Imprint
- Sceptre
- Sceptre
- Sceptre
History of art / art & design styles, Prose: non-fiction, Travel writing
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Imprint
Sceptre
- Paperback May 8, 2003 | 9780340733295 | RRP $26.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 3, 2022 | 9781399711869 | RRP $44.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Dec 30, 2014 | 9781444719888 | RRP $12.99 Buy Now
Play Sample0:00 -
Imprint
Sceptre
- Paperback May 8, 2003 | 9780340733295 | RRP $26.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 3, 2022 | 9781399711869 | RRP $44.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Dec 30, 2014 | 9781444719888 | RRP $12.99 Buy Now
Play Sample0:00 -
Imprint
Sceptre
- Paperback May 8, 2003 | 9780340733295 | RRP $26.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 3, 2022 | 9781399711869 | RRP $44.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Dec 30, 2014 | 9781444719888 | RRP $12.99 Buy Now
Play Sample0:00
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 extraordinary, and compelling account of the history of colour.
Part travelogue, part narrative history, COLOUR unlocks the history of the colours of the rainbow, and reveals how paints came to be invented, discovered, traded and used. This remarkable and beautifully written book 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.
Exciting, richly informative, and always surprising, COLOUR lifts the lid on the historical palette and unearths an astonishing wealth of stories about the quest for colours, and our efforts to understand them.
More books by Victoria Finlay
Praise for Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox
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[Victoria Finlay's] curiosity is inexhaustible, her reading wide, and her writing style a delight - Sunday Telegraph
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It's pure pleasure to join this gutsy arts reporter-cum-scholar on her quest for historical pigments and dyes around the world - Independent
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A highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic - Independent on Sunday
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A treasure trove of human history and obsession...the breadth of research and insight is dazzling. - The Glasgow Herald
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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 MADMAN
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Packed with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves - Express
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You get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read. - Evening Standard
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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
Victoria Finlay
Victoria Finlay worked as a journalist in Hong Kong for eleven years, five of which were spent as arts editor for the South China Morning Post. Colour was her first book; since then she has also written Jewels: A Secret History, A Brilliant History of Color in Art, and Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World. She studied social anthropology and as well as travelling around the world in search of stories about her subjects, from pigments to jewels to art to fabric, has also worked for an international environment charity. She lives near Bath.
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