Appendix I

COLOUR EDUCATION

The time has passed when it might have been considered necessary to preface a handbook on the teaching of colour by arguments to prove that it is a legitimate subject of instruction in schools, but it has not hitherto been sufficiently recognized that the early stages of such instruction must be on sound lines and that nothing must be taught which will afterwards have to be unlearned.

Apart from the pleasure its sensations give to all properly constituted persons, the study of colour has an intellectual value in common with other branches of science. It strengthens the judgment by constantly requiring thought and precision in definition, it also develops the faculty of colour perception even to the point of curing some forms of colour blindness. In addition to this, it forms a necessary part of the instruction in all schools in which drawing is properly taught by methods which demand from the pupils faithful representations of the appearances of actual objects in colour as they are seen.

In the past the systematic study of colour has been more or less neglected from two principal causes: first, the want of a comprehensive scheme of colour nomenclature capable of describing all colours in terms precise enough for general understanding and record; and, second, the absence of any reliable means of reproducing any specific colour if lost or faded. Both these conditions may now be secured by the use of the standardized coloured glasses supplied with the Colour Educator, and this work is intended to bring the subject before teachers in such a way as to make each point perfectly easy of demonstration to a class in a systematic manner.

To-day the value and importance of a keen perception of colour and of an apparatus furnishing definite colour standards, though perhaps not much appreciated by the general public, are widely recognized in the industrial and scientific world; and it is evident that in these days of keen commercial competition between nations we cannot afford to neglect any means which will enable us to maintain present industries and to develop new ones.

=General Remarks.=--It is not advisable to introduce colour theories to pupils before they know the names of the different colours, but, as the glasses used in the apparatus are graded for colour-depth according to a set of scales now generally accepted as of standard value, a short description of the derivation of the colour names will be of service when the pupils are sufficiently advanced.

The names of the six spectrum colours, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet, are accepted by common consent as describing the principal hues into which a beam of white light can be resolved by a diffraction grating or by prismatic refraction. They are also the colours distinguishable in objects of everyday life, and the following Educational Method is based on the fact that they can be separated at will from ordinary daylight. Therefore the first educational step is to associate these six colour rays with their respective names, the pupils being made to understand that there are many degrees of depth in each colour.

=The Applications of Colour to the Work of Everyday Life= are so universal that a complete list is almost impossible, though some of the most important are mentioned below. In a general way the visual characteristics of every visible object are determined by contrasts of light and colour, outline itself being governed by differences of light intensity.

In Nature, colour is practically universal. There are few objects perfectly white. Most of them have colour of greater or less complexity; even snow under a cloudless sky has a blue tint which is measurable against such white objects as pure lime sulphate, zinc white, etc., the blue tint being manifestly reflected from the cloudless sky, as it disappears under a cloudy overcast.

=Some of the Scientific Applications of Colour.=--It associates colour sensations with definite names and values; discovers and classifies cases of colour-blindness, and is a preparation for the physical study of light. It is also essential for studying the physiological structure of the organs of vision, for disclosing abnormal conditions of the blood, and for measuring the colour of the hair and skin for the anthropological classification of races. It is used in general laboratory work for analytical and original investigation; and it furnishes standards of value for the petroleum industry, the International Tanning Association, the inter-States Cotton Seed Oil Association, etc. It is also one of the principal factors in all artistic industries; for, besides having an important educational value in questions of harmony, contrast, and taste, it is of direct commercial value in such industries as dyeing, calico printing, all woollen industries, wall-paper printing, paint making, house decoration, etc.

=General Instructions for Using the Apparatus.=--The apparatus consists of a frame having six little windows, fitted with sliding shutters, and a tray containing eighteen standardized glasses.

The frame must be placed on a table or stand facing the children, with a window or some other source of diffused white light behind it. Care must be taken not to have a coloured background of any kind.

The glasses are in three colours, Red, Yellow, and Blue, of different depths. The depth of colour is marked in figures on each glass, and corresponding numbers in the three colours are of equal intensity. It is of importance that the six spectrum colour terms should be the only ones used in the preliminary stages. The first step in colour teaching must be to develop and train the perceptive faculties of the children so as to enable them to express in words the colour sensations which are excited. For this purpose it is necessary to begin by demonstrating that the six spectrum colours Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet, are derived from white light.

