John Rauch's Receipts on Dyeing, in a series of Letters to a Friend. Containing correct and exact copies of all his best receipts on dyeing cotton & woolen good, obtained and improved by him, during twelve years practice at different manufactories, in Switzerland, France, Germany and America. Also, a true Description of His Invented Substitute for Woad, Being a Cheap and Preferable Material, and the Produce of this Country by Rauch, John - 1815

New York: Printed for Joseph I. Badger & Co., Proprietors in New-Haven, 1815. 8vo. 210 x 135 mm. (8 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches). 97 pp. Contemporary leather spine and tips, marbled paper boards. Preliminary leaves stained brown at margins, a few minor tears, otherwise a very good copy in an original binding. This copy inscribed on front free endpaper, "Selah North Book/Price one hundred dollars AD 1815./ Presented by Selah North to Gideon L. North May 15, 1847." Rare receipt book for dyeing textiles, written by a well-traveled practitioner of the trade, Rauch was from Switzerland and "spent time at dye houses in Germany and France before coming to the United States sometime in 1812. Traveling in New England and the Mid-Atlantic States between 1812 and 1815, Rauch 'instructed more than 30 persons,' sharing his expert knowledge for a fee." His book written in the form of letters to a colleague, include techniques for working with cotton, linen and wool and the process of using natural dyes to create bold colors of red, blue and yellow, to more subdued tints of grey, slate, olive. He also describes in detail how to process the cloth so that it accepts the tints in a true and consistent way. One of the more interesting aspects of the book is that Rauch provides a considerable amount of information on the American textile trade in the early decades of the 19th century and lists over 30 New England manufactures who have paid him for his service. According to Rink, there were two separate settings of the text of this work, one in 98 pages, and one like this copy in 97 pp. Both appear to be rare. Rink 1855. See Linda Jean Thorsen. "The Merchants and the Dyers: The Rise of a Dyeing Service Industry in Massachusetts and New York 1800-1850." Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings, 2016. p. 497. (290).