I think we've gone over the terminology of alum hematoxylins more than
once on Histonet.
When you make up a working solution of what we call hematoxylin, you
dissolve the colorless dyestuff (dye precursor) hematoxylin in water.
With oxidation the colorless dyestuff becomes the dye, called
So, there are tons of hematoxylin recipes out there, and many, I find, are
very similar in their staining properties. Yes, Richard Allen manufactures
a modification of Harris' Hematoxylin, which is essentially Harris' recipe
without the mercuric oxide. I don't know how long Richard Allen's
