[COLOR-PLATE BOOKS]. FIELD, George (1777-1854). Chromatography: or, A Treatise on Colours and Pigments, and of Their Powers in Painting, &c. London: Charles Tilt, 1835. Folio. illustrated with a hand-colored engraved frontispiece and one engraved plate. xix, [1, blank], 276 pp. Bound in later full green buckram, brown cloth label on spine excised from original binding, later endleaves. RARE FIRST EDITION OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WORK ON COLOR PIGMENT CHEMISTRY WRITTEN IN ENGLAND IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY BY A LEADING CHEMIST IN THE FIELD. "In many ways, the most useful literary source concerning pigments rather than painting of the period is Field's Chromatography, published in 1835. Chromatography was the culmination of Field's many years of color experiments and manufacture. The first part of Chromatography is concerned with color theory, followed by a section in which the nature and composition of individual pigments are discussed. The last part contains some comments on oils, varnishes and picture cleaning. From an historical point of view an important feature of the first edition is the inclusion of a large number of pigments, no matter how obscure, so that the book fills the gaps left by most of the early 19th-century books on painting." (R. D. Harley, Artists' Pigments, pp. 27-28.)

Spine toned and worn, some wear, soiling to boards, hinges reinforced, pencil markings and previous owner's pencil signature on front endleaves, a few gutters cracking or over-opened, text toned, frontispiece a bit shorter at lower margin (no apparent loss), some offsetting, soiling to frontispiece and title-page, some occasional minor soiling, several leaves with dampstaining at upper margin, some occasional marginal wear, including a few small chips, tears to text. Still, very good.