This Book Described Every Colour Imaginable 271 Years Before Pantone

In 1692 an artist named “A. Boogert” wrote a book about  the use of color in painting and how to create hues and change the tone by adding one, two, or three parts of water. The 800 pages are all handwritten and painted.  Trait des couleurs servant a la peinture a l’eau was the most comprehensive guide to paint and color of its time.

Its contemporary equivalent, the Pantone Color Guide, was published in 1963.
You can view the entire book in high resolution here

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