394 
Analyses of Boohs . [June, 
contrast is not merely successive, but also simultaneous. The 
author formulates the following general law : — “ If by the side 
of a given colour we place any other colour, the first will appa- 
rently be changed, as if some of the complementary of the second 
colour had been mixed with it.” 
In the fifth chapter Prof, von Bezold enters upon the practical 
application of the preceding considerations, — the uses and com- 
binations of colour in the decorative arts and in painting. Here 
he refutes the theory of Field, reproduced by Owen Jones, that 
the most favourable impression is obtained by employing colours 
in quantities so proportioned that their mixture would produce 
pure grey. He shows that a pattern of warm colours upon a 
cold ground produces a better effeCt than the opposite arrange- 
ment. The number of useful hints scattered through the book 
must, we feel sure, both surprise and please the practical man, 
who will here see sound reasons for much that he has hitherto 
done instinctively or arrived at by a process of groping. He 
will see why yellow, yellowish green, and turquoise never produce 
a happy effeCt upon velvet, a material which is best adapted for 
violets, purples, reds, and greens; in a word, for full colours. 
Where the surface reflection is great, and where much white is 
necessarily mixed with the colours, the very reverse is the case. 
Violets on satin are apt to take a faded or washed-out appear- 
ance. Turning to a totally different region we find the reason 
why the inside of a golden cup appears of a deeper and richer 
colour than the outside, — i.e., because the inside is, by reflection, 
illuminated with yellow light. Hence the inside of silver vessels 
is very commonly gilt, but the outside rarely. 
An important feature of the work consists of its beautifully 
coloured illustrations, which enable the reader to make observa- 
tions, and we may almost say experiments, confirmatory of the 
dodtrines taught in the text. For instance, we have certain 
words, in a bold heavy type, printed with ordinary black ink upon 
a green paper. If we look at them through the appended leaf of 
thin tissue paper the black letters become purple. 
We consider that this work can scarcely be over-estimated ; 
and whilst regretting that our examination has necessarily been 
brief, we recommend it most warmly to all who are concerned 
with the use of colours. 
The language of the translator is not incapable of improve- 
ment. Thus, p. 188, we read that “ mouldings which ought to 
be horizontal may be given a slight inclination.” We were not 
aware that this modern solecism had spread to America. 
