On Mar 26, 1:43 pm, "B. Lafferty" wrote:

Most 19th century ivory chess set have red for the dark pieces.
1. What was the dye used?
2. Why was red the primary color choice?

I haven't been able to find anything on the nature of the dye, but
there is an explanation for the choice of red on page 40 of "Master
Pieces" (Viking Studio 2000) by famous collector Gareth Williams.
Discussing sets of the late 18th century, he writes:

"Red and white are the colors of St. George, England's patron
saint ... Whoever decided to introduce the color red to oppose white
not only created an attractive color combination but also ensured
patriotic patronage from a potential source of major customers, namely
the English gentry."

Later, in the 19th century, red and white became more or less
standard throughout the European chess world, perhaps due to the pre-
eminence of English players, and/or England's pre-eminence in
international trade and industry.