Werner's Nomenclature of Colours: Adapted to Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, and the Arts

by Patrick Syme, Abraham Gottlob Werner (Illustrator)

First published in 1814, Werner's Nomenclature of Colours is a taxonomic guide to the colors of the natural world that has been cherished by artists and scientists for more than two centuries. This new edition brings the classic work back to life.

In the late eighteenth century, mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner devised a standardized color scheme that allowed him to describe even the subtlest of chromatic differences with consistent terminology. His scheme was then adapted by an Edinburgh flower painter, Patrick Syme, who used the actual minerals described by Werner to create the color charts in the book, enhancing them with examples from flora and fauna.

In the pre-photographic age, almost all visual details had to be captured via the written word, and scientific observers could not afford ambiguity in their descriptions. Werner's handbook became an invaluable resource for naturalists and anthropologists, including Charles Darwin, who used it to identify colors in nature during his seminal voyage on the HMS Beagle. Werner's terminology lent both precision and lyricism to Darwin's pioneering writings, enabling his readers to envision a world they would never see.

Werner's Nomenclature of Colours is a charming artifact from the golden age of natural history and global exploration. This beautiful pocket-size facsimile is certain to delight and inform a new generation of artists and scientists.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Science, Design, Reference, Nature, History

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1814

Reviews

[Laura McNeal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I would take to Wes Anderson if I were invited to be his guest for the weekend on a small island in Maine. No pressure to invite me, Wes, but I would. I would bring this instead of a candle.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

A straight reproduction of one of the earliest definitive books on color. Published by the British Museum, it is a slim little book that's good quality and very fun to look at. They did mention in the introduction that the color swatches have changed with time but they did their best to reproduce them--I couldn't help notice that the white supposed to look like snow was NOT snow white, and the lemon yellow wasn't very yellow, but muddy. However, the descriptions are so keen, you can still visualize. The names of the colors are beautiful. Altogether very enjoyable to peruse.

[Hanneleele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ei saa just öelda, et siin oleks palju lugemist, kuid viktoriaani teadlaste kategoriseerimisvaimustus on igati imetlusväärne ning on ometi tore, et lumivalge on naerukajaka rind ja lillakasvalge mingi kajaka kurk ja kollakasvalge olla lihtsalt haigur ning siisikeseroheline siisike.

[Heidi Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh I’m so torn! This is a wonderful book, wonderful history and a glimpse into the precise and detailed thinking of natural scientists before photography and computers. But the printer or designer really failed in this reprint. The colors are very “off” in many instances - skimmed milk white, said to be the white of human eyeballs, is distinctly grey; gamboge yellow “the characteristic color” describing a canary wing, is printed as a muddy mustard yellow; grass green is described as emerald green mixed with lemon yellow, but is darker than emerald green. I’m not even an artist or designer, just one who loves words and colors and accuracy. I’m so close to pulling out my good ole’ box of 64 Crayolas to color in what really should be represented on the pages. Some colors appear accurate, and the method used to describe them gives a clear picture which does serve as a double check - I’ve seen a mallard duck so I know what emerald green is. Which is really the beauty of this book, the reproducibility of the color system. Fun but frustrating book!
I should note - mine is a copy marked as printed by “The natural history museum” in the UK. I see other editions with a similar cover printed by other museums (eg, Smithsonian) and I suppose it’s possible the various printings have better or worse color representation.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely text for those who want to know how the color of chocolate compare to arterial blood or how a goldfinch's yellow differs from Timothy hay.

[Travis Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m colorblind. So a book spanning the broad palette of visible color is more than just a book. It’s a challenge intent on drawing out the indomitability of the human spirit, that though I can’t distinguish these spectrum of hues, I can attempt, I can believe, I can conquer. Forget it, what am I talking about.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is interesting both from a history of science perspective and a history of colour. However, a lot of the colour reproduction seems wrong compared to the descriptions, whether this is a result of the printing or of the original having faded over time is unclear (although the print quality of the book is not particularly good in general which can't have helped).

[Nicole Chilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure poetry!

[Laurian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this. It was just so short. I would have liked to see so many more sub-notes included in here rather than a straight replication.

[Shelby Lehman · Rating 2 out of 5]

In theory this is a cool book. Great color inside and out. Ribbon bookmark attached. A reprint of an old book that categorizes and describes colors to provide consistency throughout science. But I found the layout lacking. The font size of the color descriptions is so small. And the color swatches are ridiculously small and disappointing. The book gives a disclaimer saying they tried to match but time and printing techniques may cause variations. I understand that. But “Snow White” described as the color of snow is just beige. And there are no vibrant yellows. It makes me wonder how many other colors are not well represented. The descriptions of what the colors are composed of seem quite useful to a painter are are a very large font. I’m not impressed.

