Cudbear and the Colours of the Atlantic Rainforest
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe article presented here is not a scientific research article in a hard field. However, I consider it to be an article with a humanistic, historical, social, and cultural focus. I only believe that conclusions should be added highlighting the relevance of the research, the limitations, perspectives, and the novelty of the work, emphasizing how this work can inspire new work.
In my view, I believe aspects raised in the discussion could be emphasized in the conclusions.
Author Response
The article presented here is not a scientific research article in a hard field. However, I consider it to be an article with a humanistic, historical, social, and cultural focus. I only believe that conclusions should be added highlighting the relevance of the research, the limitations, perspectives, and the novelty of the work, emphasizing how this work can inspire new work.
In my view, I believe aspects raised in the discussion could be emphasized in the conclusions.
I have transposed paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Discussion (Page 22) to strengthen my argument. (Page 23) paragraph 3 beginning 'In the search for innovation' I have added three lines to emphasise the relevance of experimentation to the creation of new colours in the 18th century. Throughout this section I have highlighted the value of original documents and dyed samples to conservators and curators.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis article sheds valuable light on Cudbear, a dye made from lichen, by tracing the history of the Cuthbert brothers and drawing on the commercial archives of the time. It also highlights Gordon Cuthbert's botanical and dyeing experiments through his research into new shades and his attempts to reduce production costs by using less expensive dye plants.
This research work has a rightful place in Heritage, subject to a few minor changes to the text and an improvement in the quality of the figures, whose lack of clarity slightly impairs the reader's legibility and comprehension.
General comments:
Please revise how Figures are stated in the text by writing them in brackets or by including them in the sentence that refers to them.
Also, review how to archive quotes that are included in the text; please add inverted commas at the beginning and end of the citation for better segmentation of the text.
Abstract
Line 7: please remove the superfluous comma.
1. Introduction
Line 24: Put the reference to Figure 1 in brackets.
Line 32: Same for Figure 2.
Line 34, 36, 59, 66: please change the meaning of the "[" for the quotation.
Figure 1: This figure is not legible, please change the image so that the map is comprehensible to the reader. If it is accessible online, why not include the internet link in the description.
Line 69: Put the reference to figure 3 in brackets.
Figure 3: Please add the corresponding letter a, b or c to each image.
2. The Dye Works in Leith
Lines 101 - 103: Please reword the sentence, as the punctuation problems do not make it easy to understand.
Lines 112 and 148: Please add ":" after "1801" and "wrote".
Line 123: Please put the reference to figure 4 in brackets.
3. The New Manufactory in Glasgow
Line 188: Put the reference to Figure 5 in brackets, please.
Figure 5: As for Figure 1, the image is difficult to read. The computer mouse cursor is visible in the image. Please change it.
4. Later Experiments on Dye Plants - Reds, Blacks and DrabS
Title: Please replace the "S" with an "s" in the word "DrabS".
Line 222: Please put the reference to Figure 6 in brackets.
Line 244: Please remove the full stop before the reference.
Line 262: Please add a space between "whatever'" and "[18]".
Line 284: Put the reference to figure 6 in brackets, please.
Figure 7: I suggest you crop the image to highlight the samples shown.
Line 323: Please put the reference to figure 10 in brackets.
Line 323: Same for the reference to figure 11, please.
Figure 11: Please add the corresponding letter a, b or c to each image.
5. Discussion
Line 383: Please add a scale between "7" and "shillings".
References
Please review some references that do not seem to be indicated correctly, such as n°10, n°14, n°16, n°18, n°20, n°29, n°30.
Author Response
Please revise how Figures are stated in the text by writing them in brackets or by including them in the sentence that refers to them.
Also, review how to archive quotes that are included in the text; please add inverted commas at the beginning and end of the citation for better segmentation of the text.
I have added brackets to the Figures and included inverted commas where necessary.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis paper is very interesting and important for the community. It opens up many avenues for the identification and study of dyes. It could lead to scientific analyses aimed at better identifying this type of lichen-derived dyes.
Here are a few minor comments :
Figure 1 seems to be a screenshot, which results in a blurry image. Overall, the image quality could be improved, as they are currently difficult to read.
Line 133-134 : Should be in iItalic ?
Page 9, line 146 : "A letter published in the London Chronicle, dated 4-7 May 1765" : The author cites a letter without including a reference or any figure. Could you clarify whether reproduction rights have not been obtained?
Typo line 154
Line 204 : there is a missing dot
Line 229: there is a mention of Red Saunders, could you add a few words or a footnote to clarify what it is as this appellation is not as common ?
Figure 7: contrast of picture makes it hard to distinguish 12 samples.
Line 268 : there is a comma instead of a dot.
Author Response
Page 9, line 146 : "A letter published in the London Chronicle, dated 4-7 May 1765" : The author cites a letter without including a reference or any figure. Could you clarify whether reproduction rights have not been obtained?
Line 229: there is a mention of Red Saunders, could you add a few words or a footnote to clarify what it is as this appellation is not as common ?
I have added a new Reference for the letter in the London Chronicle (Note10) and an extra sentence to clarify the name of the red dye (Note 18). I have replaced Figures 1 and 7 with clearer images.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
