I felt it appropriate to make my first colour post about mauve, the first artificial dye. Created in 1856, mauve was accidentally discovered while Sir Williams Perkin was trying to create a synthetic version of quinine. Prior to this, purple was rare due to its expense — purple, specifically Tyrian purple, is made from dead, fermented snails. It was used by the Phoenicians, became a status symbol due to its cost, and eventually it was illegal to wear unless you were royalty.
Perkin’s discovery made him rich, and launched a Decade of Mauve. The colour quickly became a fad, because purple was now cheap enough for the average person to afford.