271 years before Pantone, an artist mixed and described every color imaginable in an 800-page book.

In 1692 A. Boogert" sat down to write a book in Dutch about mixing watercolors. Not only would he begin the book with a bit about the use of color in painting, but would go on to explain how to create certain hues and change the tone by adding one, two, or three parts of water.
Read more: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/05/color-book/?source=Snapzu