Color: A Natural History of the Palette
Color: A Natural History of the Palette is a book that my friend Marjorie gave me as a birthday present a couple of years ago. Here’s what it looks like:
Marjorie ordered it for me on Amazon because she found it on my wish list. I had completely forgotten about my wish list by then. So I was extremely surprised and excited to get it in the mail!
This book is about the history of various colors. The author travels the world in search of the sources of various pigments, in some cases having to convince the native folks that she is worthy of being told their guarded cultural secrets. She is an anthropologist who tells fascinating stories about each journey. She also finds out the cultural meanings of different colors, and she reveals how important and deeply rooted color can be in a society.
This book is a work of art. While reading it, I visualize all the colors that they describe, in my imagination. The book is written with such interesting and vivid descriptions that you can’t help it but see all the hues being described.
I have enjoyed Color: A Natural History of the Palette so much that it is one of the few books that I didn’t send back to my parents’ house. I can’t have too many things because I move frequently, but this book is one of the beloved items that I have chosen to keep with me.