The official book to discover all the beauty and richness of the Palace of Versailles.

The Palace of Versailles gives you a guided tour of the château, its gardens and the Trianon estate, exploring their rich and diverse history. With over 220 photographs from the palace’s official archives, this book offers a comprehensive, unique and exclusive vision of the estate. Many of the photos highlight recently renovated spaces, such as the richly detailed furniture of the King’s Bedchamber, which was restored to its original splendour in April 2026 – as well as a number of spaces with limited public access. These pages also include exclusive drone footage revealing spectacular perspectives and details that are completely invisible to visitors.

Perfect for architecture, art and history enthusiasts, this is an extensive and detailed guide to the Palace of Versailles’ fascinating and diverse history.

The little kitchen cellar at Paleis Het Loo is unique. It formed part of the private apartments of Princess Mary II Stuart (1662–1695), the palace’s first resident. In summer she could leave behind the foul-smelling court city of The Hague and enjoy the peace and clean air of the countryside at Het Loo.

In the kitchen cellar Mary pursued her hobbies. She arranged flowers from her own garden and made preserves from citrus fruits grown at Paleis Het Loo. Mary’s kitchen cellar offers readers a glimpse into the life of a woman with an international network, who built a large collection of plants and flowers, collected Asian porcelain and Delftware, and as a patron stimulated and promoted the Delft pottery industry. Mary’s life included themes that remain current today, such as slowing down and growing and preparing one’s own food. The book includes recipes and inspiring examples for readers to try themselves.

This is the story of the Reeves Collection of botanical paintings, the result of one man’s single-minded dedication to commissioning pictures and gathering plants for the Horticultural Society of London. Reeves went to China in 1812 and immediately on arrival started sending back snippets of information about manufactures, plants and poetry, goods, gods and tea to Sir Joseph Banks. Slightly later, he also started collecting for the Society but despite years of work collecting, labelling and packing plants and organising a team of Chinese artists until he left China in 1831, Reeves never enjoyed the same degree of recognition as other naturalists in China. This was possibly because he had a demanding job as a tea inspector. Reeves himself never claimed to be a professional naturalist and the plant collecting and painting supervision were undertaken in his own time. Furthermore, fan qui (foreign devils) were restricted to the port area of Canton and to Macau, so that plant-hunting expeditions further afield were impossible. Furthermore, Reeves never published an account of his life in the country, unlike Clarke Abel and Robert Fortune, but he left us some letters, notebooks, drawings and maps. The Collection is held at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Lindley Library in Vincent Square, London. It is a magnificent achievement. Not only are the pictures accurate and richly coloured plant portraits of plants then unknown in the West, but they stand as a record of plants being cultivated in nineteenth-century Canton and Macau. In John Reeves: Pioneering Collector of Chinese Plants and Botanical Art, Kate Bailey reveals John Reeves’ life as an East India Company tea inspector in nineteenth-century China and shows how he managed to collect and document thousands of Chinese natural history drawings, far more than anyone else at the time.

Since first published in 1991 Pocket Jackson’s, as it is most often called, has enjoyed enormous success and is constantly rated as a bestseller in the Arts & Antiques category. Since the early 1990s, important developments have taken place in the Hallmarking system. Most notably the introduction within Europe of a universally accepted system of marking has lead not only to the addition of new marks, but also to a change of status of several historic marks. This edition brings up to the present day all the date letters and commemorative marks. It also includes the recently introduced marks for Palladium and a section illustrating the Assay Office identification marks of those countries that are signatories to the International Convention marking system. In addition and of importance are the changes made in the early cycles of Dublin date letters which result from recent research by silver scholars in Ireland.

A multitude of colourful and naïve biblical and other religious pottery figures found their way into 19th century Victorian homes in Britain. They were bought by tradesmen, shop-keepers, clerks, teachers and the more skilled working class people. This book tells the story of these Staffordshire pottery figures, which sold in their thousands to stand on the mantelpieces of Christian families, both Protestant and Catholic.

