The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:          Auguste Zindel                                     

Title:               Records

Dates:             1825-1902 (bulk 1825-1852)

Call No.:         Col. 54

Acc. No.:         74x140

Quantity:        91 volumes

Location:        40 F-G 2-7

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Auguste Zindel was a 19th century chemist in Mulhouse, Alsace, with a particular interest in cloth dyeing.  Born in Lyon, France on October 4, 1796, he was the son of Laurent Zindel.  He married Elise Reber, daughter of Henry Reber and Elizabeth Weissbeck on April 8, 1829, and together they had three children: Aline Augustine, Octave Auguste, and Julie. By 1820, Zindel worked as a merchant in Lyon, but later moved to Mulhouse, Alsace, where from 1840-1860 he was a "commission agent of drugs," or an agent in substances used in dyeing fabrics.  Zindel served as a town counsellor from 1830-1843, and again from 1848-1852.  Evidence suggests that he may have been involved in the dyeing industry in Russia.  He died on January 23, 1882.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Collection consists of 90 notebooks, plus one published history of 19th century industry in Mulhouse.  The notebooks contain an estimated 38,000 samples of mostly cotton, but also some wool and silk,

dyed textile fabrics and notes and dye recipes that give a rather complete record of experiments in cloth dyeing over an extended period of time.  The notebooks, almost completely in French, but with some German, divide themselves into a number of distinct series: 12 volumes, titled “Journal,” of dye recipes, tests, and processes for the years 1825-1836; 22 volumes supplementing the "Journal" and covering 1829-1850; 32 volumes of textile samples with dye analyses and recipes for 1837-1852—called "Brouillon;"  16 volumes of an original 17 titled "Notes et observations," 1826-1850; a one volume price index dated 1836; one volume of dye recipes, 1838-1844; 2 volumes of extracts from professional publications; 2 volumes describing experiments and tests; and 2 volumes of notes on variously dated dye recipes, 1821-1831.

 

As well, the collection includes the first volume of Histoire documentair de l’Industrie de Mulhouse et de ses environs aux X!Xme Siècle.  (Another copy is available in Winterthur’s printed book and periodicals collection.)

 

           

ORGANIZATION

           

The 90 notebooks fall into nine distinct series of various lengths and overlapping dates.

 

 

PROVENANCE

           

Purchased from Kurt L. Schwarz.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

Topics:

            Dyes and dyeing—Chemistry.

            Dye industry—FranceMulhouse.

            Textile chemistry—FranceMulhouse.

            Textile fabrics—Sample books.

            Mulhouse (France)—History.

            Recipes.

            Notebooks.

            Letters.

            Chemists.

            Dyers.

                       

 

RELATED MATERIAL

 

A copy of the history of 19th century industry in Mulhouse, Histoire documentair de l’Industrie de Mulhouse et de ses environs aux X!Xme Siècle published in 1902, has been separately cataloged by Winterthur's Printed Books and Periodicals Collection.

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 40 F-G 2-7

 

 

 

Journal [Journal] (74x140.1 -- 74x140.12)

12 volumes: Diaries of various dye recipes, tests, and processes during the period of 1826-1836.  Closely describe the application of different methods, and analysis of the product used.  Includes samples.

Journal 1 contains 4 indices:      Journal I - X

                                                Journal "A" and "B"

                                                Journal "Observations and notebook entries," cahier 1 - 5

                                                Journal XI - XII

 

 

Couleur et traitment des articles de 1829 (complément et suite du Journal) [Dyes and treatment of some materials from 1829 (addition and sequel of the Journal)]  (74x140.13 -- 74x140.34)

22 volumes: dated from 1829 (volume "A") through 1850 (volume "W")

 

 

Brouillon [Rough draft] (74x140.35 -- 74x140.66)

32 volumes: numbered 1-16 and "A"-"Q", these volumes cover dates 1837-1852.  They list textile samples together with short dye analyses and recipes of different dyes, and notes and observations about their application.  Contains some text in German, and some dye recipes in German laid in.

