The earliest forms of human creativity – in carvings, markings, and cave paintings – bear witness to humanity’s engagement with colour. Almost as old as these examples is the desire to assign structure, order, and meaning to this universal yet elusive concept, and it is this fascination that unites the works compiled in this expansive edition.

Gathering over 65 rare books and manuscripts from a wealth of institutions, including the most distinguished colour collections worldwide, The Book of Colour Concepts takes the reader on a chromatic odyssey across four centuries and over 1,000 images of luscious wheels and globes, painstakingly collated charts, and meticulous diagrams, many of them newly photographed exclusively for this edition. Some of these concepts provide exhaustive taxonomies of colour, while others reflect upon the relationship of colour and music, or the affinities between colour and human emotions.