Ravensburg, Germany: Otto Maier Verlag/Paris: Eyrolles, 1959. Square quarto (29.7 x 31.2 cm). Stamped cloth; XXVII introduction followed by 100 numbered full-color plates. Some light splitting to interior along spine, very minor toning, overall very good. Ex-libris bookplate for Italian architect and designer Aldo Cosmacini, with hand-written signature to title page.

This volume is an invaluable resource on color printing and color theory. The table of contents clearly lays out - in German, English, French, and Spanish - the aim of the book, with brief texts covering topics that include "Basic and Primary Colors", "What Screen for what Paper?", "In regard to Shade Graduation", "Possibilities in Two-colour Printing", and "What Can Be Achieved with Three-Colour Printing".

According to Gaensslen, the aim of the book is "serving all those who are engaged in colour lay-outs, reproduction and printing. Advertising artists, publicity experts, printers and experts in reproduction as well as designers, interior decorators, architects and experts in the field of textiles know only too well what an important part colour plays in our daily life. They also know that in colour production it is impossible to lay down fixed rules, for every problem has to be specially considered on its merits and must be solved creatively...within the covers of this book, we want to show how work can be carried out in 3 colours rationally and comprehensively. There is untold wealth of colour in a three-colour blending table given the proper appreciation of superimposed printing and screening."

There are several brightly colorful illustrations scattered throughout the text, including basic and primary colors, a table with copying screens, a table of shade graduation, some examples of two-color and three-color printing, and a chart of offset and letterpress ink colors. Another highlight is a chart with 50 samples of tempera poster colors.

The true draw of this volume, however, is the 100 astonishingly colorful plates representing examples of use with three-color blending tables. As Gaensslen writes, "Copyright colour-blending tables are becoming increasingly more than a mere expression in the reproduction and printing trades. In lay-outs they make it possible to achieve designs with such advantages as never before known in reproduction and printing work. These blending tables facilitate the work and co-operation of all concerned and eradicate to a very great extent those many sources of error and misunderstanding which occur at all stages...In addition, these blending tables as illustrated show combinations of colour which often have to be left to chance." The introduction to the tables goes on to describe how they are divided, and what colors and gradations are represented and how. The colors from each table are then shown in different examples of use and printing style.

Very scarce institutionally; as of July 2023, OCLC does not locate a single holding of this title in a United States library.

Book ID: 52966

Price: $2,250.00