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Preface In teaching color to young children there is a great difference of opinion as to methods, just as there is a difference of opinion regarding all other branches of education at the present time. Indeed, color teaching as a systematic branch of primary education is in its infancy, consequently each educator with positive ideas on the subject ought to give a fair consideration to the opinion of all others who have experience in general education and interest enough in this branch to devote to it any considerable thought. In teaching color two things at least are necessary. First, we must have some standard to which we can refer all colors. Second, we must have some nomenclature by which colors can be known and referred to. In the spectrum are an infinite number of hues, six of which at least are well separated from each other and by general agreement are accepted as natural standards: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Violet. With these six colors either in pigments or in colored lights we may very easily imitate the intermediate hues of the spectrum. Therefore, having these six colors established and named, if we can mix two of them in a definite proportion of each and record this mixture in mathematical terms, we secure a nomenclature for the intermediate hues and other combinations. If the proportions used in combinations could be determined by the measurement or weight of the pigments employed there might have been in use, ages since, some accepted nomenclature, but no argument is necessary to prove that we cannot establish the hue of a compound color by either weighing or measuring the pigments used to produce it. Accepting this condition, we must look for some other available means, and in the Maxwell rotating disks we find the most practicable device yet known, as by them we measure surfaces of reflected light instead of weight or bulk of pigments. By these we are able with six standards to produce close imitations of the intermediate spectrum hues, and other combinations. Inasmuch as pigment colors cannot approach in brilliancy the colors of light, and therefore all art is at best a poor imitation of nature, we must conclude that at present, at least, we cannot establish those absolutely perfect standards and that definite nomenclature which is possible in the more exact sciences, but this should not deter us from attempting the best that now seems possible, trusting to others with greater experience or the aggregation of the experience of many others in future to perfect the work of the present or to demonstrate new methods based on new discoveries and greater information. Those artists who begin color education with three pigments, a red, a yellow and a blue, and assume to produce from them a harmonious scale of hues somewhat in imitation of the solar spectrum on which to base their teaching, fall short of their aim in at least two important points. First, they do not approach very closely to the spectrum hues, as it is impossible to do with any single set of three pigments, and secondly, they have no accurate and uniform means of naming even those special hues which they do make. Therefore the next teacher of color constructs another and different standard, a harmonious scale which is as devoid of all nomenclature as the other, thus making confusion worse confounded. As the present indefinite condition of color in art is the result of a trial of this method for hundreds of years, it would seem at least reasonable to attempt a solution of the difficulty in another line of investigation which promises so much better results. Instead of assuming that there are three pigment colors from which all colors in nature may be produced, as is done in some professed treatises on color, we deny that all colors can be made from ANY SINGLE TRIAD OF PIGMENTS. Basing our investigations on the fact that all the colors in nature tire produced by the mixture of colored light and not of pigments, and on the accepted fact that in the solar spectrum, we have a complete analysis of light into its simple elements and that with six of those colors we can by mechanical combination very closely imitate all the intermediate hues, we attempt to suggest a line of color study and investigation which shall at once, be simple and scientific. We also maintain that this line is as applicable to aesthetic effects in its higher grades as any other system which is not founded on a scientific basis. If there is truth in the theory at present accepted that white light, the sum of all the colors in nature, can be produced from three colors, these certainly are not red, yellow and blue, but, according to the Young theory, they are red, green and violet. If, however, we accept the six spectrum colors, we can produce with them very close imitations of the other spectrum colors and the other colors of nature, both in light and in pigments. Therefore as nature has provided itself with these colors which have been so long recognized and accepted as standards, why not adopt them and save further trouble? While it may be possible to produce an unlimited number of other scales of colors which may be near or remote imitations of the standard nature has set for us in the solar spectrum and made familiar in the clouds, who shall assume to say which of them all must be accepted as a universal standard. Having adopted the six spectrum colors as standards, we believe the rotating disks are the most practicable and valuable means for making combinations and for establishing a scientific nomenclature of colors. Therefore