Werner's Nomenclature of Colours: Adapted to Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, and the Arts

Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours by Patrick Syme is a taxonomic guide to the colours of the natural world and, as stated on its cover, is the book Charles Darwin used to describe colours in nature on his voyage on the HMS Beagle. It was first published in 1814, and again 1821. The two editions were combined to create this new edition by The Natural History Museum in 2018.

Each chapter is dedicated to a colour and details the varying tints of each one, from Leek Green to Mountain Green, Arterial Blood Red to Rose Red and of course the Blues - Prussian, China, Azure, Verditter. The colours are paired with Animals, Vegetables and Minerals that they resemble.

Patrick Syme (1774-1845) was a flower painter and art teacher from Edinburgh who was introduced to mineralogist and geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner’s (1749-1817) work through Robert Jameson (1774-1854), who had been a student of Werner’s at Edinburgh University. Jameson used Werner’s description to match the colours with minerals, which Syme subsequently used as starting points for the colour names, descriptions and charts found and additionally, introduced comparisons to animals and vegetables. The resulting book was widely used by artists and naturalists, and remains to be a stunning and fascinating guide to the colours of the natural world.