A lavishly illustrated book "Colour from Britain" that appears to have been issued for circulation in the Indian market. It describes India's place in dyestuff history, the current use of dyes and the British company's market on the sub-continent. The book also describes in some details of the Dyestuffs Division's works and production processes based at the three main sites of Blackley in Manchester, Huddersfield and Grangemouth in Scotland.
There are many fine colour plates and these are by Gordon Nicholl R.I., F.R.S.A. The book is printed at ICI's own in-house printers and publishers, the acclaimed Kynoch Press in Birmingham. These two plates show the works in Grangemouth, Scotland, and Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
The former plant has its origins in the Scottish Dyes Ltd, formed in 19115 by Sir James Morton (1867-1943) of the textile dyeing trade. He later went on to form the Morton Sundour concern. ICI acquired the profitable and innovative Scottish Dyes through a majority shareholding bought by BDC in 1926 and outright control in 1928. Grangemouth went on to be an important plant for the company. This large plant had it's origins in the local dyestuffs company of Read Holliday & Sons who, in 1916 formed part of the government backed British Dyestuffs Ltd. that in 1919, with Levinsteins of Manchester, became the British Dyestuffs Corporation in an attempt to ensure that pre-war German dominance of the dyestuffs industry was countered. In 1926 BDC was one of the companies merged to form ICI and they incresingly developed the site of the new works at Dalton.
