Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 284, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 November 1913 — Origin of Royal Purple. [ARTICLE]

Origin of Royal Purple.

Comparatively few persons know how purple came to be symbolical of royalty. The distinction probably grew out of Its excessive costliness In ancient times. The only purple color known then was thu Tyrian purple, which was obtained from a species of shellfish found In the Mediterranean sea. But It was ohtalned only In minute quantities and Its rarity made it very expensive. In the time of Cicero, a pound of wood, double-dyed with this color cost a thousand denarii, or about $176 In our money. The shade was more of a crimson than Is the modern purple. At Wellington, a little town o( 7,000 Inhabitants In the west es pngland, over 5,000 tramps had ft» be accommodated last yean