Three chapters provide a social history context: the religious background, an assessment of who purchased the figures, the Victorian home and how it was furnished. The final four chapters review the pottery figures themselves, which are based on the Old Testament, the New Testament, relevant religious themes and portraits of preachers. A catalogue of well over 200 figures in full colour with an assessment of their dating and rarity completes the book.

This is the first comprehensive record of Victorian religious figures placed in the context of their times.

“Clive could always come up with a psychedelic vision to suit the current mood of far-out fantasy in fashion. In one sitting, he was able to capture not only the romance of a Dior coat but the futurism of Pierre Cardin.” – Grace Coddington quoted from her book Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue.

“Clive Arrowsmith is the Caravaggio of the 21st century. He creates magic and dreams, he is the master of light.” – Marcella Martinelli, Fashion director.

“Clive is like the St. Francis of photography – he can charm the birds right out of the trees, but then tells better stories. His work combines not only a creative mind and technical excellence, but most importantly, a real connection with his subjects.” – Michael Daks, Professor of Photography at Paris College of Art & Istituto Marangoni, Paris.

“Clive Arrowsmith’s insightful portraits shimmer with artful lighting and technical mastery, reflecting his own deep humorous humanity.” – Nicholas Vreeland.

Clive Arrowsmith is a celebrated London-based international photographer. After leaving art school, where he studied painting and design, he began taking photographs whilst working as a graphic designer for television. Leaving television to work as a photographer, he soon gained commissions from leading fashion magazines, most notably, British and French Vogue, Harpers, The Sunday Times Colour Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire U.S.A., and F.T. “How to Spend It”.

Clive continues to work in this genre in both editorial and advertising photography and is equally known for his music and celebrity images: Paul McCartney, Wings, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, George Harrison, Daniel Barenboim, Anna Netrebko, Art Garfunkel, Def Leppard, Prince Charles, Michael Caine and Damien Hirst to name a few. Clive is also an accomplished landscape and still life photographer and is the only photographer to have shot the Pirelli Calendar two years in succession.

Having worked on many major stills advertising campaigns, such as De Beers, Revlon, G.H.D. Morello, Caroline Castigliano, Lexus, Hassleblad etc, Clive has continued to broaden his creative scope moving on to direct commercials for Heinz, Revlon, Hamlet Cigars (winner of The Silver Lion Cannes Film Festival), Rapeed Sunglasses, Greenmail Whitney Beer, music videos for artists like Lee Griffiths, Jamiroquai, Jools Holland, ZTT and Def Leppard, and album covers such as Wings’ ‘Band on the Run.’ This is the first book to celebrate his career.

Caroline Broadhead (b. 1950) is a highly versatile artist who started in jewellery in the late 1970s. Since then she has extended her practice from “wearable objects” and textile works to dance collaborations and installations in historic buildings. Broadhead’s work is concerned with the boundaries of an individual and the interface of inside and outside, public and private, including a sense of territory and personal space, presence and absence and a balance between substance and image. It has explored outer extents of the body as seen through light, shadows, reflections and movement.

Published to accompany the Exhibition at CODA Museum Apeldoorn (NL), 4 February – 15 April 2018 and the Exhibition at Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, London, 11 January – 2 February 2019.

Showing Off catalogues a fifty year history of some of London’s most splendid and iconic stores; illustrating the formula for successful survival in a competitive and rapidly changing marketplace. These stores have used the architecture and design of the buildings as their trademark, created magical and ‘magnetic’ window displays, devised clever publicity ‘stunts’ and popular ‘events’, and produced wonderfully illustrated catalogues and posters that have become unique works of art. The collection focuses particularly on the use of window display, a neglected area of design history, featuring some of the major in-store designers such as Eric Lucking at Liberty’s, Edward Goldsman at Selfridges, Edward Grieve at Harrods, and Natasha Kroll at Simpson’s. It additionally acknowledges the contribution of some of the major manufacturers of displays who supplied the stores, such as Leon Goodman and the creative display consultants, who influenced through their originality of design, such as Martha Harris’ stylish and colourful posters.

