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parsed(2003-08-21) - pubdate: 09/03
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pub date: 1061442000
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Colour Travels Through The Paintbox Tpb

August 21, 2003 | Trade paperback
ISBN: 9780340733295
$24.99
Reader Reward Price: $22.49 info
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Description

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 account of the history of colour. Part travelogue, part narrative history, this study unlocks the history of the colours of the rainbow and reveals how paints came to be invented, discovered, traded and used. It remembers a time when red paint really was 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. "Colour" lifts the lid on the historical palette and unearths a wealth of stories about the quest for colours and our efforts to understand them.

About this Author

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.

ISBN: 9780340733295
Format: Trade paperback
Pages: 512
Publisher: Hodder
Published: 2003-08-21

Reviews

[Victoria Finlay's] curiosity is inexhaustible, her reading wide, and her writing style a delight--Sunday Telegraph

It's pure pleasure to join this gutsy arts reporter-cum-scholar on her quest for historical pigments and dyes around the world--Independent

A highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic--Independent on Sunday

A treasure trove of human history and obsession...the breadth of research and insight is dazzling.--The Glasgow Herald

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

Packed with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves--Daily Express

You get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read.--Evening Standard

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

An utterly unique and fascinating read--Publishers Weekly

Full of forgotten facts and beguiling anecdotes . . . it would be hard to confront a painting ever again without seeing in it a kind of coded map of the world--Telegraph

An irresistible cornucopia ...Her travels are Marco Polish; her research vast but lightly worn. The whole book is an infectious delight.--RTE Guide

Packed with facts, fables and anecdotes ... Finlay's detailed and brilliantly researched account makes for a fascinating read--Australian Interior Trends

Victoria Finlay has unlocked the history of colour in this trawl through some little-known history--Courier Mail ( Australia)

A welcome reminder of the epic stories beneath the surface of everyday life--Telegraph

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