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

by Patrick Syme

A colour guide to nature, Werner's Nomenclature of Colours pairs 110 colour swatches with poetic descriptions of the plants, animals, and minerals each shade was drawn from.

“I had been struck by the beautiful colour of the sea when seen through the chinks of a straw hat… according to Werner nomenclature ‘Indigo with a little Azure blue’.”— Charles Darwin, 1832

In the eighteenth century, German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner set out to establish a standard guide to colour for use across the sciences. Decades later, Scottish botanical artist Patrick Syme extended Werner's work, refining it into a comprehensive catalogue of the most prominent shades and hues found in nature.

Each colour swatch in Syme's edition carries its poetic name, examples found in nature, and colour recipes to replicate them in the arts. It offers a practical tool to be used by artists, scientists, and explorers – most notably Charles Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle. It became one of the most charming reference books of its age, and a forerunner of the standardised colour systems that followed.

Pairing Werner's expanded work with a new introduction, this edition lists the original swatches as they were identified, named, and coloured in 1821.

Book

A facsimile of Patrick Syme's 1821 expansion of Werner's standard colour nomenclature. 110 numbered colour swatches with named examples drawn from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. The reference guide Charles Darwin carried on the voyage of HMS Beagle. A foundational reference in how colour was named, matched, and understood. A distinctive gift and coffee table book for artists, designers, and anyone fascinated by the history of colour theory.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Coffee Table Books, Art Design, Crafts, Reference

82 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2020

Reviews

[Maggie]

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]

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]

A beautiful reference book on color

[Alexa]

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]

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]

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.

[S. C.]

Perfect little book for identifying and referencing colors within nature. It lives on my coffee table and helps me decide on color palettes for my crochet projects. Small enough that I can take it with me on hikes and when traveling.

[Lewis]

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

[kaia]

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