The first monograph of renowned architect and interior designer Thomas Griem, featuring projects in London (5 projects), Hong Kong (2), Paris, Mallorca (3) and Ibiza.  Thomas opened TG Studio in 2011 and this new book is a testament to the success of the studio’s creativity and approach to architecture and interior design. Thomas Griem trained in London at the University of Westminster and at the Architectural Association. He has also made furniture and lights, and has always been fascinated by the making, designing and creating of not only buildings or interior spaces, but products. His work as an architect has been diverse, however he found that his passion lay in designing timeless beautiful homes. It has always been exceptionally important for Thomas to genuinely respond to the particular requirements of the client, the site and significantly the budget.

Zadok Ben-David’s inspiration derives from nature, science, magic and illusion. From Evolution and Theory (1995), where he explores scientific discoveries, to the psychological installation Blackfield (2007), with thousands of flowers, and the magical The Other Side of Midnight (2013), which incorporates hundreds of insects, one of the characteristics of Ben-David’s work is the use of multiplicity as an organising principle. He creates an alternate amplified viewing space where the relationship between viewer (human) and artwork (nature) is both sacred and destabilising. The new ongoing installation People I Saw but Never Met, features thousands of miniatures of people that he has photographed and drawn during his travels, suggesting ways in which we are both isolated yet always close together. Together with outdoor works, completed over a twenty-year period, this new book brings these four installations together for the first time, in all their magical detail.

Artists of Nigeria analyses the influence of different art systems (museums, cultural institutions, art fairs, galleries, the internet) and cultures on the development of modern and contemporary Nigerian art in the past 100 years. Organised chronologically, and including biographical notes on the artists and lavish colour illustrations, this unprecedented book charts the development of modern Nigerian art, and analyses the works of significant Nigerian artists and art movements within the country and beyond. This comprehensive overview demonstrates the variety and vitality of Nigerian artists and confers on them a visibility they are often denied in global publications. Among the artists featured are Olowere, whose work is in the collections of the British Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution; Chike Aniakor, who has a PhD from Indiana University; and Uche Okeke, whose work has been shown at the Sherman Gallery at Boston University.

Probably no artist was more prolific among 18th-century topographers than Grimm in recording the landscapes and historic buildings of Great Britain, and none played a more important role. Born near Bern in Switzerland, Samuel Hieronymus Grimm studied under various teachers before deciding to move to London in 1768, where he remained for the rest of his life. A talented watercolour artist, he earned an impressive reputation among his clients as a quick, accurate painter. The most important of his patrons was Sir Richard Kaye, who retained Grimm’s services for nearly two decades and during this period accumulated over 2,600 drawings and watercolours. Grimm was a tireless traveller, ranging far and wide over Britain and creating works of various kinds, from simple landscapes to highly detailed and now invaluable scenes of daily rural life. While in London, Grimm also revealed an unexpectedly sharp, witty side to his talent, publishing a series of political caricatures and drawings satirising the society of the time and its fashions. Some of Grimm’s most conspicuous commissions came from the Society of Antiquaries, which was keen to build a visual record of historical monuments at risk of being destroyed. In spite of the considerable success he enjoyed during his lifetime, his reputation quickly faded thereafter and the exhibition held in the Kunstmuseum in Bern in 2014 was the first show devoted entirely to his work. The accompanying monograph by Dr. William Hauptman restores Grimm to his rightful place in the history of British painting.

