Robert Boyle and experiments on colours

Experiments and considerations touching colours,
by The Honourable Robert Boyle
London : Printed for Henry Herringman…, 1670
BOYLE B:12

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) first published his Experiments… on colours in 1664. On completing the text, he added the subtitle ‘The beginning of an experimental history of colours,’ indicating that, rather than a doctrine of theory, this was written as a record of colour research. It is an account of some of Boyle’s many experiments on the origins and changes of colours. These include trials made with common materials, such as “Of the Mixing and Tempering of Painters Pigments” and “Of the Greenness of Salt Beef,” reflections on the causes of different skin colours, and experiences of unusual colour vision among Boyle’s acquaintances. Although the collection focuses mainly on chemical experiments, it includes a handful of observations made with prisms.

Robert Whipple assembled a huge collection of Boyle’s works and related material. He purchased this book on 20th November 1934.

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