Chromatography; or, A treatise on colours and pigments, and of their p
FIELD, George. Chromatography; or, A Treatise on Colours and Pigments, and of their Powers in Painting, etc. xix, 276 pp., illustrated with hand-coloured engraved frontispiece and one engraved plate. Folio, 327 x 240 mm., contemporary half morocco. London: Charles Tilt, 1835.
First edition of the most influential work on pigment chemistry written in England in the early 19th century. "In many ways, the most useful literary source concerning pigments rather than painting of the period is Field's Chromatography, published in 1835 ... The first part of Chromatography is concerned with colour theory, followed by a section in which the nature and composition of individual pigments are discussed. The last part contains some comments on oils, varnishes and picture cleaning ... From an historical point of view an important feature of the first edition is the inclusion of a large number of pigments, no matter how obscure, so that the book fills the gaps left by most of the early 19th-century books on painting" (R. D. Harley, Artists' pigments, pp. 27-28).
Among the subscribers were both Constable and Turner. There were a number of later editions, however the first is rare.
Abbey, Life 123. The Book of Colour Concepts 270.
Item nr. 172724
Price:
$3,500.00