Dictionarium polygraphicum. Spanish brown.

Dictionarium Polygraphicum:
Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested.
Vol I.
London: Printed for C. Hitch and C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, and S. Austen in St. Paul's Church Yard. MDCCXXXV.
1735
Spanish BROWN is a dark, dull red, of a horse flesh colour. It is an earth, and is dug out of the ground; but there is some of it of a colour pleasant enough to the eye, considering the deepness of it.

It is of great use among painters, being generally us’d as the first and priming colour, that they lay on upon any kind of timber work in house painting, &c. it being a colour that is cheap and plentiful, and works well, if it be ground fine; which may be done with much less labour than some better colours require.

That which is of the deepest colour is the best, and that which is the freest from stones.

Tho' the other sorts do not give so good a colour to the eye, yet they serve as well as any others for a priming colour, for the seasoning of the wood in order to lay other colours on.

Tho' this is a dirty brown colour, yet of great use, not to colour any garment with, unless it be an old man's gown; but to shadow vermilion, or to lay upon any dark ground behind a pićture, or to shadow yellow berries in the darkest places, when you want lake, &c.

It is the best and brightest colour when it is burnt in the fire till it be red hot, tho' if you would colour any hare, horse, dog, or the like, it should not be burnt; but for other uses, it is best when it is burnt. As for instance, for colouring wood, posts, bodies of trees, or anything else of wood, or any dark ground of a picture.