Name the Springtime Colors Around You With the Guidebook Charles Darwin Used

Admire the intersection of science and art in Werner’s Nomenclature

Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817) was an eminent German mineralogist and geologist, and bergmeister (mine manager) at the mining academy in Freiburg, Saxony. He wrote the first textbook on descriptive mineralogy, On the External Characteristics of Fossils (1774) – in the terms of his day the German word for ‘fossils’ was understood to include minerals. In it he set out a scheme for identifying minerals by key characteristics, including color and lustre. Edinburgh flower painter and art teacher Patrick Syme (1774–1845) was introduced to Werner’s work through Robert Jameson (1774–1854), who had studied for a year under Werner before becoming professor of Natural History at Edinburgh University. Jameson matched Werner’s descriptions with the actual minerals. Syme then used these as his starting point for the color names, descriptions and actual color charts in Werner’s Nomenclature of Colors and, in addition, introduced references to animals and vegetables.

Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours, with its pairings of hues with examples from nature, was widely used by artists and naturalists. Most notable among them was the young Charles Darwin, who took a copy among his library on the 1831–36 voyage of the HMS Beagle. He used it on his travels to craft his descriptions of what he saw, such as the changing color of cuttlefish, noting the ‘clouds, varying in tint between hyacinth red and chestnut brown’ continually passing over the body and the ‘beryl blue’ color of the glaciers he saw in South America.

In spring, the vibrant colors of flora and fauna are all around. From the yellow of a wild prim rose to the blue of a mallard duck, which of these colors can you find in the nature around you?

Read more in Werner's Nomenclature, which is available from Smithsonian Books. Visit Smithsonian Books’ website to learn more about its publications and a full list of titles. 

Excerpt from Werner's Nomenclature © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, 2017.