The Color Revolution (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series)

In the beginning it was drab in the world of manufactured items. Vivid color could be had if you were a monarch with lackeys gathering up obscure mosses but everyone else made do with gray and brown. An accident in a chemistry lab changed it all for apparel, housewares, just about every consumer item. Ms Blasczyk had the enviable job of researching all this from archives and libraries that must have left her swooning. She sets out an absorbing narrative and punctuates it with the real-life exploits of clever colorists. It's not often you encounter a page-turner in what appears to be the cross between a coffee table book and an academic treatise. Highly recommended.

This full history of the Munsell system makes the book one of the critical ones in my collection. I work, and teach, in the field of historic (architectural) paint. Using a few rudimentary techniques, including optical microscopy, I help to discover and interpret information which can lead to historic preservation of buildings of every sort. In order to leave behind reliable and valid information as to the exact paint colors my research has uncovered, the Munsell system enables precise color references. (It is used professionally in any field in which color formulations must match some referent.)

In the early 80s, Philip Meggs wrote a History of Graphic Design that changed how all graphic designers saw their place in the world. The Color Revolution does similar work for the general subject of color theory as taught in art and design schools, and surprises us with the history of color standards in fashion and product design. The revolution Ms. Blaszczyk writes about may not seem revolutionary to us in the teens of the twenty first century, but she makes her case well. The subject of color theory is filled with folklore and conjecture and rarely receives the kind of serious study presented to us here. I hope she has another book up her sleeve soon.

Disappointing book, chiefly because the graphics are too limited and surprisingly subdued. The text is dense and tiny as well. This book reads more like a PhD dissertation than the coffee-table enjoyment you would hope for. Buy vintage magazines for the coffee table instead.

The Color Revolution is a bargain-- the gorgeous illustrations, all in color, are worth the price alone. And the author writes so well, it's a pleasure to read the text too.This book is a fascinating historical journey through the intertwined worlds of marketing and technological advances in consumer goods. In-depth analysis of stories behind the symbolic values of color range from Queen Victoria's trend-setting mauve gown as an 1858 mother of the bride, to the advent of color-coordinated kitchen appliances in 20th century American homes, and many more. This book is a real treat.

Color has always been a dominant factor in my life & now to see the history and psychology of it laid out so clearly and so interestingly, so compellingly, is a real treat. This is one beautiful book. Kudos. *Q.