In 1751, John Holker (1719-1786), an English textile manufacturer exiled in France, undertook an industrial espionage mission to England to collect samples of English textiles on behalf of the French king, Louis XV. On his return, the samples were assembled in a manuscript volume, which is now preserved at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. Each sample in this album is accompanied by a handwritten technical description specifying the quality of the fabric, its price, its dimensions and the manufacturing processes. This album is famous for preserving the oldest identifiable samples of jean fabric.
Completely bilingual, the book includes a facsimile reproduction of the album, accompanied by a transcription of its handwritten text and a dozen essays. The essays, written by academics, curators and specialists from France, Britain, and North America, explore the album from various angles: the globalisation of commerce, the slave trade, industrial espionage, economic rivalry between France and England, the taste for cotton and its role in the history of fashion, etc. The book demonstrates the importance of centuries-old links between France and the United Kingdom and is an indispensable work of reference for the history of textiles.
Text in English and French.
“Dachshunds, debutantes and Donald Trump: capturing the glitzy, bizarre world of 80s high society.” — The Guardian on Saturday Magazine
“Through these varying shades of grey, Jones was able to capture the pomp and grandeur of 1990s New York.” — Air Magazine
“British photographer Dafydd Jones documented New York’s upper class in the 1990s. His photo book “High Life, Low Life” is a testimony to a time lost in dreams.” — Die Welt Germany
“The renowned photographer, known for his images of debauchery at Oxford University, has released a new book of his time among East Coast socialites.” — The Times UK
“Dark, glamorous and hedonistic…captures New York in the 1990s.” — Wallpaper*
‘In England, I’d become too well-known as a Tatler photographer. It was wonderful to be invisible again.’
At the end of the 1980s, society photographer Dafydd Jones began a new life in New York. He had been hired by Vanity Fair to attend the most talked-about parties in the city and soon found himself descending into a world of human tableaux, ladies who lunch, princesses in powder rooms and dachshunds scrapping over canapés. Camera at the ready, Jones quickly filled the society pages of the illustrious magazine, snapping the likes of Leona Helmsley, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Imelda Marcos as they celebrated, mourned and unravelled in the bright lights. During the day, he captured the city streets and the ordinary citizens grounded in the real world. In these pages, the author of England: The Last Hurrah reveals the story of New York, the highs and the lows, as the ’90s unfolded in front of his expert lens.
‘Mr. Jones goes about his business with cheery zest and a wicked eye.’ – New York Times, 1993
“The London Youth Portraits (ACC Art Books), a sumptuous collection of never-before-seen photographs of punks, skinheads, New Romantics, goths, ravers, and fetishists.” — Huck Magazine
“A new edit of a beloved classic.” — Marc Jacobs Instagram
“Across 176 pages, the oversized volume documents Ridgers’ vision of England’s seminal youth culture from the height of punk to the birth of acid house, each image a tribute to the trials and triumphs of youth.” — 10 Magazine
‘As time passes, this kind of observational photography attains a new importance’ – Sean O’Hagan, The Observer
‘Ridgers’ portraits of young boys and girls are weighted with a raw poetry and beauty’ – Cory Reynolds, artbook.com
Between 1978 and 1987, renowned British photographer Derek Ridgers captured London youth culture in all its glory. With skinheads, punks and new romantics, in clubs and on the street, his images have come to define a seminal decade of British subculture.
Broadly based on the now out of print book 78/87 London Youth, this showcases a completely fresh selection of images from the depths of Ridgers’ exceptional archive – including many previously unseen – beautifully printed and bound in an oversized volume.
Each picture is a tribute to the trials and triumphs of youth, and a precious document of style and culture in 1980s England, from the height of punk to the birth of acid house. Several have been exhibited internationally in cities as far-ranging as Moscow, Adelaide and Beverly Hills, in the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Somerset House. Ridgers has also collaborated with a number of major fashion houses, including Saint Laurent and Gucci, and his images continue to inspire photographers, artists and fashion designers around the world.
“This book opens the door to Scotland’s hidden past, to places scarred by death, betrayal, disaster, and unresolved trauma.” — NL Magazine
‘Dark Tourism’ involves travelling to sites associated with death, disaster, or the macabre. Scotland is filled with these ‘dark places’ that embody pain, shame, and ‘difficult heritage.’ 111 Dark Places in Scotland That You Shouldn’t Miss provides an engaging, accessible, and authoritative guide to these significant sites within Scotland’s castles, ancient cities, towns, and natural landscapes. This book delves into the darker aspects of the nation’s heritage.
