{"product_id":"alum-more-precious-than-gold-sydney-thorne-9781036101084","title":"Alum, More Precious Than Gold: The Amazing Influence and Trade of Alum Across the Ages","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn exploration of the vital but overlooked role of alum in global trade, dye production, and historical events spanning centuries.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNever heard of alum? You're not alone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet, for centuries, alum was vital to the production of coloured cloth. Alum was needed to fix dyes and colours to the cloth. Without alum, the colours ran and faded. With alum, they shone and were fast. As a result, as the Italian scientist Vanoccio Biringucci put it in the 16th century, alum was as 'essential to dyers as bread is to man'. Corner the market in alum, and you could make a fortune.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eManufactured from a rock called alunite that was mined in China, Egypt and Turkey, alum contributed to the fabulous wealth of the Chinese emperors, the Pharaohs, the Byzantines and the Ottomans. A prized commodity in international trade, alum funded the opulence of Genoa, Bruges and late Renaissance Rome. Henry VII cannily exploited it, but it nearly ruined Elizabeth I.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut alum also allowed crooks to make debased coins and to adulterate bread, and was at the heart of one of the most spectacular bankruptcy scandals of the 18th century. And the Black Death used the shipping routes of the alum trade to spread through Europe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this fascinating and eminently readable book, Sydney Thorne has picked out quirky and exciting stories of alum that range across the centuries and across the world, shedding new light on topics ranging from the slave trade to female entrepreneurs while re-discovering a fully-fledged industrial complex on the Yorkshire that was thriving two hundred years before the industrial revolution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sydney Thorne\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1036101088\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781036101084\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pen and Sword History\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/02\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Sydney Thorne","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46293100757247,"sku":"9781036101084","price":36.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ccf8ca1b-e72c-4eec-a360-7f2e6577a955.jpg?v=1730212125","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/alum-more-precious-than-gold-sydney-thorne-9781036101084","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}