The subject of this book is humankind’s extraordinary relationship with colour.
It is composed of a series of voyages, ranging across the world and throughout history, which reveal the meanings that have been attached to the colours we see around us and the ways these have shaped our culture and imagination.
It takes seven primary colours – black, red, yellow, blue, white, purple and green – and uncovers behind each a root idea, based on visual resemblances or properties so rudimentary as to be common to all societies.
The book traces these meanings to show how they changed and multiplied, the role that they have played in our culture and history, and how understanding them allows us to see many of the milestones in the history of art – from Bronze Age gold-work to Turner, Titian to Yves Klein – in a new way.
It proceeds by stories, which cumulatively tell another, larger one: a history of the world from the black nothing which preceded existence to the birth of our red-blooded species; the gilded gods who animated the world in antiquity to the blue horizons which framed the Age of Discovery; the pristine aspirations of Enlightenment, the technicolour innovation which fuelled the Industrial Revolution and the colour which most embodies the environmental crisis which now faces us.
‘This book is a triumph…an intellectual feast as well as a visual one – a true biography of colour which will delight readers’ – Edmund de Waal
Delivery options
Orders are processed and dispatched Monday to Friday.
Estimated Dispatch Times:
Items are usually dispatched within twenty-four to seventy-two hours. Dispatch time does not include delivery. If one or more items are not available when you place your order there may be a delay in dispatch, so that we can send your items in as few parcels as possible.
Latest UK Delivery Estimates
- 1st Class - 1-2 working days
- 2nd Class - 2-3 working days
- Free Click and Collect at Daunt Books Marylebone
Latest International Delivery Estimates
- Europe - Standard 7-10 working days
- Europe - Tracked and Signed 4-7 working days
- Rest of the World - Standard 15-20 working days
- Rest of the World - Tracked and Signed 10-15 working days
Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe.
Overseas Delivery Information
We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin.
Overseas Customs
If you are ordering goods for delivery outside of the UK, please note that your consignment may be subject to import duties and taxes, which are levied once the goods reach the country of destination.
Any such charges levied in relation to customs clearance must be paid by you. It is accepted by you that Daunt Books has no control over additional charges in relation to customs clearance. We recommend that you check with your local customs officials or post office for more information regarding importation taxes/duties that may be applicable to your online order as this changes country to country.