an educational line of colored papers has been manufactured, which is offered as a fair representation of the standards and some of their combinations with each other and with black and white by means of the rotating disks. To these may be added many colors, possibly more beautiful in themselves, and in their combinations, than is found in this limited educational list, but when the results educationally are considered we claim that the superiority of these colors for educational work will be generally conceded. Thus far the study of color has been from two different stand-points, and little attempt has been made to combine the two in any practical system. The scientist has analyzed sunlight and by experiment demonstrated many valuable facts concerning the laws which govern the colors of objects in nature. By the artist these demonstrations are deemed to be of very little value, because the scientist must deal with the immaterial colors of light, while the painter has only to consider the use of pigments, hence there is very little in common to both. But to an educator who is neither a professional scientist nor an artist it seems that, inasmuch as all color is derived solely from one source, namely sunlight, there must be a philosophical connection between the two classes of students that ought to be established. The artists on one side assert that there are three pigments, red, yellow and blue, from which all others can be made, and their natural deduction from the proposition is that there can be no mathematical or mechanical formulas established for the construction of colors and hence no rules for producing aesthetic combinations of colors, consequently all art education in color must be imparted personally to the pupil by a teacher who has himself received a complete art education. The scientist separates sunlight, the source of all color, into its simple elements as shown in the solar spectrum, and with these colors he produces by combination various other colors which may be definitely recorded and shows that all the colors in nature are produced by a separation of these elements by methods for which he has formulated plausible theories. It is the object of this book to harmonize these two phases of color education and to present apparatus and material for primary color teaching, also furnishing the primary teacher who may not have been favored with an art education, with sufficient information to begin the use of the material at hand in a systematic way and to inspire a desire for further information in this most fascinating line of investigation. We claim that, as stated by the scientists, the solar spectrum gives us the colors from which all other colors in nature are produced, that all the effects seen in nature by the artist are produced by a combination of these colored lights which are reflected to his eye, and hence his office is to imitate such colors to the best of his ability with the pigment colors at his command. The study of color is one thing and the study of pigments is another, although practically and closely related to it. If color teaching is to be accomplished by any other method than personal instruction there must be some systematic nomenclature of colors which shall be as definite as possible, by which the printed page may communicate information in this as well as in all other branches of education. The instruction in our public schools should aim at such practical and wage-earning results as are compatible with true education, and hence in teaching color those scientific facts should be emphasized which when understood will avoid that defect which a prominent writer attributes to English manufactures previous to the revival of art in manufactures which was inspired by the great world's exhibition of 1851, when he says :— "Color, a universal source of enjoyment, so essential an element of decorative art, has not been hitherto the subject of such investigations as to place its powers, harmonies and discordances among matters of scientific certainty. A few traditionary dogmas have been the only guide of ordinary workmen, while success in design, as well as in the higher regions of art, has been dependent upon that rare union of faculties vaguely denoted by the indefinite, unsatisfactory term, 'taste.' No candid student of this color question will deny that all true laws in harmonies and contrasts are as applicable to high art as to decorative art. Hitherto all attempts to teach color in the primary grades, if governed by any knowledge of the subject, have been almost wholly from the aesthetic side, while the science of color as briefly suggested in the school text-books on physics has been separated from the artistic consideration of the subject. Although from a scientific stand-point the claim has constantly been made that the solar spectrum furnishes the only standard of colors which is worthy of the name, yet few artists have been willing to acknowledge this fact, or if they have done so it has been with a shrug of the shoulders. A striking illustration of this statement is found in the elaborate color chart of Dr. Hugo Magnus and Prof. B. Joy Jeffries, published a few years ago. While the red, orange and yellow given in this chart approach the spectrum standards, the green, blue and violet vary widely from spectrum colors and the shades and tints are made up without strict regard to scientific truth. And if this is the case with so good an authority as Dr. Jeffries what could be expected of the average artist and art teacher? It has often been said that while the colors of the spectrum are well known they