The Manchester Years, 1859–1866

In this and the next two chapters we follow Heinrich Caro’s first foray into synthetic dyes and their various applications at Roberts, Dale & Co., the firm he worked with for seven years in Manchester. Certain of Caro’s activities arose from the need to investigate novel reactions as a response to the patent monopolies of the main English rival, Simpson, Maule & Nicholson of London. The enterprise in Manchester was aided by a number of German chemists and colourists, many of whom would later make substantial contributions to the German dye industry. Though not all the new products and processes were successful, they did enhance Caro’s familiarity with both academic and industrial coal-tar chemistry. Moreover, his assistance to English and Scottish dye-users during the 1860s as they experimented with coal-tar products brought about a further merging of calico printing technology with the practice of chemistry. Caro’s perseverance, his own experiments in dyeing and printing, and his travels to factories and agents in Britain and on continental Europe contributed to the widespread acceptance by dyers and printers of aniline dyes. On this he also built his own reputation. It was while working in England that he acquired the skills for inventing, manufacturing and marketing synthetic dyes that he would later exploit to such great advantage in Germany.