Scotland, while part of the UK, maintains a distinct cultural identity with a history steeped in conflict, especially with its dominant neighbour, England. The country’s legacy of turmoil has shaped its strong sense of national identity, often the core of dark tourism. This guidebook is the first of its kind, designed for both locals and visitors to explore Scotland’s dark tourism sites. It complements 111 Dark Places in England and provides a distinctly Scottish perspective on the nation’s challenging past.
“Dafydd Jones’s photographs capture the future establishment at their most unguarded.”— FT How To Spend It
“This book is one for Waugh nostalgics, dark academia dreamers and anyone who is about to start at Cambridge.” — The Times
Cambridge Balls is the sensational new book by bestselling social photographer Dafydd Jones. The Cambridge University colleges are renowned for many great alumni and important achievements… and also a series of marathon all-night parties, known as the May Balls, held annually to celebrate the end of the academic year. Dafydd Jones, who according to The New York Times, ‘goes about his business with cheery zest and a wicked eye’, has been granted unique access to this hidden world of revelry since 1981, during which the author of England: The Last Hurrah and Hollywood Confidential has captured an extraordinary tableau of antics and shenanigans now beautifully reproduced on these pages. From former British Prime Minister David Cameron in his Bullingdon coat to victorious rowing teams celebrating into the night, from gate crashers punting across the river to the more international student groups of modern times toasting their successes, this is a fascinating portrait of jubilation among the young, the wealthy and the academic elites of one of the world’s most famous universities.
Praise for England: The Last Hurrah…
“Wonderfully ironic, every point in the picture ignites and knows how to entertain very well.” — Lovely Books
“Dafydd catches those moments of genuine exhilaration, wealth and youth.” — The Hollywood Reporter
Praise for Hollywood Confidential…
“With his new collection of photographs, Dafydd Jones offers a sensational dive into the excitement of the awards season in the 1990s.” — Vanity Fair France
Praise for New York: High Life / Low Life…
“The New York book is an evocative historical document, brimming with nostalgia and menace.” –– Hannah Marriott, The Guardian
Praise for Dafydd Jones…
“Modest though he is, Dafydd’s photographs will endure for having perfectly captured a society on the brink of decline.” –– Country & Townhouse podcast
“Sublime vintage photographs…” –– Hermione Eyre, The Telegraph
“Some carefully tended public images are punctured with such rapier precision that one can hear the hiss as they deflate.” –– Mitchell Owens, The World of Interiors
Lincoln Modern: Plain Living, High Thinking is the first comprehensive survey of the extraordinary concentration of modernist architecture in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Tracing the town’s transformation from a seventeenth-century New England farming community into one of the most significant laboratories of twentieth-century architecture in the US, the book reveals how American intellectual traditions and European modernism converged in a unique cultural landscape.
Through extensive archival research, oral histories, and interviews with many of the architects who shaped the community, Dana Robbat documents more than three decades of architectural experimentation. Eminent architects such as Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Hugh Stubbins, Walter Bogner, and others found in Lincoln an ideal setting in which to explore new relationships between architecture, nature, democracy, and community.
Richly illustrated with historic photographs, architectural drawings, archival materials, and contemporary photography, the book situates Lincoln alongside Palm Springs, New Canaan, and Columbus (Indiana) as one of the defining centres of American modernism while offering a fresh perspective on the philosophical foundations of modern architecture in New England.
The definitive photographic guide to discovering the beauty of Rome. A historical-archaeological introduction immerses the visitor in the Eternal City. The 15 itineraries explore the main riches of the historic centre of the Urbe, with its fountains, squares, churches, palaces, museums and parks, also include precious gems, far from the traditionally visited routes. Each itinerary features a map, a rich corpus of descriptive images, historical information, curiosities and tips for enjoying an authentic Roman stay.
QR codes at the opening of chapters get to digital contents that enrich the experience of getting to know the Eternal City, from paper to digital.
A charming photographic study of the quintessential American house style.
Originally developed in the 1600s to withstand harsh Massachusetts winters, the Cape Cod cottage—with its central door and chimney, flanking windows, and steeply pitched roof—is an instantly recognisable architectural form. Thanks to its simple and versatile layout, it has been adapted in countless ways by modern builders, and remains one of the most popular styles of American house.
