NEW HORIZONS IN COLOR
How to Use Color Effectively in Architecture and Decoration
Faber Birren
New York: Reinhold, 1955. Second printing from 1956. Red cloth titled in blue and red. Publishers dust jacket. 200 pp. 150 black and white photos and illustrations and 6 color plates. 44 paint chips tipped in. Foxing to prelims. The tipped-in paint chips have glue darkened their verso pages. Jacket rubbed and dust spotted. A very good copy in a very good dust jacket.
8.25 x 10 hardcover book with 200 pages and over 150 black and white photos and illustrations and 6 color plates. Also included are two pages with 44 color paint chips tipped in as a classic reference for mid-century paint schemes.
Contents: How To Use Color In Homes, Offices, Restaurants & Hotels: Color Theory Based On Practical Experience, Research Studies, And Case Histories. Includes appendix, bibliography and index.
Includes photography of work from the following architects, designers and organizations: Alfred Auerbach, Container Corporation of America, Craig Ellwood, Herman Miller Furniture Showrooms, Gyorgy Kepes, Le Corbusier, Raymond Loewy, Alvin Lustig, Neiman Marcus, Frederick Poulson, Eero Saarinen, Skidmore Owens and Merrill, Ezra Stoller, Frank Lloyd Wright and many others.
Faber Birren (1900 – 1988) was an early practitioner in the color industry, establishing his own consulting firm with a specialization in color in 1934. He advised on topics such as product color, environmental safety, and staff morale for clients such as E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company and the United States Coast Guard. Birren also applied his professional knowledge to popular culture products such as stationery or cocktail glasses that emphasized individual color preference.
Birren was a prolific author producing 25 books and scores of articles in a variety of venues from peer-reviewed journals to high-circulation popular magazines. Birren’s very successful career allowed him to leave a permanent legacy of his work in color through the Faber Birren Collection of Books on Color. He donated a core collection of 226 books on historic color theory to the Art+Architecture Library at Yale University in 1971, as well as an endowment that allows for continued growth of the collection. In addition to books, the collection holds textile samples, photographs, paint chips, manuscripts, and more. Birren worked with library staff on the development of the collection from the time of its donation until his death in 1988.