(Bilingual edition – French & English)

An exceptional tool for designers, natural dyers, and color lovers — a book that defends the sustainable future of color.

About the Book

In the 18th century, master dyer Antoine Janot directed one of the great dye houses of Saint-Chinian, Languedoc, producing thousands of yards of fine wool cloth exported each year to the Levantine markets. His colors, raven’s wing, pomegranate flower, jonquil, emerald, and many more,  formed a luminous rainbow that delighted the most refined Ottoman clients.

This book reproduces and analyzes the complete set of Antoine Janot’s 85 natural dye samples, preserved from the Siècle des Lumières. Each color is documented with its exact technical recipe and its colorimetric coordinates (CIELAB system), measured with a spectrophotometer,  a pioneering contribution to the history and science of color.

Reviving the Master Dyers’ Art

Part of the series “Colors of the Past to Green Our World”, this volume continues the work begun with The 157 Colors of Paul Gout. Each book in the series restores forgotten dyers’ manuscripts illustrated with real fabric swatches — unique records of natural dyeing practice before the rise of coal-tar and petroleum-based synthetics.

Through careful historical research and scientific analysis, the authors translate 18th-century expertise into practical knowledge for today’s textile and design communities. The result is a rare bridge between heritage craft and ecological innovation, offering inspiration and guidance for those seeking sustainable alternatives to modern synthetic dyes.

The Authors

Dominique Cardon, historian and archaeologist, is an emeritus research director at the CNRS (CIHAM, Lyon) and one of the world’s foremost authorities on natural dyes. She was awarded the CNRS Silver Medal (2011) and the Turner Medal of the Colour Group of Great Britain (2025).

Iris Brémaud, CNRS research director (LMGC, Montpellier), studies the physical and aesthetic properties of natural materials, linking artisanal knowledge and scientific method through colorimetry.

Together, they bring new life to forgotten dyers’ recipes and demonstrate how natural colors can once again shape a more sustainable textile future.

Details

• 304 pages – over 250 illustrations

• 170 × 240 mm

• Published September 21, 2025

• ISBN 978-2-494830-165

• Bilingual French / English