Red, Yellow, and Blue should first be dealt with, and for practical work each pupil should be supplied with three water-colour pigments closely corresponding in hue to the standardized glasses, viz., Crimson Lake, Lemon Yellow, and Cobalt Blue; also with a piece of white paper ruled into six small rectangular spaces corresponding to the little windows of the apparatus.

As each colour is demonstrated by means of the glass in the apparatus, each pupil should paint the corresponding pigment in its proper place on the paper.

The little shutters being placed in all the six little windows, remove the top left-hand shutter and insert a deep Red glass, thus showing

=Red.=--The pupils will name this and then paint the corresponding colour on their papers.

Next, remove the shutter below the first one, and insert a Yellow glass of the same numerical value as the Red one, thus showing

=Yellow.=--The pupils will name this and then paint the corresponding colour on their papers.

Now remove the shutter next below and insert a Blue glass of the same numerical value as the Red and Yellow ones, thus showing

=Blue.=--The pupils will name this and then paint the corresponding colour on their papers.

+--------+--------+ | 1 | | | | | | RED | | | | | +--------+--------+ | 2 | | | | | | YELLOW | | | | | +--------+--------+ |3 | | | | | | BLUE | | | | | +--------+--------+

There are now exposed to view the three colours which are by artists commonly called primaries, but it will be found convenient to term Red, Yellow, and Blue the Dominant colours of this system.

The second step is to show how the three secondary or subordinate colours are derived or developed.

Remove the top right-hand shutter and insert a deep Red and a deep Yellow glass of equal depth, showing the pupils that these two colours combined in equal proportions develop

=Orange.=--The pupils will name this, and will then mix their Red and Yellow pigments to obtain a similar Orange which will be painted in its proper place on their papers.

Now remove the shutter next below and insert a deep Yellow and a deep Blue glass of equal depth, showing the pupils that these two colours combined in equal proportions develop

=Green.=--The pupils will name this, and will then mix their Blue and Yellow pigments to obtain a similar Green which will be painted in its proper place on their papers.

+----------+----------+ | 1 | 4 | | | | | RED | ORANGE | | | | +----------+----------+ | 2 | 5 | | | | | YELLOW | GREEN | | | | +----------+----------+ |3 | 6 | | | | | BLUE | VIOLET | | | | +----------+----------+

Remove the last right-hand shutter and insert a deep Red and a deep Blue glass of equal depth, showing that these two colours combined in equal proportions develop

=Violet.=--The pupils will name this, and mix their Blue and Red pigments to obtain a similar Violet, which will also be painted in its proper place on their papers.

Now are exposed to view on the left-hand side the three primary or dominant colours, and on the right-hand side the three secondary or subordinate colours, and the whole frame is filled with the six spectrum colours in equal colour depth. Corresponding to the colours in the frame, each pupil’s paper should show a similar arrangement of colours, and the pupils can be taught their spectrum order by reading them in rows horizontally--Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet.

The teacher should now take out the coloured glasses and replace the shutters, except the two top windows, one of which is left open to show white light, and the other filled with three equally deep glasses in Red, Yellow, and Blue, showing either black or neutral grey, and demonstrating the total or partial absorption of light according to their higher or lower numerical unit value. It is of the utmost importance to bear in mind that the glasses are graded for diffused daylight, and that all artificial lights are more or less coloured and would give a different effect. The same remark applies to light taken direct from coloured objects.

In this set the six windows are in one horizontal line, and should be uncovered in the following order:

{ No. 1 Window for Red. Dominants { " 3 " Yellow. { " 5 " Blue. { " 2 " Orange. Subordinates { " 4 " Green. { " 6 " Violet.

One advantage in this method is that when all the colours are in they are arranged in their spectrum order.

=Complex Colours.=--We have demonstrated that single standard glasses develop the three Dominant colours, Red, Yellow, and Blue, and that pairs of equal standard glasses develop the three Subordinate colours, Orange, Green, and Violet. In order to produce complex colours two standard glasses of unequal value must be used. The degree of inequality does not alter the spectroscopic names of complex colours, variation in proportions being only a statement of degree.

