Colours of Our Memories

Michel Pastoureau is chair of the history of medieval symbolism at the École pratique des hautes études and one of the world’s leading authorities on the history of colours. His many previous books include Blue, Black, Green, Red and Yellow.

• olour. An aide-mémoire I. CLOTHINGIn the beginning was yellowTurbulent stripesThe navy-blue blazerSubversive trousersA particular blueFrom the garment to the mythColour against fleshNeutral shades in good tasteMitterand beigeSlimming coloursIn the London UndergroundII. DAILY LIFEMy mother's pharmacyThe sad tale of young PhilippeSweet-dispensersChoosing a colour: an impossible undertaking?GreynessMetro ticketsRed or blue?Traffic lightsColour and design: a missed chance?Eating coloursIII. THE ARTS AND LETTERSIn a painter's studioA painter caught between two volumesIn darkened hallsIvanhoe'Vowels'The Red and the BlackChrétien de Troyes at the cinemaPink pigs and black pigsWhen Dalí assigned marksThe colours of a great painterHistorians without coloursThe workings of timeIV. ON SPORTS GROUNDSGoals and refereesThe yellow bikeBartali and the Italian flagThe Tour de l'OuestColour by defaultEasy colours and difficult onesPink and orangeV. MYTHS AND SYMBOLSLittle Red RidinghoodLong live school LatinMy discovery of heraldryThe black catGreen superstitionsThe colour of destinyFurling the coloursA historical object that is alarmingPlaying chessWittgenstein and heraldic coloursVI. ON TASTES AND COLOURSAn American giftSunbathing through the yearsThe 'bling' of the 1950sA brief history of goldA mysterious shade of greenDo you see red clearly?No purple for childrenThe whims of memoryPreferences and opinion pollsVII. WORDSBrown and beigeSpelling and grammarA day at the racesThe zero degree of colourA part that stands for the wholeThe Greek blueThe demise of nuancesSpeaking of colours without showing themWhat is colour?BibliographyIndexA few helpful chronological details

“The Colours of Our Memories is…history, memoir, semiotics, a study of material culture and perceptual change – all wrapped into an engagingly readable, accessible narrative full of intriguing topics that few people ever think about unprodded but will find invariably interesting, even fascinating.” Consciousness, Literature and the Arts