Encyclopedia of Chemistry

Bistre (or bister) is both a shade of gray and a shade of brown made from soot, and the general name for a color resembling the pigment. Bistre's appearance is generally of a dark grayish brown, with a yellowish cast.

Beechwood was commonly burned to produce the soot, which was boiled and diluted with water. Many of the "Old Masters" used bistre as the ink for their drawings. Instead of this, some used the strokes of a pen, some Indian ink, others a black stone, etc. ^[1]

See also

• List of colors

References

1. ^{^} This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain. [1]