Includes bibliographical references (page [48]).

Many years ago, the color purple was available only to a privileged few because the process was very complicated and expensive. Then in 1856, a boy named William Henry Perkin was testing a hypothesis about a cure for malaria and found that his experiment resulted in something else--something vivid and rare for the times: synthetic purple. Perkin, a pioneer of the modern scientific method, made numerous advances possible, including canned food and chemotherapy. But it was his creation of purple that started it all. This book is a joyous celebration of Perkin's impactful purple. -- adapted from publisher description.