In this photo essay—printed in beautiful black and white and accompanied by an insightful introduction—William Morgan traces the entire history of the Cape Cod cottage, from its Colonial origins, to the suburban starter homes of mid-century America, to the creative interpretations of contemporary architects. The images—most of them Morgan’s own—explore both the pleasingly understated exteriors and the cosy interiors of representative Cape Cod cottages.
Newly reissued in a handsome hardcover edition, The Cape Cod Cottage will be the perfect gift for anyone who lives in one of these classic American homes.
The Wilshere Collection offers a remarkable insight into one Englishman’s enthusiasm for the early Christian church. A wealthy landowner travelling frequently to Italy, Charles Wilshere (1814-1906) saw it as his mission to acquaint the British with the then brand-new subject of early Christian archaeology and art. Newly discovered documentation, including correspondence held at the Vatican Library and the Biblioteca San Luigi, Posilippo, recount Wilshere’s acquisition of a remarkable collection of early Christian, Jewish and pagan gold-glass, sarcophagi and inscriptions, shipped to England for public display.
Previously unpublished evidence presents the reader with intriguing new information about the provenance of the collection. In addition to this, recent scientific analysis of the objects, now in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum, allows major new insights, notably into the origin of gold-glass and its use in fourth-century Rome.
From 1829 until his death, Constable devoted an increasing amount of time, energy and his own money to the production of prints after his work. Intended as the epitome of his naturalistic art, English Landscape brought together 22 images from the whole span of his career, reimagined with all the drama and delicacy possible with mezzotint.
In David Lucas, Constable found a collaborator capable of responding to his work with an unprecedented range of tonal expression, and an endlessly patient colleague who could cope with Constable’s extreme anxiety and mood swings.
The result, though not a commercial success at the time, is widely acknowledged as one of the summits of English landscape art, and of the art of the mezzotint.
This edition includes Constable’s introduction, his most sustained explanation of his aims as a painter and the revolution he effected in landscape art. Also reprinted are the detailed descriptions he wrote for five of the plates, in which he explains his aims and methods, and the significance to him of the landscapes and skyscapes he depicted.
As soon as Bill Wyman was given a camera as a young boy, he quickly developed a passion for photography. After joining what would become the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band, Wyman continued his hobby. When he didn’t have his bass, he had his camera. The result is an arresting, insightful and often poignant collection of photographs, showing his exclusive inside view of the band. From travelling to relaxing, backstage and on, Stones From the Inside is a unique view captured by a man who was there, every step of the way. Along with the images of the band at work and play, Wyman includes remarkable images of those along for the ride, from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, David Bowie and Iggy Pop to John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. To accompany his photographs, Wyman offers up wonderful insights, anecdotes and behind-the-photo stories, giving all us a front-row seat and backstage pass to what it was like to be there, as music history was made as a member of The Rolling Stones. Limited to just 300 copies, this slipcased edition is accompanied by a print.
This catalogue describes what is probably the most encyclopaedic collection of early coloured Worcester porcelain in existence. Henry Marshall assembled the collection between the two World Wars. In the years that followed, he sought to represent as comprehensive a range of patterns as possible, with minimal duplication, so that his collection would become a true reference work in itself. Every piece was acquired for specific purpose, many of them either to further his knowledge or because they were so rare. He was one of a small group of ceramic collectors who sought to document sources and influences, creating comprehensive hypotheses for the objects’ histories.
In this case specifically, Marshall’s records reveal the Far Eastern influence on Worcester porcelain, alongside the many other prototypes used by decorators of these fine ceramics. This catalogue, like the collection itself, seeks to present early Worcester porcelain to collectors and a wider public in a systematic way. It describes, classifies, and reproduces every item in the Marshall Collection. It does not seek to present detailed new research, but to record the state of knowledge about the subject at the time of writing.
This book of photographs by Swedish photographer Christer Löfgren explores the diverse and multifaceted world in which we live, from north to south. In comparing photographs of various cultures, diversity is more noticeable: the colours, clothes, and food point to the identity of each place. The further north or south of the equator you travel, colours are paler, and the food is milder and less spicy. The more extreme nature is, the more difficult the lifestyle. These vibrant photographs ask us to broaden our vision and grasp the complexity and beauty of the world as a global whole. This deluxe edition consists of three hardcover books in a slipcase.
Around 1900, a small group of influential patrons, critics, writers, and artists turned Weimar into a utopian centre of modern art and thought. Several artists and writers sought to create a ‘New Weimar’ and position Friedrich Nietzsche at its head, as the radical prophet of modernity.