Exploring the vast range of materials and techniques used in the making of Tibetan clothing and ornaments, this book takes a closer, more intimate look at the different cultural groups within this diverse country, discussing how national costume relates to their everyday life. The technical approach will appeal to spinners, weavers, felt makers, braiders, embroiderers, jewellers and costume enthusiasts. The book will also interest many general readers in Europe and America who are fascinated by the aura of the Tibetan Region; the lifestyle of the people who live amongst Tibet’s high peaks, emerald forests, and stunning lakes command world-wide interest. Richly illustrated with the author’s evocative contemporary high quality photographs, dating from the mid 1980s, this book is a visual journey into the heart of the country. It documents the people, and their costumes and related crafts, focussing on the historical Tibetan regions of Amdo and Kham. Tibetan Clothing and Jewellery is unique in its reflection of historical material. It combines this academic knowledge base with original observations and wide-ranging interviews with nomads and farmers, all of which centre around costumes locally possessed and worn by Tibetans today.

A Shepherd’s Life centres on Jenny Armstrong, born in 1903 at the farm of Fairliehope, who spent her life working as a shepherdess in the Pentland Hills. In a series of remarkable paintings made over twenty years and based on close observation, Victoria Crowe, one of Scotland’s foremost painters, pays tribute to the life and work of this exceptional woman. In spite of their different ages and backgrounds, the two women came to value each other’s company and it was through the shepherdess that the artist learned how to interpret the surrounding landscape. At the same time the paintings depict an ancient way of living that has been long in the decline and which, at the start of a new millennium, may be finally disappearing.

When we see a bird, do we really see it? It’s perfectly possible to go through life with an almost total disregard for birds. However, in Britain, there are more than a million members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. And thanks to Instagram – and other networking sites – there is also a growing number of bird photographers opening our eyes to unimagined treasures.

From the giants of our skies to the sweetest singing garden warbler, from Matthew Stadlen’s London street to the Indian jungle and taking in countries as far afield as Albania and Australia, this book is, in a way, also a story of his life. 

The Friendship Centre near the district town of Gaibandha, Bangladesh, is for an NGO which works with some of the poorest in the country and who live mainly in riverine islands (chars) with very limited access and opportunities. Very limited funding prevented an elevated structure in this area under constant threat of flooding. This and the location in an earthquake zone and the low bearing capacity of the silty soil lead to a design surrounded by an embankment for flood protection while built directly on existing soil. Rainwater and surface run-off are collected in internal pools and the excess is pumped to an excavated pond. The design relies on natural ventilation and cooling facilitated by courtyards and pools and the earth covering on roofs. An extensive network of septic tanks and soak wells ensure the sewage does not mix with flood water. This new book features the austere beauty and simplicity the building by Dhaka-born architect Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury in striking photographs taken by Hélène Binet and selected plans and sections. Essays by architects and critics Kenneth Frampton and Robert Wilson round out this building monograph.

mae Architects is an ambitious design led practice delivering high quality architecture, landscape and urban design. Established in 2001 and based in London, they have designed award-winning projects, mainly in the UK but also for in Copenhagen and Oslo, receiving extensive publicity and recognition. Places for Strangers illustrates a set of negotiated principles and creative attitudes that encompass mae Architects project portfolio, establishing their design work as exciting and innovative. This volume is a contemporary examination of the creative process; it is part manifesto, part manual and comprises texts written for newspapers and architectural journals facilitate discussion by illustrating the socio-political, ethical and formal concerns that need to be considered in architectural production today. Several of the firms’s projects are used to illustrate ‘key’ concepts and ideas that run as a continuous thread throughout.

Pablo Picasso’s artistic output is astonishing in its ambition and variety. This handsome new publication examines a particular aspect of his legendary capacity for invention: his imaginative and original use of paper.

He used it as a support for autonomous works, including etchings, prints and drawings, as well as for his papier-collé experiments of the 1910s and his revolutionary three-dimensional ‘constructions’, made of cardboard, paper and string. Sometimes, his use of paper was simply determined by circumstance: in occupied Paris, where art supplies were hard to come by, he ripped up paper tablecloths to make works of art. And, of course, his works on paper comprise the preparatory stages of some of his very greatest paintings, among them Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937).

