J. R. Partington Quote

The blue dye indigo was obtained from the indigo plant by the Egyptians more than 4000 years ago.... The famous and valuable "purple of Tyre" was perhaps first made in Crete in very early times... obtained at great cost... from tiny marine molluscs.... The scarlet dye mentioned in the Bible was obtained from the kermes insect (hence the name "crimson").

A Short History of Chemistry (1937)