The Spectrum of Power: Reassessing Specimens of Colors by T. Fewster & Son
Specimens of Colors from T. Fewster & Son, Manufacturers of Varnishes, Patent Dryers is not only a 19th-century catalogue of pigments and varnishes but also a vibrant testament to industrial ingenuity, cultural ambition, and imperial entanglement. Published by a Hull-based company tied to the Sissons family, this catalogue offers insights into the technological and aesthetic priorities of Victorian Britain. Its luminous swatches of colour—meticulously documented for manufacturers, decorators, and artisans—reflect both the era's dazzling achievements and its underlying inequities.
T. Fewster & Son was part of Hull’s thriving paint and varnish industry, a sector that contributed to Yorkshire port city’s position as a hub of manufacturing innovation. The Sissons family, key figures in Hull's industrial landscape, founded Sissons Brothers & Co. in the early 19th century, laying the groundwork for the region’s prominence in the paint and varnish trade. Fewster & Son emerged as one of the many enterprises that benefited from Hull's strategic location, which facilitated access to imported raw materials and markets across the British Empire.
Fewster & Son’s catalogue exemplifies the Victorian belief in progress through industrialization and scientific rigour. Each colour sample—vivid reds, blues, greens, and ochres—was designed to meet the growing demands of a market eager for high-quality finishes for architecture, furniture, and transportation. The varnishes and patent dryers offered durability and brilliance, catering to a burgeoning middle class that valued both utility and aesthetic refinement.
Image of pages 4- 5 from Specimens of Colors by T. Fewster & Son
Image Credit: Internet Archive
The page features an ornate title design framed by intricate red and blue decorations with gold accents. The centerpiece is an embossed medallion with the title ‘Specimens of Colors from T. Fewster & Son, Manufacturers of Varnishes, Patent Dryer & Co.’, indicating the company's location in Hull. The page showcases Victorian-era typographic flourishes and embellishments, blending artistic design with commercial branding. Stamped on page 4 is ‘The Waldron Phoenix Belknap, Jr. Research Library of American Painting at The Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum’, with short handwritten code in the page corner.
The scientific rigour evident in the catalogue mirrors a broader Victorian fascination with classification. The 19th century saw breakthroughs in disciplines like botany, zoology, and mineralogy, driven by a desire to organize and systematize the natural world. Fewster & Son’s methodical approach to colour categorization can be seen as part of this larger trend—a bid to bring order and precision to the vibrancy of life.
However, the catalogue’s vibrant palette cannot be divorced from its imperial context. Many of the pigments displayed, such as indigo, cochineal, and ultramarine, were products of colonial economies. Indigo, long a staple of Indian agriculture, became a symbol of British control as the empire appropriated its production. Similarly, the deep reds derived from cochineal beetles depended on resources and labor systems extracted from Latin America.
By presenting these colours as numbered and standardized specimens, the catalogue detaches them from their cultural and geographic origins. This reflects a broader colonial mindset, one that sought to commodify the natural world while erasing the histories and labor behind its riches. Critics today might see the catalogue as a document of aesthetic innovation intertwined with the exploitation of people and landscapes.
This image depicts pages 12- 13, a grid of rectangular color swatches in varying shades of red, orange, and brown. Each swatch is labeled with handwritten numerical codes, reflecting a systematic effort to catalog and classify colors. The swatches are consistent in shape and size, laid out in an orderly manner that emphasizes precision and industrial standardization.
Image Credit: Internet Archive
Fewster & Son’s catalogue also reveals the intertwined relationship between art, science, and commerce in Victorian society. The rise of synthetic dyes and chemically stabilized pigments during this period marked a revolution in colour production, opening new possibilities for artists and manufacturers alike. Yet, this revolution came at a cost. The standardization and commercialization of pigments often devalued traditional knowledge and practices, particularly those rooted in colonized regions.
The catalogue’s clean presentation of swatches obscures the environmental and social toll of pigment production. While it showcases the aesthetic triumphs of Victorian industry, it also masks the systems of extraction and exploitation that underpinned those triumphs. In this way, the catalogue embodies the duality of its time: a period of dazzling progress shadowed by profound inequities.
Image of pages 22 - 23 from Specimens of Colors by T. Fewster & Son
Image Credit: Internet Archive.
The left side of the page presents a decorative layout featuring rows of color samples labeled with descriptive names such as “Pale,” “Citron,” and “Crimson.” The swatches are accompanied by intricate floral and botanical illustrations in gold, suggesting an artistic approach to presenting industrial products. On the right is a striking marbled pattern in vivid reds, blues, and yellows, showcasing the versatility and vibrancy of the pigments.
The catalogue serves as both a celebration of human ingenuity and a cautionary tale about the systems that sustain it. It reminds us that even objects as seemingly simple as colour swatches are steeped in layers of history, ideology, and power.
Despite its complications, Specimens of Colors remains a fascinating artifact. It captures the interplay of science, art, and empire in a single, visually arresting volume. As a tool for researchers, conservationists, and artists, it offers insights into the technological and aesthetic priorities of its time. But more than that, it challenges us to think critically about the legacies of industrialization and colonization that continue to shape our world.
For those intrigued by this vivid intersection of history and colour, the catalogue can be explored in its entirety here. It invites us not only to admire its beauty but also to reckon with the systems of power that created it. By holding space for both admiration and critique, we can better understand the complexities of our shared past—and perhaps imagine a more equitable future.
Sources
Hill, Rosemary, Hall, Michael. The Victorian Society : studies in Victorian architecture and design. Volume 1, The 1840s, 2008
Finlay, Victoria. Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox, 2002
Coles, David. Chromatopia: An Illustrated History of Colour, 2018
St Clair, Kassia. The Secret Lives of Colour, 2016
Ball, Philip. Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour, 2001
Amaral, Marina, Jones, Dan. The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 2018
Gibson, Paul, Hull's Paint Industry, available on https://www.paul-gibson.com/trade-and-industry/paint-industry.php
Morgan, Kenneth. The Birth of Industrial Britain: Economic Change, 1750-1850, 1999
Beckert, Sven. Empire of Cotton: A Global History, 2014
Images
The Internet Archive website, via https://archive.org/details/specimensofcolor00tfew/page/n3/mode/2up.
