Chrome Yellow is a natural yellow pigment made of lead(II) chromate (PbCrO4). It was first extracted from the mineral crocoite by the French chemist Louis Vauquelin in 1809.
Because the pigment tends to oxidize and darken on exposure to air over time, and it contains lead, a toxic, heavy metal, it has been largely replaced by another pigment, Cadmium Yellow (mixed with enough Cadmium Orange to produce a color equivalent to chrome yellow). Cadmium pigments on their own are toxic as well from the cadmium content, and have themselves been replaced with azo pigments.
Chrome yellow is commonly produced by mixing solutions of lead nitrate and potassium chromate and filtering off the lead chromate precipitate.
The first recorded use of chrome yellow as a color name in English was in 1818.
The Piper J-3 Cub aircraft had chrome yellow as its standard overall color, usually called "Cub Yellow" or "Lock Haven Yellow" in aviation circles, from the Piper factory that existed in Lock Haven, PA where it was made in the 1930s and during World War II.
Crome Yellow is the first novel by British author Aldous Huxley; it was published in 1921. In the book, Huxley satirizes the fads and fashions of the time.
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