different for each, except in the case of family relationships. The first widely known case was that of the brothers Nussbaumer in 1873, numerous cases being described in 1881 (Bleuler 1881). In the 20th century, many artists have enjoyed, or suffered from this condition. Kandinsky particularly describes his musical reactions to colours in his book 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art' of 1912. For one music teacher driving a car, Julie Roxburgh, red traffic lights make a great booming sound, amber is higher pitched, while green is just a screeching noise. Her first recollection of synaesthesia was when she was young 'I heard an orchestra on the radio' and she explained how she 'saw a patchwork quilt of colours floating in front of me'.

Some people see the letters of the alphabet as having their own special colours. Sir Francis Galton reported the case of the Headmistress, Miss. Stones, who always saw voweles as above: Yellow, Pale Emerald Green, Purple Blue, Red and Light Dove colour, and the consonants as a Purplish Black. By contrast, the young poet Arthur Rambaud saw the vowels as black (A), white (E), red (I), blue (O), and green (U), in his poem Voyelles.

A

E

I

O

U

Another of Galton's interesting informants was Dr. James Key of Cape Colony, who saw different shades of the hue of each letter according to the way it was pronounced.

Synaesthesia is 'just another way of processing information' said Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, a lecturer in psychology at Cambridge University. It's not a disease, 'it has a physical basis in the brain? he said.

HUTCHINSON, V.C. (1942) Symposium on the Psychology of Music

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