Color by Nature Collection

The Natural History Museum in London is a global authority on nature, conservation, and scientific discovery, creating wonder for all who visit. Who better, then, to help us capture the true colours of the world around us, and to bring those colours into your home?

The dazzling variety of the natural world is evident throughout the Museum, from rocks and precious stones to delicate butterfly wings. But there’s one source in particular that perfectly celebrates the biological diversity and magnificent array of colours behind each display case – kept in the Museum’s rare book library.

The story of the Colour by Nature collection has been over two centuries in the making, beginning with the publication of Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours. A ground-breaking classification of colour in nature, Werner’s Nomenclature recorded in painstaking detail the exact hues and corresponding parts of animals, vegetables and minerals from across the natural world, becoming a treasured resource for scientists and artists alike.