Student Activity Packet

Activity # 2: A Comparison of Dyeing Techniques

Description

In this activity, you will use illustrations and text that are primary source documents to observe and learn about European and American dyeing. Included questions help guide your writing of a related essay.

"A Comparison of Dyeing Techniques - Questions"

Answer the following questions by carefully examining the illustrations.

I. Questions for illustration of European Dyeing (mid-18th century) from A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry.

1. Choose one illustration. Describe what you can observe about the dyeing process from the illustration. Try to be as specific and as descriptive as possible. Use the following questions to get started. What are the people doing? How many people are working? What tools are they using? Where are they working? Summarize your description in one paragraph.

2. What questions about the dyeing process do the illustrations fail to answer?

Images from: Charles L. Gillespie, ed.A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry, v. II. (New York: Dover Press, 1959).

II. Questions for excerpt from J. and R. Bronson, Early American Weaving and Dyeing , pp. 105 -114.

1. Who do you think the authors hoped their book would be read by?

2. What questions about the dyeing process does the excerpt from the Bronson's book fail to answer?

III. Comparison Questions

1. Based on your examination of the Diderot illustrations and your reading from Early American Weaving and Dyeing , compare the processes used by Americans and Europeans to dye fabrics. What are the similarities between American and European dyeing? What are the differences?

2. Would the processes that the Bronsons described require the same scale of operations as those of the Diderot illustrations? The same number of workers? The same kind of equipment?

3. Do you think it is reasonable to compare your observations made from the illustrations with your observations made from the reading? Why or why not? If you needed to dye a fabric, would you rather have the illustrations or the reading? Why? What information can you derive from the ilustrations that you cannot obtain from the reading? From the reading that you cannot obtain from the illustration?

4. Was your interpretation of the illustrations different after you did the reading? Vice versa? Does order of viewing primary sources matter? What consequences does your answer hold for historical analysis?