Indian red (color)

Indian Red
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#CD5C5C
sRGB^B  (r, g, b)	(205, 92, 92)
CMYK^H   (c, m, y, k)	(0, 52, 52, 25)
HSV       (h, s, v)	(0°, 52%, 75[1]%)
Source	X11
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred)

Indian red is a pigment composed of naturally occurring iron oxides that is widely used in India. Other shades of iron oxides include Venetian Red, English Red, and Kobe, all shown below.

Chestnut is a color similar to but separate and distinct from Indian red.

Etymology

The name Indian red derives from the red laterite soil found in India, which is composed of naturally occurring iron oxides. The first recorded use of Indian red as a color term in English was in 1792.^[2]

Variations of Indian red

Venetian red

Venetian Red
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#C80815
sRGB^B  (r, g, b)	(200, 8, 21)
CMYK^H   (c, m, y, k)	(0, 94, 97, 0)
HSV       (h, s, v)	(0°, 84%, 84%)
Source	Internet
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred)

At right is displayed the color Venetian red.

Venetian red is a light and warm (somewhat unsaturated) pigment that is a darker shade of scarlet, derived from nearly pure ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃) of the hematite type. Modern versions are frequently made with synthetic red iron oxide.

The first recorded use of Venetian red as a color name in English was in 1753.^[3]

Deep Indian red

Indian Red (Crayola)
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#B94E48
sRGB^B  (r, g, b)	(185, 78, 72)
CMYK^H   (c, m, y, k)	(0, 50, 50, 25)
HSV       (h, s, v)	(10°, 50%, 75%)
Source	Crayola
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred)

Deep Indian red is the color called originally called Indian red from its formulation in 1903 until 1999, but now called chestnut, in Crayola crayons. This color was also produced in a special limited edition in which it was called Vermont maple syrup.

At the request of educators worried that children (mistakenly) believed the name represented the skin color of Native Americans, Crayola changed the name of their crayon color Indian Red to Chestnut in 1999.^[4] In reality, the color Indian red has nothing to do with American Indians but is an iron oxide pigment the use of which is popular in India.

English red

English Red
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#AB4E52
sRGB^B  (r, g, b)	(171, 78, 82)
CMYK^H   (c, m, y, k)	(0, 54, 52, 32)
HSV       (h, s, v)	(357°, 54%, 67[5]%)
Source	ISCC NBS
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred)

At right is displayed the color English red.

This red is a tone of Indian red, made like Indian red with pigment made from iron oxide.

The first recorded use of English red as a color name in English was in the 1700s (exact year uncertain).^[6] In the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot in 1765, alternate names for Indian red included "what one also calls, however improperly, English Red." ^[7]

The source of this color is: ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955) – Color Sample of English Red (color sample #15).

Kobe

Kobe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#882D17
sRGB^B  (r, g, b)	(136, 45, 23)
CMYK^H   (c, m, y, k)	(0, 67, 83, 47)
HSV       (h, s, v)	(12°, 83%, 53[8]%)
Source	ISCC NBS
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred)

At right is displayed the color kobe.

The color kobe is a dark tone of Indian red, made like Indian red from iron oxide pigment.

The first recorded use of Kobe as a color name in English was in 1924.^[9]

Indian red in culture

Railroads

Furness Railway Nº20, as restored today

• The Furness Railway in the UK used Indian Red for its locomotive livery.

See also

• Chestnut (color)
• List of colors

References

1. web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #C05C5C (Indian Red):
2. Mish, Frederic C., Editor in Chief Webster's Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.:1994 – Merriam-Webster Page 592
3. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 201; Color sample of Venetian red: Page 35 Plate 6 color sample I12
4. Crayon Chronology
5. web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #AB4E52 (English Red):
6. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 194; Color sample of English red: Page 31 Plate 4 color sample H12
7. Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de. "Indian Red." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Abigail Wendler Bainbridge. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2015, <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0003.009>. Trans. of "Rouge d'Inde," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 14. Paris, 1765.
8. web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #882D17 (Kobe):
9. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 197; Color sample of Kobe: Page 35 Plate 6 color sample K12