A well-preserved [1938?] collection of fabric swatches and yarn samples dyed in various colours and several varieties: wool, shajak (a fine Bulgarian wool fabric), blended wool, sulan (a heavier Bulgarian fabric) and "kunstseide" (probably rayon), published by the Bulgarian subsidiary of the German manufacturer of "Krone" aniline dyes. A Bulgarian 1 lev postage stamp (violet) stuck on the title-page (in a space apparently provided for that purpose, perhaps as a tax stamp) is dated 1938. Although the title is in Bulgarian, the title-page is headed "Anilinfarben Fabrikniederlage" with the large "Krone" logo.
Bulgaria and other allies of Nazi Germany played a major role in supporting the German economic expansion during the 1930s and 1940s. The catchword "Großraumplanung" stood for the German industries aim to expand throughout the Balkans and Turkey as far as Iran. A major sector of National Socialist business interests, the chemical industry in particular grew rapidly. Its leading players such as I.G. Farben promoted their aniline dyes by establishing local subsidiaries in the East who would then distribute bilingual swatch-books such as the present specimen.
The tipped-in sample pages are captioned in German and Bulgarian throughout. Prefixed is a manual in both languages on how to dye the fabrics (several of which, such as sulan and shajak, are traditional Bulgarian cloths).
Covers very slightly worn at extremities; light dust stains on the cards. Some strands of dyed wool slightly loose, but generally in good condition. Cf. Arbeitskreis I.G. Farben der Bundesfachtagung der Chemiefachschaften (Hg.), "...von Anilin bis Zwangsarbeit". Der Weg eines Monopols durch die Geschichte. Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung der deutschen chemischen Industrie (Aachen 1994), p. 59.