[Rarebooks] FS: 1859 Ed. of Important Color Harmony Study

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

TITLE: “The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours, and Their
Applications to the Arts”

By M.E. Chevreul.
Published in London by Henry G. Bohn in 1859. 3rd edition.

DISCUSSION: The importance of Michel-Eugene Chevreul's book on color
theory to the 19th century art world cannot be overstated, and his
influence on the Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists is well documented.
Oddly, Chevreul was not himself an artist, but a chemist, twice President
of the Academie des Sciences, and Director of the dye-works at the famous
Gobelins tapestry manufactory. It was while there that he was confronted
with problems with the matching of colors in the weaving process, problems
that were not due to the yarns or dyes themselves. Chevreul discovered
that the problem was that the weavers were perceiving colors differently
in isolation than when viewed together during the weaving, and thus the
foundations of modern color theory were born. In 1839 he published his
findings in France, and the book went into numerous editions and
translations in subsequent decades.

This 1859 edition was translated from the French by Charles Martel, and
was the first complete English edition and the best translation of this
great and important work. This edition, unlike some later ones, did not
include color plates for the simple reason that the publisher estimated
that to make them would triple the price of the book and keep it out of
the hands of many who had need of it.

DESCRIPTION: Hardcover. 5"x7.5", xxvii + 403 pages, 4 double-page black &
white plates, one with a folding volvelle; publisher's red blindstamped
cloth, gilt title.

CONDITION NOTES: The covers have light wear and soil, the spine has some
chipping (please see the photo). The book itself has some minor soil, and
light scattered spotting, but otherwise is clean and nice, with a tight
binding.

PRICE:  $175-

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