Dye wood, fungi, and lichens. Most dyes are synthetic, i.e., are man-made from petrochemicals. Other than pigmentation, they have a range of applications including organic dye lasers, optical media (CD-R) and camera sensors (color filter array). Textile dyeing dates back to the Neolithic period. Throughout history, people have dyed their textiles using common, locally available materials. Scarce dyestuffs that produced brilliant and permanent colors such as the natural invertebrate dyes Tyrian purple and crimson kermes were highly prized luxury items in the ancient and medieval world. Plant-based dyes such as woad, indigo, saffron, and madder were important trade goods in the
Edward VII 2d Tyrian plum Edward VII 2d Tyrian plum The two pence (2d) Tyrian plum was a postage stamp produced by Britain in 1910 as a replacement for the existing two colour 2d stamp of King Edward VII. One hundred thousand sheets, totalling 24,000,000 stamps, were printed and delivered to the post office stores for distribution to postmasters. The circulation of the new stamps was delayed while existing stocks of the current stamp were used up so that the change would take effect at one time and the amount of surplus stock of the old value would be kept to a minimum. However following