Primarily a treatise on color theory and pedagogy, partially a promotion for his line of color papers, the book endeavors to solidify a method of color education that harmonizes the scientific and experiential, establishing "a standard to which we can refer all colors… and a nomenclature by which they can be known."  Although Milton Bradley Company published a breadth of books promoting the educational philosophies of Froebel and Pestalozzi, Color Theory in the School Room was the first book actually authored by Bradley.

Maroon cloth 8vo, 103pp + 64 vibrantly colored sheets of paper, some printed and some dyed, classified into Engine Colored Papers (18), Broken Spectrum Scales (18), Pure Spectrum Scales (24), and a section of Black White and Gray (4). Good to Very Good, with fraying to corners and spine ends. 1890 stated on copyright page, but second edition preface dated 1892 at the bottom. No front flyleaf, possibly as issued; previous owners' names written on the front pastedown and later owner's notation to the table of contents. All paper samples are present, but a 2 x 1.5-inch section has been neatly excised from the lower corner of the Pure Spectrum papers—at the behest of the text, but still unfortunate. In his preamble to the samples, he suggests teachers acquire two sets of his papers, one to "dissect" for his color experiments, and one to remain "unmutilated" for reference.

This edition contains 64 samples of Bradley Educational Colored Papers, which had been refined and expanded to 175 total available colors since the first edition, which contained 57 samples. The color papers were essential to teaching the color of light with a primary spectrum of red, green and violet: "The color feeling must be cultivated and in the primary grades is better done with readymade colors than mixing pigments." Because the primary colors of mixing pigments were accepted as red, yellow and blue, he stated, "Use of water colors has but little value in the early stages of a true color education." Still, one of two chapters in this book contributed by Miss Jeannie C. McKechnie providing practical guidance for teachers implementing Bradley's system, is on the use of watercolors. Bradley later published another book on the topic and produced a host of related color-specific books and supplies, similar to the many books he published on incorporating paper cutting and other Froebel occupations into lessons for every school subject.