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

by Patrick Syme

Read & Co. presents this new edition of Werner's Nomenclature of Colours. First published in 1814, this small volume comprises a collection of 110 swatches displaying nature's colour palette together with their poetical descriptions. In the 18th Century, German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner set out to establish a standard reference guide to colour for use in the general sciences. Scottish flower painter Patrick Syme later enhanced and extended Werner's work to include all of the most common colours or tints that appear in nature, with each colour swatch accompanied by examples from the Animal, Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms. The resulting work was used by many scientists, explorers and anthropologists to further their studies, including Charles Darwin during his time on the HMS Beagle. Werner's Nomenclature of Colours is considered the predecessor of modern systems such as Pantone and has even inspired heritage paint ranges from the likes of Dulux and Farrow & Ball. Read & Co. is republishing this beautiful little volume in a new facsimile edition and has taken great care to reproduce the original text and art for a new generation of artists and scientists.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Nature, Design, Art Design, Crafts, Reference

82 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2020

Reviews

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dictionary for natural resources field notebooks. Before the title page, the quote from Darwin demonstrates the book’s purpose, as I can now see the near-exact color of his sky. One person’s indigo could easily be another’s azure. I would likely use this and Munsell in the field to describe geology and soil. I tested this on a ceanothus leaf and an autumn snowberry leaf and came up with deep, bright sap green and deep, bright Dutch orange - not a perfect match. A neat historical publication, maybe useful for researching historical field guides and notes.

[Sophie Sallade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Points off for a little bit muddy a print job, but I loved holding this book in my hands and using it to think about art and color for a little while. Will be a nice book to have in my studio. Also really illustrates how dang beautiful a chart can be.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful reference book on color

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde que encontré este libro el concepto se me hizo fascinante: tablas de color, de "todos los colores reconocidos" en un momento de la historia. Sobre todo porque no es un libro de artes, sino de ciencias, orientado al uso de naturalistas de las diferentes áreas para describir el mundo que los rodea. Según leí fue este el material usado por Darwin en sus observaciones, e imaginarlo ahí, descubriendo especies y documentando el mundo con estas tablas en mano fue sobrecogedor. Si bien me gusta el catálogo y el concepto como tal mi parte favorita fue sin duda la de las "recetas" que da en cada color y la forma en la que eso los relaciona entre sí.

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a clever little reference book! I come back to it often. I feel the printing, while attempting to look aged and very pleasant read, somewhat dulls and alters the color examples. Otherwise, I'd say it's 5 stars!

[Lauren Hennessey]

“Description, figure, and color combined form the most perfect representation, and are next to seeing the object itself”. This is the standard list to avoid common confusion and misconceptions when describing colors.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a resource text primarily I think, for those of us interested in 18th century science and exploration. Probably what a number of naturalists would have on hand (certainly Darwin, as evidenced by the opening quote). Probably only of interest to specific people, i.e., artists and historians.

[Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!! But the whites were greys in the book???

[kaia · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was really interesting to read! even though it took me a while to finish, it was worth it.

being passionate about art made me want to dive into this book, but i realized i’m definitely more drawn to visuals and storytelling when reading about art—or anything predominantly visual. knowing that, i probably should’ve expected this to lean more toward the historical side, but honestly, it turned out to be pretty fascinating. i’m glad i gave it a chance! here’s a quote that stuck with me:

“it is of great importance to be able to judge the intermediate shades or tints between colours; find out their component parts, as it enables us correctly to describe the colour of any object.”

⭐️⭐️/5