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A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire
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A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire Hardcover - 2005

by Amy Butler Greenfield


From the publisher

A Perfect Red recounts the colorful history of cochineal, a legendary red dye that was once one of the world's most precious commodities. Treasured by the ancient Mexicans, cochineal was sold in the great Aztec marketplaces, where it attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors in 1519. Shipped to Europe, the dye created a sensation, producing the brightest, strongest red the world had ever seen. Soon Spain's cochineal monopoly was worth a fortune.

Desperate to find their own sources of the elusive dye, the English, French, Dutch, and other Europeans tried to crack the enigma of cochineal. Did it come from a worm, a berry, a seed? Could it be stolen from Mexico and transplanted to their own colonies? Pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies -- all joined the chase for cochineal, a chase that lasted more than three centuries. A Perfect Red tells their stories -- true-life tales of mystery, empire, and adventure, in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth.

First line

FORTY MILES WEST OF FLORENCE, IN A fertile Tuscan valley not far from the Mediterranean Sea, lies the serene and sunlit city of Lucca. Known throughout the region for its trade in olive oil, flour, and wine, modern-day Lucca is not much more than a provincial market town, but its great piazzas, Romanesque churches, and medieval towers bear mute witness to a more illustrious past.

Details

  • Title A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire
  • Author Amy Butler Greenfield
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition 1st Edition
  • Pages 352
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Harper, New York
  • Date April 26, 2005
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780060522759 / 0060522755
  • Weight 1.2 lbs (0.54 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.52 x 6 x 1.17 in (21.64 x 15.24 x 2.97 cm)
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2004042376
  • Dewey Decimal Code 667.26
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A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire
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A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

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