 

 

Notes et observations [Notes and observations] (74x140.67 -- 74x140.82)

16 volumes (out of original 17; i.e., number 13 is missing): dated from August 1826 to December 1850, these volumes contain notes taken during the tests and after discussions with colleagues.  There are also scientific abstracts of the time.  Specifically,

vol. 2: conversion tables for weight, liquids and temperatures from English to French, and from old French measurements to the new equivalents, including a conversion table of Cartier's aerometer

vol. 5: copy of a letter written in September 1836 by Jean Koechlin to his sons about a treatment of prints in the year 1786;  letter (in French) with a dye recipe used by the house of Esslingen in Zurich, Switzerland, tipped in;  letter (in German) for a dye recipe on paper with English watermark

vol. 6: recipe for paper marbling, with samples; recipe (in German) for dyes from Prague, tipped in

vol. 12: consumption table for the dye "Garance" in Europe, England, and the United States; letter (in French) tipped in

 

 

Prix des Drogues, des Couleurs et Fabrications en 1836 [Price index for chemicals, dyestuffs, and cloth printings in 1836] (74x140.83)

One volume: laid in account sheet by Auguste Zindel dated 8 February 1831 to 24 March 1836, incomplete.  Scrap-book notes for 1837 and 1844.

 

 

Couleur des articles de 1838 à 1844 [Colors of the items from 1838 to 1844]   (74x140.84)

One volume: dye recipes and analyses.

 

Extraits des journeaux, jan. 1825 à déc. 1844 [Abstracts of papers from January 1825 to December 1844]   (74x140.85 -- 74x140.86)

2 volumes: abstracts of summaries of articles from different publications dealing with the chemical application applied to industrial processes.  Some recipes written in German; medicinal recipes, preservation of material recipes, chemical processes and analyses; food analysis; cleaning compounds.  Also alcohol testing in fruits; sugar testing; and wood analyses and conservation.  Journals cited include:

            Journal de Chimie

            Journal de Pharmacie

            Annalen der Physik und Chemie, Poggendorf (Germany)

            Journal polytechnique, see Ecole Polytechnique, Journal

            Bulletin des sciences mathématiques

            Annales de chimie et de physique

            Journal des connaissances usuelles

            Bulletin universel des sciences et de l'industrie

            Annales des mines

            Recueil industrial

            Journal des Traveaux de l'Academie de l'Industrie Agricole

            Bulletin de la Société d'Acriculture des Sciences et Arts

            Polytechnisches Journal

            Compte rendu de l'Académie des Sciences

            Polytechnisches Central Blatt

            Revue scientifique

 

 

Essai de teinture [Dyeing tests]   (74x140.87 -- 74x140.88)

2 volumes: description of some experiments, observations made during the tests, notes upon the results obtained.  Summary of tests on making "Merino" red during the year 1825 at Loerrach (Germany).

 

 

Cuisine aux coleurs [Receipts for dyeing]  (74x140.89 -- 74x140.90)

2 volumes: notes on application for textile dyeing.  Series of dye recipes inconsecutively dated: 1821-1831 and 1824-1828.

 

 

Historie documentaire de l'Industrie de Mulhouse et de ses environs aux XIXme Siècle.  Enquête centennale. Mulhouse: Veuve Bader & Cie., 1902 [Documentary history of the industry of Mulhouse and its surroundings in the 19th century.  Centennial survey.  Mulhouse: Veuve Bader & Cie., 1902]      (74x140.91)

1 volume: General history of the town including schools, religion, geographical surveys, elections of municipal officials.  Discussions of the industry of Mulhouse in general and the house of Koechlin, Schmaltzer and Dollfus (founded 1746) in particular.  The family of Koechlin continued in the following years with their research, inventions, and applications in the dye field and were a dominant influence in the textile printing and dyeing industry in Mulhouse.