[Kath · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointed by the print quality and paper choices used for this edition it really takes away from the enjoyment and beauty of this lyrical text.
The colour swatches are ashy and many are indistinguishable, you'd be forgiven for thinking the author had never seen pinks as there are none shown properly in this reprint, carmine for example shows up as a warm red rather than the raspberry tone it should be as described and as seen in other editions. I own a lot of art books and colour reproduction and printing can be done much more accurately and well than this.

[victoria marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

hardcover edition published by Great Britain’s Natural History Museum in London, gifted by a favorite & one of my only art family friends as obsessed with color as me! https://www.shannoncannings.com/paint...

so beyond lovely.

[Ivona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cum a reușit Abraham Gottlob Werner, părintele geologiei germane, să pună la punct un Nomenclator al culorilor? De ce a fost el necesar? Care e legătura cu Charles Darwin? Ce e "verdele iarbă" și unde îl întâlnim. 🙂

Nomenclatorul de culori al lui Werner, împreună cu mostrele de culori pentru fiecare culoare menționată, a fost publicat pentru prima oară în 1814, urmat în scurt timp de o a doua ediție în 1821.

Natural History Museum, în colaborare cu Smithsonian Books, a folosit ambele ediții pentru a scoate la lumină acest volum în care s-a încercat o reproducere cât mai fidelă mostrelor originale de culoare. Cu toate acestea, timpul a condus la modificări inevitabile ale culorilor, astfel că mostrele reproduse, în ciuda tehnologiei actuale, reprezintă doar cu aproximație originalul. Nomenclatorul, în ciuda acestor neajunsuri, rămâne însă un volum de referință pentru ilustratorii științici, pentru pasionații de științele naturii, putând reprezenta un bun exercițiu pentru dezvoltarea spiritului de observație.

Mai multe despre acest volum pe:
http://www.dinmansarda.com/despre-cul...

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first and second editions of this short, ingenious book were published over two hundred years ago, beginning as a project by a German mineralogist and geologist named Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817) and, after Werner’s death, British painter and art teacher Patrick Syme (1774-1845). The germ for Werner’s idea was to develop an applicable standard in the arts and sciences regarding the names and character of colors found in nature—mineral, vegetable, and animal—so that scientists and artists worldwide could describe and reproduce coloration with accuracy and precision, despite distances of thousands of miles and/or hundreds of years.

The resulting guide of 60 or so pages is a miracle of concision on par with Mendeleev’s periodic table. On one page is a verbal description of a color and on the other, facing page is a table showing a color swatch for each color described and the corresponding mineral, vegetable, and animal where this color may be found. For instance, under the category of Greens is this description of Mountain Green: “composed of emerald green, with much blue and a little yellowish grey,” and its natural correlatives as Phaloena Viridaria (animal), Thick-leaved Gudweed, Silver-leaved Almond (vegetable), and Actynolite Beryl (mineral). As the description of Mountain Green shows, natural colors embody nuances that require readers to train their eyes to see their subtleties. That Werner and Syme succeeded in finding dozens of examples of these colors in their natural habitat belies the apparent simplicity of a guidebook as succinct as this one.

Modern-day Pantone, in contrast to Werner and Syme, seems to have a monopoly on the field, extending far beyond nature’s palette into neon and day-glo colors. To the best of my knowledge, however, I am unfamiliar with Pantone being used as a reference for anything other than describing commercial products rather than natural artefacts. Britain’s Museum of Natural History, which today publishes Werner’s Nomenclature, markets it as the guide Charles Darwin brought with him on his voyage on the HMS Beagle, presumably with the intent to report his findings with scrupulous accuracy. Although the practice of identifying the composition of natural coloration apparently never took off globally, Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours remains an impressive example of human thought and research.

For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, tiny little book about color in nature, originating from the early 1800s, and carried by Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle so that he could accurately describe colors in specimens that would surely lose vibrancy on their return trip to the UK.

I took the book into my living room to identify a color in new pillow that I had been describing as grey-blue. Nope! According to Werner’s nomenclature of colours, the best match for my pillows is Red Lilac Purple, the color of the light spots of the upper wing of a peacock butterfly, the pale purple primrose, and the mineral lepidolite.

While reproduction on paper of colors found in nature is difficult, I love that there exists a 300-year old lexicon of color “adapted to zoology, botany, chemistry, mineralogy, anatomy, and the arts”.

For info, human skin (of a white person) is Flesh Red, a polar bear is Straw Yellow, and the beauty spot on the wing of a mallard drake is Prussian Blue.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am something of an artist and the son of an artist. I love color. But color is not just the purview of the Artists, Werner's Nomenclature of Colours by Patrick Syme was the book used by naturalists in the 1800s (originally published in 1814) to describe the colors of animals, vegetation and minerals they encountered in the natural world. It is the book that Charles Darwin drew on to describe colors of nature on his Beagle voyage. The colors are listed, with a description of what other colors or pigments are mixed in to achieve a particular hue. As someone who paints (oils), this is fascinating to me. And there are tables with little squares of color, describing what animal, vegetable and mineral approximate each hue. This is the sort of book you need if you hope to be a modern major general.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love this book, an earlier version of which was used by Charles Darwin to describe colours in nature on his HMS Beagle voyage.