can not be used in any way for establishing standards. This proposition we do not admit, but, on the other hand, affirm that the spectrum is the only source from which to determine standards and that the combinations of the colored rays of light, from these standards without the mechanical mixture of pigments, are the only sources of other standards to which all colors must be referred. Even the best educated eyes do not agree as to the more subtle color combinations, but this is also true in music and literature and is no argument against the possible establishment of a science of color which shall apply to art. If things assumed to be true in this book are later proved to be untrue it will be nothing more than has occurred in similar attempts along other lines for ages. Therefore we begin with the simplest problems in color and give only those facts necessary to present this phase of the matter, namely, color education, leaving the study of the deeper truths to be presented to those who care for them by scientists and artists who have written and will continue to write more elaborate treatises on this subject. The necessity for condensation makes it impossible for us to state all the facts with such scientific exactness as would naturally be desired by critical readers, but an attempt is made to avoid any statement that may be misleading or is absolutely incorrect. In some cases repetitions of statements occur because it seems desirable to bring them into connection with new truths or theories more forcibly than could otherwise be done. The book is not in any sense a manual of instruction as to the details of teaching color, neither shall we undertake to say exactly which combinations of colors are the best. But the general laws of color and color combinations are so stated as to give the teacher hints as to the directions in which she may expect to find good combinations, so as to help her to feel the combinations for herself and lead the children to the same results. A review of the various authors on color has convinced us of the want of some popular elementary treatise concerning this subject, a want that is at least suggested by the fact that the erroneous statement that blue and yellow light combined make green occurs in at least three valuable and popular books. First, in a recent text book prepared especially for primary education in natural sciences. Second, in a valuable treatise on water-color painting. Third, in one of the most popular and standard cyclopedias. How many more similar errors may be found by more extended examination remains to be seen, but these serve to enforce the fact that very little thought has been given to the science of color by writers on art subjects. The last two chapters of this book are written by a teacher who has had considerable experience in color instruction in the public schools. They are intended chiefly as hints to beginners in this line of work, as each teacher will, of course, adopt certain methods of her own, as they from time to time suggest themselves to her. A list of a few books of moderate size and cost is appended, to which any one may refer who has the interest to warrant a little time for the further investigation of a subject which becomes very fascinating to those who are willing to enroll themselves as its votaries. Perhaps no other single book will give so clearly and briefly the general information on color required by the teacher as the Student's Text Book of Color ; or Modern Chromatics with Applications to Art and Industry, by O. N. Rood, Professor of Physics in Columbia College, D. Appleton & Co., New York. Another valuable book is The Theory of Color in its Relation to Art and Art Industry, by Dr. Wilhelm Von Bezold, Professor of Physics at the Royal Polytechnic School at Munich and Member of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Translated from the German by S. R. Koehler, with an introduction by Edward C. Pickering, Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, L. Prang & Co., Boston. This book is more extended in certain lines of thought and not as comprehensive as the first named and is invaluable to any one interested in the subject of which it treats, namely, the application of the science of color to the fine arts. A third book worthy of consideration is The Laws of the Contrasts of Color and their Application to the Arts of Painting, Decoration of Buildings, Mosaic Work, Tapestry and Carpet Weaving, Calico Printing, etc., by M. Chevreul, Director of the dye works of the Gobelin, George Routledge & Sons, London. The author of this work was in charge of the dye works of the celebrated Gobelin manufacturers and all his deductions are in strict accord with actual experience. On the subject of harmonies and contrasts no other work of its size contains so much truth. In addition to what is found in these and other books on color, much information may be obtained from any modern editions of cyclopedias under the two heads of Light and Color. TABLE of CONTENTS Chapter I. The Necessity of Color Teaching in Primary Schools Chapter II. Color Definitions Chapter III. Color Blindness Chapter IV. The Theory of Light and Color Chapter V. Is There a Standard of Color? Chapter VI. How to Utilize the Spectrum as a Standard of Color Chapter VII. The Use of the Rotating Disks Chapter VIII. The Demand for a Definite Color Nomenclature Chapter IX. The Proper Combination of Colors . Chapter X. The Bradley Scheme of Colored Papers Chapter XI. Colored Paper in the School-Room Chapter XII. Water Colors in the School-Room
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