Ostwald color system

[1] Ostwald's system provides a single, midpoint interpolation between adjacent colors.

A series of five samples with increasing reflectance and decreasing purity are on the upper edge of the triangle.

Between these light and dark series are other samples of intermediate reflectance and purity.

All color samples in the same vertical row have almost the same dominant wavelength and purity, making the only difference the reflectances.

[1] The Color Harmony Manuals were published beginning in 1942, and have been out of print since 1972.

[2] Ostwald's first Color Harmony Manual was a set of 12 handbooks showing complementary hues.

Each color chip was a 5/8 inch square and had a tab where the Ostwald notation was written.

There was also a second production of the third edition to reuse batches of the liquors used to make the color chip stock.

A different base lacquer formula was used in the fourth edition, and there was a substitute of some pigments, most notably in one of the yellows.

Carl E. Foss made the chip stock using disc mixtures.