With reproductions of more than 300 works of art and additional texts by Violette Andres, Stephen Coppel, Emmanuelle Hincelin, Christopher Lloyd, Johan Popelard and Claustre Rafart Planas, this sumptuous study reveals the myriad ways in which Picasso’s genius seized the potential of paper at different stages throughout his career.

From her early depictions of individual objects to her later works featuring complex interiors, American artist Lynn Shaler’s works are distinctive, characterised by a colourful aquatint technique combined with carefully etched lines. Over a forty-year career, she has created more than two hundred aquatint etchings and has been included in major museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Lynn Shaler: Fine Prints, 1972-2017 is the first catalogue to spotlight this important American artist’s entire body of work. Many of the etchings have been inspired by locations in Paris, where Shaler has lived for three decades. The book reproduces nearly all of her works, alongside accompanying essays which examine recurring themes and motifs in Shaler’s work, such as architectural details or intimate interior views opening onto an exterior scene.

Jean-Michel Wilmotte and his collaborators are leading more than 100 projects in 27 different countries, from the biggest to the smallest, from the most spectacular to the most ordinary, with the same fervour from the initial sketch to completion. This practice has recently completed the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in Paris (France), the headquarters of L’Oréal Group in Clichy (France), the headquarters of Unilever group in Rueil-Malmaison (France), the Center for Arts of the International School of Geneva (Switzerland), the Allées Richaud & Allées Foch high-end residential buildings in Versailles (France), the Cultural Center of Daejeon (South Korea), the 36,200-seat Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice (France), the London headquarters of Google and JCDecaux (United Kingdom), the Ferrari Sporting Management Center (Formula 1) in Maranello (Italy), a Convention and Exhibition Center in São Paulo (Brazil), and an ecological park in Baku (Azerbaijan) for the 2015 European Games. In these projects, which are both innovative and sustainable, the design always takes into account landscaping, lighting, materials, and finishes, while being respectful of the local and historic context of the site. This new title, as part of IMAGES’ renowned Leading Architects series, delves into the extraordinary work of this firm and the process of its innovative and creative team. Showcasing projects throughout the book with rich, full-colour images, detailed plans, and informative texts, this monograph is a must-have for any professional design collection.

Zaha Hadid’s gift to the world was a creative genius that captured the collective imagination and influenced designers to challenge the perceived limits that were once imposed by both aesthetics and engineering. Her sudden death in 2016 shocked the global architecture community and the public alike, inspiring a commitment to maintain her passion to create built spaces and works that are as unique as they are endearing to a fascinated global following. Zaha Hadid Architects maintains its commitment to her ideals of fluidity, innovation, originality and organic progression. This practice is driven by the development of rigorous interfaces between natural topographies, human-made systems and innovative technologies that have resulted in almost 1000 landmark projects across the globe. With signature sophistication in the design, and superbly creative structures, Zaha Hadid led her firm to create transformative, cultural, corporate and residential spaces that entered into complete synchronicity with their surrounding environment. Inspired by the shared ideas and prominent for its breadth of practice, and beautifully packaged with detailed drawings, rich photography and insightful commentary, this exquisite book showcases and celebrates the intelligent design approach of the firm under the direction of one of the world’s most extraordinary and iconic leaders in the fields of architecture, design and urbanism.

Luis Bustamante has a refined and very sophisticated style, and has been working for over thirty years. This book shows his latest projects from the last five years, in places such as London, Miami, Madrid, Aspen, Cantabria, Marbella, Mexico City, Barcelona, The Hamptons and St Moritz, among others. His passion for art has developed a style that fits perfectly with art collectors around the world.

Luis Bustamante’s fundamental concern has always been to generate relationships. Not only are the spaces he designs intended to achieve this but he himself aspires to it with his clients. Bustamante understands design in the best posible way: as an extraordinary living art.