Sheldon Brown has a lovely chart showing what rims (in theory) work with what tire sizes:
http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width
I have 27mm-width Sun Rhyno-Lites (yeah, they're way too beefy, but I got them on the cheap) with 26x1.75s. It's a good combo, but I am going to attempt mounting 1.5s soon. In theory, it should work.
__________________
--Ben
2006 Trek SU100, 2009 Motobecane Fantom CX, 2011 Motobecane Fantom Cross Uno, and a Bakfiets
Previously: 2000 Trek 4500 (2000-2003), 2003 Novara Randonee (2003-2006), 2003 Giant Rainier (2003-2008), 2005 Xootr Swift (2005-2007), 2007 Nashbar 1x9 (2007-2011), 2011 Windsor Shetland (2011-2014), 2008 Citizen Folder (2015)
Non-Bike hardware: MX Linux / BunsenLabs Linux / Raspbian / Mac OS 10.6 / Android 7