Loffling described saffron (Crocus sativus) as producing a yellow dye Illustration from Koehler's Medicinal Plants (published before 1923 and public domain in the United States) |
Loffling headed for Portugal in 1751 and spent two years searching the countryside of Portugal and Spain for plants. His letters to his sponsor, Eric Gustaf Lidbeck at Lund, and professor, Carl Linnaeus, describe the familiar dye plants, dyer's weld (Reseda luteola), and buckthorn (Rhamnus tinctoria). He also mentions alder bark which produces brown dye, and saffron (Crocus sativus) which produces an expensive yellow dye.
His letters also indicate that he knew about the harvest of cochineal lice that lived on cactus and was used to create a red dye. The cochineal insects, Dactylopius coccus, were harvested on plantations in South America, dried in the sun, and then exported to Spain.
Loffling headed for South America in 1754. His letters to his sponsor mention Indigo (Indigoferra) which produces blue dye, but he does not indicate whether the source was wild or cultivated. He also wrote about other exports from South America, including Dyer's broom (Genista tinctoria) used to produce a yellow dye, and Brazilwood (Caesalpinia gilliesii) used to produce shades of red, as well as yellow-wood, and sandalwood (Santalum album). Importing South American dye materials from Spain was very expensive, and Loffling recommended that Spanish-owned plantations in South America export to Spain.
Loffling was ill for most of his time in South America, but he reported that he had collected 550-600 distinct species during his travels. He succumbed to disease after six months in South America, and his plant collection was destroyed in a natural disaster. Sill his letters provide information and insight about the dye plants available in Portugal, Spain, and South America.
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