In 1902, two years after the philosopher’s death, Max Klinger was commissioned to carve Nietzsche’s portrait where his cult was organised. Starting from a heavily reworked death mask, Klinger executed the famous marble herm that still today adorns the reception room of the Nietzsche Archive. Only three monumental bronze versions were cast, one of which is now in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. With this sculpture in focus, accompanied by a series of paintings, drawings, plaster casts, and small bronzes, Radical Modernism will show how Klinger and his patrons invented the ‘official’ Nietzsche, transforming a highly expressionist portrait into an idealised classical cult image. The exhibition and this catalogue will also include a comprehensive series of early editions of Nietzsche’s most influential books and will bring together work by the other protagonists of the ‘New Weimar’, in order to shed light on this extraordinary artistic and cultural constellation of modernism for the first time in North America.
Published to accompany an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa – 18 April – 25 August 2019.
Maria Lai (Ulassai, September 27, 1919 – Cardedu, April 16, 2013) is without doubt one of the leading figures in the history of contemporary Italian art. Not only on account of the content of her works, but also thanks to the diversity of her artistic approach, ranging as it does across many media – public art, embroidery, weaving, sculpture, drawing, and writing: all are grist for her poetics. The book is published to coincide with the exhibition at the MAXXI Museum in Rome, which is presenting to the general public over one hundred works by the Sardinian artist, from the early 1960s to her very last works, and explores the various themes dear to the artist with the contributions of experts in their fields: the locations, the creation, and publication of art books, her public art events and her relationship with the written word and her own writing. Her entire oeuvre is distinguished by its powerful visual impact, revealing a ‘way of doing art’ that is nothing other than an instrument of thought. The book’s structure reflects the exhibition’s own sections, arranged by theme, whose titles are paradigmatic of Lai’s oeuvre as a whole: Essere è tessere. Cucire e ricucire; L’arte è il gioco degli adulti. Giocare e raccontare; Disseminare e condividere; Il viaggiatore astrale. Immaginare l’altrove; L’arte ci prende per mano. Incontrare e partecipare.
Published to accompany an exhibition at the MAXXI Museum, Rome, 19 June 2019-12 January 2020.
Text in English and Italian.
Darwishi Ur-atum Msamaki Minkabh Ishaq Eboni, the son of an Egyptian pharaoh, is only nine years old when he dies. He is mummified and laid to rest in a tomb, with the powerful Golden Scarab of Mukatagara hanging around his neck. Thousands of years later, during a transport of three precious sarcophaguses, there is a terrible storm. Lightning strikes, the lorry plunges from a flyover and the sarcophaguses are hurled through the air. During all this, a little white shape escapes the wreckage unnoticed…
Angus Gust is ten and has a perfectly normal life. Then one night a little mummy appears in his room! Life changes completely. Angus and Dummie (short for his real name) become best friends. One dreadful day, Dummie’s scarab goes missing. Without the scarab Dummie falls terribly ill. Angus must now do everything he can to find the scarab, so Dummie doesn’t have to face death again. Can Dummie be saved in time?
In this second book in the Dummie the Mummy series, Dummie, Angus and Nick travel to Egypt. It’s Dummie’s great wish to return to his country to visit the grave of his father, Pharaoh Akhnetut. Unfortunately, Egypt has completely changed in four thousand years and Akhnetut’s grave seems untraceable. To make matters even worse, Nick falls ill and Angus and Dummie set off without him. Then something terrible happens – Dummie has to give everything he’s got to save his best friend. Yet he is also determined to find his father’s grave. Fortunately, he remembers more and more about his life long ago and this proves to be very handy!
In The Power of the Avant-Garde, contemporary artists from different art disciplines enter into dialogue with their colleagues from the historical avant-garde movement. Luc Tuymans talks about ‘Le Grand Cheval’ of Raymond Duchamp-Villon; Marlène Dumas describes her passion for Edvard Munch; John Baldessari discusses the genius Marcel Broodthaers,… This book makes surprising links, shedding new light on the power and influence of art before, during and after World War I. Text in English, French, and Dutch.
Scotland has produced an astonishingly high number of men and women whose lives have inspired and changed the world. This book, illustrating just over forty portraits, represents only a few of them, but with Robert Burns and Walter Scott, Eric Liddell and Alex Ferguson, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Queen Victoria, it represents the flavour of the collection at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.