True Colour
The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Colour, From Azure to Zinc Pink
Book •
In 'True Colour', Kory Stamper explores the mid-20th century projects and personalities behind the attempt to create objective, standardized colour names and systems.
Combining archival research from Merriam‑Webster and other institutions with interviews and narrative history, Stamper traces how scientists, industrialists, and lexicographers tried to pin down colours for fabrics, dyes, paint, and pharmaceuticals.
The book examines tensions between scientific definitions and everyday perception, showing how colour standards shaped commerce, culture, and language.
Stamper weaves technical explanation with entertaining anecdotes about consultants, committee debates, and the peculiar colour names that resulted.
The book illuminates broader questions about how language, science, and industry intersect to create conventions we now take for granted.
Combining archival research from Merriam‑Webster and other institutions with interviews and narrative history, Stamper traces how scientists, industrialists, and lexicographers tried to pin down colours for fabrics, dyes, paint, and pharmaceuticals.
The book examines tensions between scientific definitions and everyday perception, showing how colour standards shaped commerce, culture, and language.
Stamper weaves technical explanation with entertaining anecdotes about consultants, committee debates, and the peculiar colour names that resulted.
The book illuminates broader questions about how language, science, and industry intersect to create conventions we now take for granted.
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Mentioned by Gretchen and Lauren as Kory's new book about the history of defining color terms.
114: Begonia, average coral, and sea pink - Defining colour terms with Kory Stamper