Complex Name. High value. Lower.

To develop a Red-Orange insert a Red and Yellow. " Yellow-Orange " Yellow and Red. " Yellow-Green " Yellow and Blue. " Blue-Green " Blue and Yellow. " Blue-Violet " Blue and Red. " Red-Violet " Red and Blue.

A reference to the circles, 7, 8, and 9, on the cards supplied with the apparatus will show that all complex colours are members of the same triad group, and experiments have shown that the six combinations above are the only ones distinguishable in Nature, subject, however, to unlimited variations in brightness or dullness. It remains to be shown how these variations are effected.

Variations in brightness are produced by inserting with the two glasses forming a complex colour the third spectrum colour, always bearing in mind that it must be less in value than either of the other two. The addition of the third colour has a dulling or saddening effect, the degree of which is determined by the numerical value of the third colour. The colour produced by the addition of the third colour may be termed a saddened or dingy colour, the appearance being that of a brighter colour seen in shadow.

Reviewing the foregoing, it is demonstrated that primary or dominant colours are transmitted by a single coloured standard glass; the secondary or subordinate colours are transmitted by two equal standard glasses of different colours; the complex colours by two unequal standard glasses of different colours. Saddened pure colours are developed either by one coloured standard glass combined with two equal standard glasses of different colours and lesser value or by two equal standard glasses of different colours and a third of lesser value. Saddened complex colours by three unequal standard glasses of different colours. Greys, which are steps towards blackness, are produced by three equal standard glasses of different colours.

It is well known that Colour Blindness is a defect in the vision often involving the confusion of such utterly distinct colour sensations as Red and Green, Orange and Violet, and many others as widely different. In the cases of Red and Green the confusions are specially disastrous should the subject be a railwayman or a sailor. It is not, however, so well known that many cases of so-called Colour Blindness are in reality cases of Colour Ignorance, and the capacity for distinguishing between colours and shades is often latent, and only waiting to be developed by Education.

When a child persistently misnames colours after having received an amount of instruction sufficient to remove colour ignorance in a normal case, the errors are probably due to some form of colour blindness.

Such cases should be registered for further examination, taking note of the miscalled colours. It would be an additional precaution to change the position of the colours in the windows of the apparatus, in order to prevent the association of colours with their positions as first given in the instructions.

Note.--The paints which most nearly correspond to the colour standards in the Colour Educator are tabulated below, the third column containing their measured colour proportions when they are washed thickly on white paper (Whatman’s).

--------------+---------------+----------------------------------------------- | | Colour Composition in Standard Units. Spectrum | Artists’ +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- Names | Names. | | | | | | | | Red. |Orange.|Yellow.| Green.| Blue. |Violet. --------------+---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- | | | | | | | Dominants: | | | | | | | Red | Crimson Lake | 18·0 | 0·4 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- Yellow | Lemon Yellow | ---- | ---- | 6·6 | ---- | ---- | ---- Blue | Cobalt | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 9·0 | ---- | | | | | | | Subordinates:| | | | | | | Orange | Chrome Orange | ---- | 7·2 | 1·6 | ---- | ---- | ---- Green | Emerald Green | ---- | ---- | 0·40| 5·4 | ---- | ---- Violet | Mauve | 3·3 | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | 8·2 --------------|---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

In mixing two dominant colours (artists’ primaries) to develop subordinates (artists’ secondaries), their relative colour depth must be taken into account; for instance, Crimson Lake has a natural colour depth nearly three times that of Lemon Yellow; therefore, in order to develop a normal Orange nearly three times the quantity of Yellow must be used, presuming that they were originally ground to an equal degree of fineness.

It is desirable that a record of the children’s own painting should be preserved, with a view to discriminating between errors arising from Colour Blindness and Colour Ignorance, the former perpetuating itself, and the latter naturally remedying itself. For this purpose painting books containing sets of diagrams corresponding to the figures in the foregoing pamphlet can be supplied.