| Article number: | P-17166 |
| Availability: | In stock |
In the late 18th century, mineralogist Abraham Werner used the rich hues of various minerals to devise a standardized color scheme to describe even the subtlest of chromatic differences with consistent terminology. "Scotch Blue" is blue like the throat of a blue titmouse, the stamen of a single purple anemone, or the blue of copper ore. "Ultramarine Blue" is blue like the upper wings of a small heath butterfly, the flowers of the borage plant, or the azure of lapis lazuli. Originally published in 1814, this brilliantly simple taxonomy of colors is like the original Pantone deck. In the golden age of natural history and global exploration this beautiful book gave wanderers, scientists, artists, anthropologists, and naturalists alike a common language to describe what they were seeing. To wit, Charles Darwin brought along a copy on his voyages on the HMS Beagle. This new pocket-sized edition is perfect for finding and naming your own beauty in the wild.