The only reason it doesn't get a 5 star review from me is because the colours are muddied (perhaps with a Broccoli Brown or maybe the Yellowish Brown as per the stems of the Barberry) in the reproduction. The whites, in particular, show no differentiation.

But just the name Orpiment Orange sends me into raptures. If you didn't know, this is the colour of the neck ruff of the golden pheasant, the belly of the warty newt and of Indian cress, and it is about equal parts of gamboge yellow and arterial blood red.

Something to dip into when you need to describe colour - or have a desire to fill your world with the colours of nature.

Oh! And the cover is quite tactile, too.

[Alli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating piece of science history that I had never heard of before. The book warns that the color swatches may have faded with time and may be inaccurate--this certainly seems to be true based on the descriptions. It would have been interesting to me to have a longer explanation of the history behind it, including how they reproduced the colors back in the 1800s with each printing. But I had never realized before that it would be difficult to describe things back then without color photography; they would've had to rely on words or paint. Cool little book.

[Giulia Tropeano DiMauro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 'Smithsonian Books' reprint of the 1821 Werner's Nomenclature of Colours as adapted by Patrick Syme is a must-have reference book for scientists, artists, and writers alike! The standardised colour system created by Werner and Syme is just as relevant today as it was 200 years ago.

Which exact shade of green is a mallard's head, a specimen of malachite, or a leaf of English Ivy? With this handy guide, persons of any discipline can utilise colours in their chosen medium with accuracy and confidence.

[Raven]

"Skimmed milk White.
Animal: White of the Human Eyeballs. Vegetable: Back of the Petals of Blue Hepatica. Mineral: Common Opal."

"Bluish black.
Animal: Largest black slug. Vegetable: Growberry. Mineral: Black Cobalt Ochre."

"Bluish green.
Animal: Egg of Thrush. Vegetable: Under Disk of Wild Rose Leaves. Mineral: Beryl."

"Arterial blood red is the characteristic color of the red series."

[Elsabe Retief · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel disadvantaged by only getting to know about this now. Thanks to Uppercase magazine I am however now enlightened.
Miraculously one does not have to try to explain or describe colours any longer, one can just refer to one of these exact colours, thoughtfully and I might add aptly named and voilà, we all know precisely what one refers to.
There are even a system to describe the tints and shades both up as well as down with.
Enlightened and thankful I am.

[Anna Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this as a creative resource. Interesting to read through what colors were used to make up other colors, like seeing browns and red within a certain blue. On the nature side, it was thought provoking to read the connections of color through animals, vegetation, and minerals.
The book is like the O.G. Pantone system. But as far as plot, story, or anything captivating? Nothing there.

*I was inspired to read this from the references to it in Once There Were Wolves.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this exists. Long before the days of Pantone references, there was a nature based guide to colours. Each colour is listed with its composite colours, and examples in nature where it can be found:
- Head of golden pheasant
- Corn Poppy
- Light parts of the margin of the wings of Devil’s butterfly
- Beauty spot on wing of mallard drake

[Elizabeth Schlatter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! It’s ridiculously charming and problematic at the same time. I especially liked the tables that show names and swatches of colors with equivalent listings from animal, vegetable, and mineral examples. E.g. Sienna Yellow can be found in “Vent Parts of Tail of Bird of Paradise,” the “Stamina of Honey-suckle,” and “Pale Brazilian Topaz.”

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed reading this. I love both the descriptions of how the colours were created as well as the listing of examples of where the colour occurs in nature.

We live in such a digital world, it was refreshing to experience colour by description, example and observation.

Wonderful reference and also a lovely layout. Loved it!

[Juli Lasselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully printed book, a gem, and a window into how the naturalists of yesteryear created ways of seeing and cataloging the flora, fauna, and mineral world around them and how they related to each other--in this book, through color.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

gorgeous! Scottish mineralogist and artist's taxonomy of colors, created originally in 1814, was widely used as a reference by artists and naturalists (including Darwin!) for decades. soothing, lovely little volume.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed this book. Wasn't really my cup of tea, but I did find it fascinating how many distinct colors Darwin used. Gifted to my mom who does a lot of crafting/art. I think she'll enjoy it.

*I received a free copy through a Goodreads giveaway*

[Pixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful little book, useful for artists, especially those who use/mix colors; scientists, especially those who describe things; lovers of animals, minerals, flowers and fruits; and historians and readers, especially those familiar with the 18th and 19th centuries.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the colours as printed in the book seemed to be wrong - asparagus green was nowhere near the colour of asparagus, for example. However, those plants from which the colour names were derived could have changed over time. At least this book gave naturalists a point of reference.