On a journey that takes her from Afghanistan, to the Australian outback, to ancient caves in China, and the saffron harvest in Spain, Victoria Finlay gives an account of the history of colour. Part travelogue, part narrative history, this volume unlocks the history of the colours of the rainbow, and reveals how paints came to be invented, discovered, traded and used. This account remembers a time when red paint was really the colour of blood, when orange was the poison pigment, blue as expensive as gold, and yellow made from the urine of cows force-fed with mangoes. It looks at how green was carried by yaks along the silk road, and how an entire nation was founded on the colour purple. This book lifts the lid on the historical palette and unearths a wealth of stories about the quest for colours, and our efforts to understand them.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Certificate, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'Packed with facts, fables and anecdotes ... Finlay's detailed and brilliantly researched account makes for a fascinating read' -- Australian Interior Trends
'Packed with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves' -- Express
'Victoria Finlay has unlocked the history of colour in this trawl through some little-known history' -- Courier Mail ( Australia)
'You get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read.' -- Evening Standard
'Packed with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves' -- Express
'Victoria Finlay has unlocked the history of colour in this trawl through some little-known history' -- Courier Mail ( Australia)
'You get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read.' -- Evening Standard
From the Publisher
Victoria Finlay fell in love with the extraordinary blue stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral when she was eight years old, and ever since she has been fascinated and intrigued by the secrets of colour. This book is an enthralling account of her quest to uncover those secrets, and to reveal the stories hidden inside the paintbox.
Part travelogue, part narrative history 'Colour' is a beatifully written and engrossing account of a subject with universal appeal. This book is a must-read for fans of 'The Orchid Thief' and 'Nathaniel's Nutmeg'.
Part travelogue, part narrative history 'Colour' is a beatifully written and engrossing account of a subject with universal appeal. This book is a must-read for fans of 'The Orchid Thief' and 'Nathaniel's Nutmeg'.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By "armilla"
Format:Paperback
I bought this book initially for a friend who paints, but while looking through it, I was hooked. It is absolutely fascinating. It covers travel, history, art and science. Needless to say my friend will not be receiving the first copy I bought. It is such an easy book to read. I definitely will be looking into other books on the subject as shown in the bibliograpy of this book. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've been looking for a book like this for ages. Victoria Finlay's sub-title (Travels Through the Paint-box)describes this fascinating tome well.It is partly an autobiographical travelogue and partly a history of all the colours of the rainbow. There are several useful maps and some stunning photographs - I suppose more would have put the price up too much. Because she covers so many colours there is a tendency sometimes to feel 'I wish she had gone more deeply into that,' but the excellent bibliography and end-notes will enable me to research further into those areas. This should be in all art department libraries and on the bookshelves of all art students who can afford it. If I hadn't bought it already it would be top of my Christmas list.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was the beginning of a travel of my own. The book takes us around the world discovering the origins of the pigments of all the colours in the rainbow. Combining historical facts, trivia stories and interesting people Victoria Finlay takes us on a journey that we do not wish to end! I am currently reading it for the second time and it has been a strong basis (both in terms of info and bibliography) for my thesis about the theory of colour in Portuguese Modernism.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Niki
Format:Paperback
If you have any artistic ability however small and are in possession of a paint box no-one could fail to love reading this delightful book, Victoria Finlays quest to find the origins of colours leads her all over the world and in the process she ferrets around and comes up with anecdotes that make you chuckle out loud or cringe in disgust !!!Her vivid description of extracting crimson from squashed living beetles is on a par with Bram Stoker! She brings many of the old Masters to life as she discribes their anxiety to find paints that will out last the ravages of time and indeed if Turner had listened to his 'colour' masters many of his paintings would have been even more spectacular. One almost becomes addicted to the chapters as she embellishes and embraces the colour and then tantilizingly moves onto the next !!! This a book I will cherish and re-read many times.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By Carla Sofia
Format:Paperback
When you take things for granted you usually do not understand their importance and beauty. This happens with colours. Victoria Finlay's book invites us to look at our surrounding world with different eyes and teaches us to stare with fascination at colours. It is a beautiful book that takes us on a journey around the world, allowing us to meet extremely interesting people that have so much to tell on something as beautiful as colours. When you finish reading it, you wish the rainbow had not only 7, but hundreds of colours!!! A must read for curious minds....
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is truely amazing - always fascinated by colour, but never, ever would I have guessed at the amazing stories behind them. So many unrelated puzzling trivials have been answered in this book, the old masters can be seen in a new light, even to an art heathen, the fact that the paintings have survived this long is indeed a feat of outstanding wonder, given the careful chemistry and make up of the materials they had to work with. A truely amazing, fascinating historical book, beautifully written, and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to read it.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Victoria Finlay comes from a background both as an arts journatist and also someone who has lived and worked abroad. This broad view shines through.
It is really a collection of stories, linked by the quest for colour. It is a rich and rewarding read, and one that is both absorbing. Yet as the stories of the individual colours and pigments are revealed and are amazingly potent, the book can also be taken in bite sized chunks - ideal for those, who like me, do much of their reading while commuting.
So, if you love William Dalrymple, are an art student, or just want to find out how lucky we are to live in a multi-coloured world, I stongly recommend this book.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By The Captain
Format:Paperback
A truly excellent book all round with wonderful anecdotes. A must for anyone interested in colour, dyeing or painting. The book would be improved with more pictures but still it is a clearly a labour of love for the author. Check out the extensive bibliography - this is extensively researched (one of the great measures of non-fiction) and the notes are really worth reading too. One warning; I bought (through Amazon) the 2004 paperback published by Random House. 31 pages of chapter 10 were completely missing and the rubric (first letter on page one) of chapters 1 and 2 were missing... I suspect the print run was flawed and should have been spotted by Random House's proof readers. Imagine - the first letter of the first word of the first chapter is missing....Hmmmmm.... Amazon was great and offered a refund... no criticism of Amazon is intended but be aware... my copy was the American version "Color - A Natural History of the Palette"
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it.
I am an artist; my husband is not. We both loved this book. Ms. Finlay did some fine research and tells interesting anecdotes about her travels and her insights into how people... Read more
Published 5 days ago by A. Daniel
5.0 out of 5 stars
intriguing!
I was fascinated by the title and have been delighted with the book. It is a travelogue and a history of colour as well as well tale told with humour and there are many very... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Mrs. H. J. Cardwell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paintbox
This is a great book to keep for reference. Victoria Finlay has certainly done a lot of research into this subject
Published 2 months ago by L STREETHER
5.0 out of 5 stars
A delicious confection of a book
A marvellous mix of fact and personal anecdote, the author travelled the world to find the source of the colours that surround us. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Scribblah
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well researched
As I paint I found this information about pigments fascinating and would recommend it to all artists. Read more
Published 5 months ago by audreyview
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read
A really interesting read about one woman's journey finding out about the history of certain colors. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Tamara J. Schultz
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and Well Written
Colour is part travel, part history. Finlay has divided the book according to the rainbow and investigates how each colour was made in the time before synthetic colours. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Sam
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant tour de force
I came upon this book by chance while meandering through a London Waterstones store. How glad I am that I did! This book is an engrossing read. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. J. S. Stallick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating information, and witty to boot!
I was concerned about buying this book for a while because of other reviews complaining about the over-use of the line 'I Like to imagine that... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Skye
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very colourful
This book was a gift to a friend, who is an art therapist. She was very pleased to receiveit and said it was just right for her.
Published 19 months ago by J. A. B. Moulson
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
