Cart
Free Shipping in the UK
Proud to be B-Corp

Colour Victoria Finlay

Colour By Victoria Finlay

Colour by Victoria Finlay


12,00 £
New RRP 16,99 £
Condition - Very Good
9 in stock

Summary

Part travelogue, part narrative history, this text lifts the lid on the historical palette and unearths a wealth of stories about the quest for colours, and our efforts to understand them.

Colour Summary

Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox by Victoria Finlay

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.

Colour Reviews

Packed with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves - Express

You get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read. - Evening Standard

This is a rare and wonderful book - a model of erudition and charm, the

writing elegant and precise, and with at least one new and fascinating

revelation on every single page. I could not be more enthusiastic. - Simon Winchester, author of THE PROFESSOR AND THE

It's pure pleasure to join this gutsy arts reporter-cum-scholar on her quest for historical pigments and dyes around the world ... Even drab (technically the tone between olive and puce) seems less so when Finlay examines it - Independent

It's hard to criticise her spirit of cultural exploration and easy to share her intelligent enthusiasm . . .Packed with pertinent trivia . . . informative and fun - South China Morning Post

Full of forgotten facts and beguiling anecdotes . . . it would be hard to confront a painting ever again without seeing in it a kind of coded map of the world - Telegraph

Packed with facts, fables and anecdotes ... Finlay's detailed and brilliantly researched account makes for a fascinating read - Australian Interior Trends

Victoria Finlay has unlocked the history of colour in this trawl through some little-known history - Courier Mail ( Australi

About Victoria Finlay

Vicky Finlay was the Arts Editor for The South China Morning Post for over four years, before leaving in 1999 to become a freelance writer. She contributes regularly to Hong Kong newspapers and international media, has done regular broadcasts for local radio, co-produced a documentary about Pablo Neruda, and even taken acrylic painting classes. For the last year she has been travelling the world researching 'Colour'.

Additional information

GOR001195072
9780340733288
0340733284
Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox by Victoria Finlay
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Hodder & Stoughton
20020919
512
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Colour