- cross-posted to:
- hackernews@lemmy.smeargle.fans
- cross-posted to:
- hackernews@lemmy.smeargle.fans
If you come across brightly colored, cloth-bound books from the Victorian era, you might want to handle them gently, or even steer clear altogether. Some of their attractive hues come from dyes that could pose a health risk to readers, collectors or librarians.
The latest research on these poisonous books used three techniques—including one that hasn’t previously been applied to books—to assess dangerous dyes in a university collection and found some volumes may be unsafe to handle.
You’re telling me that a dye called “arsenic green” might be toxic?! And that people who used it might have been lax about their other pigments as well?!
Ah yes my old book collection that I like to lick every day is now supposed to be toxic, sure sure.
The Name of the Rose irl.