300 years before Pantone, an artist created his own 800-page index of colours

Entitled Traité des Couleurs Servant à la Peinture à l’Eau, it was apparently intended as an educational guide, but there was just one single copy so it's unlikely many got the chance to see it. When you look at the pages of colour, with helpful rectangle references, you can't help but compare the book to its contemporary equivalent – the Pantone Colour Guide, which was first published in 1963.

If you want to see the entire book for yourself, then you can see it online in high resolution. The actual book is currently stored at the Bibliothèque Méjanes in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Via Artfido