Color ordered : a survey of color order systems from antiquity to the present

407 Pages·2008·86.13 MB·English

by  Schwarz

COLOR ORDERED
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COLOR ORDERED
A Survey of Color Order Systems
from Antiquity to the Present
Rolf G. Kuehni and Andreas Schwarz

2008
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Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. Dedicated to the memory of Dorothy Nickerson,
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Deane B. Judd, and Manfred Richter;
www.oup.com
and also dedicated to Friedrich Schmuck
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kuehni, Rolf G.
Color ordered: a survey of color order systems from antiquity to the present / Rolf G. Kuehni
and Andreas Schwarz.
p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-518968-1
1. Color vision — History. 2. Colors — Classification — History. 3. Colorimetry — History.
I. Schwarz, Andreas.
II. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Color Perception. 2. Color. 3. Colorimetry — history. WW 150 K95c 2007]
QP483.K82 2007
152.14’5 — dc22 2007011343
Dedicated to the memory of Dorothy Nickerson,
Deane B. Judd, and Manfred Richter;
and also dedicated to Friedrich Schmuck
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PREFACE

Color plays a very important part in the world we experience visually. Not only does color help
us to distinguish between objects having different light-reflecting properties, but naturally or
artificially caused color also gives us aesthetic pleasure. Color helps us to categorize objects and
experiences.
Assigning names is the result of a categorization process. Among the first named color categories were
red and “grue” (a combination of green and blue), white, and black. From this stage, we progressed
to one or two dozen named categories recognized by most humans. More complex and detailed verbal
categorization required the development of color reference collections with material samples repre-
senting (in some fashion) color perceptions. The color order systems implicit in such collections rep-
resent not only growing insight into the nature of color experiences but also idiosyncratic expressions
and cultural achievements. Color order is an attempt to systematize color experiences.
This book offers an extensive if incomplete survey of color order systems, illustrated mostly with
original figures. It places color order systems into categories that are based in part on history, that is,
the gradual growth in understanding of the logical arrangement of color experiences, and in part on
science and technology. It is arranged according to the following plan:
Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction into specific aspects of vision and color vision to help the reader
establish a foundation for the remaining chapters.
Chapter 2 discusses linear color order systems beginning with Aristotle and reaching into the twentieth century.
Chapter 3 presents the realization of a second dimension in color order, resulting in color diagrams and
color circles.
Chapter 4 demonstrates the systematic development of the third dimension in color order, beginning in
the eighteenth century with the work of Tobias Mayer, Johann Heinrich Lambert, and others.
Chapter 5 describes psychological color order systems, with a basis of more or less detailed psychologi-
cal scaling.
Chapter 6 is filled with scientifically and technically important systems derived from psychophysical or
neurobiological descriptions of color stimuli.
Chapter 7 covers systems of the twentieth century that attempt to connect empirical perceptual data with
psychophysical scaling data.
Chapter 8 is a brief introduction to physical order systems that place color stimuli as a result of math-
ematical manipulation of purely physical measurements.
Chapter 9 presents technical color order systems where the samples of the system are arranged according
to systematic mixture of usually three primary colorants (dyes or pigments, typically in form of printing
inks) or three lights.
Chapter 10 contains groups of systems that represent mixtures of ideas not easily fit into the other chap-
ters. There are systems with a basis in early psychophysical results and a group of systems based on disk
mixture data. There is also a group of systems based on the form of the cube but not directly related to
the halftone printing and display systems of chapter 9.
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Chapter 11 contains miscellaneous systems: a group containing systems of an incomplete nature, and
another group based on more or less unconventional ideas.
Chapter 12 is a concluding synthesis.
An appendix shows 29 larger reproductions of rare and unusual original color figures of color order
systems, several not previously reproduced. The figures that appear in the appendix are identified in the
main text with figure numbers highlighted in red.
We describe systems, particularly older ones, conservatively. In recent years a few authors have interpreted
certain systems as three dimensional, even though there is no direct evidence to support such views.
Entries in the book contain brief descriptions of the color systems and their inventors, with original or
schematic illustrations. Chapters 2–11 begin by discussing the ideas behind the systems and the rela-
tionships among them. The book also contains an alphabetical and chronological listing of all entries,
a select bibliography of general literature, and a glossary. Explanatory comments within quotations
have been placed in square brackets.
We are both much interested in color order, so writing this book has been a labor of love. We hope that it
will be useful to scientists and technicians involved with color, designers and artists, historians, students,
and any reader with an interest in the historical path of human thought on color order.
R.G.K. expresses his appreciation to friends and colleagues interested in the history of color order, to fellow
members of the Inter-Society Color Council, researchers who have shared their knowledge and opinions,
color philosophers, and several helpful librarians around the world. Specifically, I thank Werner Spillmann
in Basel, Switzerland, for generously sharing his great collection of historical color order systems. I thank
Roy Berns, Robert Feller, Erich Fischer, Larry Hardin, David Hinks, Tarow Indow, Sarah Lowengard, Joy
Turner Luke, Claudio Oleari, Dale Purves, Alan Robertson, Ralph Stanziola, and Françoise Viénot for sup-
plying information on various subjects. I particularly thank Charles di Perna of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Public Library system for much help with interlibrary loans, Christine de Valet of the Yale Art Library for
important help with images, and Gary Field, from whose knowledge the print-related portions of chapter 9
profited. Last but not least, I thank Margret for generous understanding of this minor obsession.
A.S. thanks all his friends, colleagues, organizations, and institutions that supported him in various ways
in this project. My thanks go to the Wilhelm Ostwald Forschungs- und Gedenkstätte in Grossbothen
for generous help with materials and extended support regarding inquiries; the Fachhochschule Köln,
present host to the Collection Friedrich Schmuck; the Color Reference Library in London; the Bayer-
ische Staatsbibliothek München; and the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. Thanks are due to Hartmut Adam,
Eckhard Bendin, Robert L. Dillon, Günter Döring, Heinwig Lang, Doris Oltrogge, Klaus Palm, Albrecht
Pohlmann, Bud Plochere, and Gerhard Zeugner for images and text materials, together with pleasant cor-
respondence. I give heartfelt thanks to my colleague Silvia Danilieva for translations from Russian. Our
designer, Michael Marschhauser, deserves thanks for design work, the schematic drawings, and his pa-
tience in dealing with many special requests. I also thank the late Manfred Richter, who not only supplied
valuable information but also brought to my attention and made available several rare color order sys-
tems. Many thanks go to my wife, Iris, for always showing understanding for my passion and for provid-
ing support during difficult phases. My largest gratitude, however, is owed to Friedrich Schmuck, always
reachable and ready with valuable information and providing me with unlimited access to his important
collection. Without its many treasures, this book in its present form would not have been possible.
We both express our appreciation to the editorial personnel at Oxford University Press, in particular,
Catharine Carlin, for helpful and unstinting support of the project and for letting us design the book ac-
cording to our wishes.
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SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are particularly grateful to Datacolor International in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and its president,
Terry Downes, for a generous contribution toward the cost of the design process for the book.
We also would like to acknowledge a generous financial contribution toward the design process from
CAPAROL in Ober-Ramstadt, Germany and its managing partner, Dr. Ralf Murjahn, as well as from
RAL e.V. in St.Augustin, Germany and its general manager, Dr. Wolf D. Karl.
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