The Bradley color wheel was a line of educational tools developed by Milton Bradley, of the Milton Bradley Company (MB), in 1895 as part of his wider color teaching system.[1][2] Although the color system was primarily created for education, it had a wide influence. A notable example being its usage by SmithsonianornithologistRobert Ridgeway who, dissatisfied by contemporary color standards, incorporated the system into his own set of standards that would eventually evolve into Pantone.[3]
The color wheel was designed to allow teachers to demonstrate how colors mixed and worked together. The wheel was based on the Maxwell Disk,[1]Шаблон:Rp a simple tool created by cutting a radial split in two or more colored disks and joining them. By doing so, colors could be mixed by rotating the disks to show a different proportion of each color. When spun, the colors would then combine to form the average color mix.[4][1]Шаблон:Rp
The tool added a crank to rotate the wheel, graduated markings along the circumference of the disks[1]Шаблон:Rp (allowing precise color measurement) and in the center added the shade of grey required to create the color.[5]Шаблон:Rp