Rarest Blue

Rarest Blue
Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages : 333
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780762790425
ISBN-13 : 0762790423
Rating : 4/5 (423 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Rarest Blue by : Baruch Sterman

Download or read book Rarest Blue written by Baruch Sterman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For centuries, dyed fabrics ranked among the most expensive objects of the ancient Mediterranean world, fetching up to 20 times their weight in gold. Huge fortunes were made from and lost to them, and battles were fought over control of the industry. The few who knew the dyes’ complex secrets carefully guarded the valuable knowledge. The Rarest Blue tells the amazing story of tekhelet, or hyacinth blue, the elusive sky-blue dye mentioned 50 times in the Hebrew Bible. The Minoans discovered it; the Phoenicians stole the technique; Cleopatra adored it; and Jews—obeying a Biblical commandment to affix a single thread of the radiant color to the corner of their garments—risked their lives for it. But with the fall of the Roman Empire, the technique was lost to the ages. Then, in the nineteenth century, a marine biologist saw a fisherman smearing his shirt with snail guts, marveling as the yellow stains turned sky blue. But what was the secret? At the same time, a Hasidic master obsessed with reviving the ancient tradition posited that the source wasn’t a snail at all but a squid. Bitter fighting ensued until another rabbi discovered that one of them was wrong—but had an unscrupulous chemist deliberately deceived him? Baruch Sterman brilliantly recounts the complete, amazing story of this sacred dye that changed the color of history.


Rarest Blue Related Books

Rarest Blue
Language: en
Pages: 333
Authors: Baruch Sterman
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-11-20 - Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

GET EBOOK

For centuries, dyed fabrics ranked among the most expensive objects of the ancient Mediterranean world, fetching up to 20 times their weight in gold. Huge fortu
Rare and Blue
Language: en
Pages: 48
Authors: Constance Van Hoven
Categories: Juvenile Nonfiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-09-01 - Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing

GET EBOOK

A variety of rare blue species--from the blue lobster to the blue black bear--are rare and unique for a reason. Travel across Earth to discover eight species th
Old Blue
Language: en
Pages: 32
Authors: Mary Elizabeth Taylor
Categories: Chatham Island robin
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-04-01 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK

"In 1979 the black robin of the Chatham Islands was on the brink of extinction, with only five birds left. When the Wildlife Service intervened to rescue them i
The Blue Hour
Language: en
Pages: 48
Authors: Isabelle Simler
Categories: Juvenile Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-02-20 - Publisher: Eerdmans Young Readers

GET EBOOK

A lovely and tranquil celebration of nature The sun has set, the day has ended, but the night hasn't quite arrived yet. This magical twilight is known as the bl
The Last Butterflies
Language: en
Pages: 264
Authors: Nick Haddad
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-04-13 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

GET EBOOK

A remarkable look at the rarest butterflies, how global changes threaten their existence, and how we can bring them back from near-extinction Most of us have he