Cambridge Balls is the sensational new book by bestselling society 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“The New York book is an evocative historical document, brimming with nostalgia and menace.”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
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, poet, painter, aesthete, founder member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, was one of the most influential British artists to have lived. His extraordinary and obsessive vision was fuelled by the tortured love he felt for three muses: the tragic Lizzy Siddal, into whose coffin Rossetti cast the only manuscript of his poems (only to have her exhumed and the volume retrieved years later); the earthy former sex worker Fanny Cornforth; and Jane Burden, the statuesque wife of his friend William Morris. During the whole of his life Rossetti returned to the three faces, sometimes combining them, in his bid to encapsulate the nature of woman. The portraits he made range from rapid, vivid sketches to careful drawings and fully worked out allegorical paintings. Few artists have so relentlessly followed a particular vision; it is not surprising that Rossetti’s haunting and sensual paintings were admired by the Symbolists and Picasso alike.
With two essays by the leading scholar of Rossetti, Christopher Newall, and Holburne curator Sylvie Broussine, richly illustrated with 75 images including ravishing details in full page and spreads, this is a magnificent but approachable introduction to the riches and strangeness of Rossetti’s art.
There might be more books on Oxford than students who have attended the world’s greatest university, but there has never been one as dynamic and exciting as 111 Places in Oxford That You Shouldn’t Miss. Author Ed Glinert has sifted through all the college histories, records and lists of alumni; examined all the quads and cloisters of the great colleges; explored the glorious villages hewn from honey-dripping Cotswold stone; luxuriated in the glamorous coffee houses of High Street; imagined society’s earliest motor cars built at the Morris garages; been struck dumb by the never-ending peal of bells at Tom Tower; relaxed at Carfax, the very center of the universe; and tippled at each of the legendary pubs between St Giles and Merton.
This is a volume which will send residents into paroxysms of laughter, remind students why they’re there, and warn prospective undergrads of the joys of living in one of the world’s most beautiful and cleverest cities.
The debut monograph of Stacey Gillian Abe’s work is created to accompany her first London solo show at Unit London. Featuring works spanning her career to date, the book explores the key themes from Abe’s work and delves deep into her expressive and symbolic indigo portraits. Abe’s book includes insightful written contributions from Flavia Frigeri, art historian, lecturer and the Chanel Curator at the National Portrait Gallery and Serubiri Moses, renowned writer and curator, alongside a conversation between the artist and Catherine McKinley, curator and author of the critically acclaimed Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World and The Book of Sarahs: A Family in Parts. Abe’s work reflects her past and her memories, highlighting her personal experiences and her relationships to her community. The autobiographical dimension of her work confronts traditional depictions of the Black body, challenging the colonial lens. Abe creates imaginary spaces that induce a surreal mystical feel while probing unsettling past and present narratives of identity, gender, spirituality and cultural mysticism. Renowned for her indigo skin-tone paintings, the color has become crucial in reshaping narratives surrounding the black body. Through the color, she dives into the past to envision an alternative future for the Black race. To Abe, indigo represents a tribe of people that are not limited to social, economic, cultural, political or historic constraints: ‘it is about being unapologetic’.
“With his legendary swag, Norman Anderson, aka Normski, hip-hop ambassador in the United Kingdom since its emergence in the 1980s, is the great archivist of these glory days he captured London to Detroit.” — Rolling Stone France
“The difference between Normski’s photograph of me and any other is that it captures my soul.” — Goldie
“He was a larger-than-life character, full of energy and totally motivating. He really was the hip hop photographer of the day in the UK.” — Stereo MC’s
“This book contains a striking catalogue of images, many of which have been exhibited by establishments such as Tate Britain, the V&A, Somerset House and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.” — Marcus Barnes
“On the heels of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, Man with the Golden Shutter is a celebratory record of hip-hop as much as it is a definitive collection of Normski’s incredible photographs.” — GQ Middle East
Normski was a vital witness to the period known as the Golden Age of Rap, when big US artists like Run DMC, LL Cool J and Public Enemy started to play in the UK. At the same time, a British music scene born of Black music and myriad multicultural influence was developing, giving birth to Jungle, Garage and Techno.
The author, who describes himself as having been a “young Black British homeboy photographer”, was in the right place at the right time to document the emergent music, community and social movements of hip hop and rap in the UK. Normski: Man with the Golden Shutter presents Normski’s personal journey through that world from the mid-1980s to early 1990s.
The book includes Normski’s often previously unseen photographs of Public Enemy, N.W.A., Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Goldie, Ice-T, Run DMC, Wu-Tang Clan and many others, alongside the photographer’s stories and anecdotes from the center of what would become a hugely influential cultural movement.
Elizabeth Siddal is remembered as a Pre-Raphaelite supermodel and the muse and wife of Gabriel Rossetti. She is cast as a tragic heroine much like the Ophelia she modelled in the renowned Millais painting. But Elizabeth Siddal: Her Story overturns this myth. ‘Lizzie’ is presented as an aspirational and independent woman who knew what she wanted and was not afraid to let it be known.
With extraordinary stories, including previously undiscovered details of Siddal’s journeys across the UK and to the south of France, Jan Marsh reclaims Siddal’s narrative from the historical record. She brings new perspective to the post-natal, mental trauma Elizabeth suffered after a stillbirth. Furthermore, she casts new light on the renowned story of Siddal’s grave being exhumed for Rossetti’s poems.
Jan Marsh explores the finer, little known details of Siddal’s life, including her four months at art school in Sheffield, which Rossetti’s brother always denied. In addition to this, few will know how Siddal was often regarded as difficult and ungrateful.
Historical record tends to forget or misremember women, but with Elizabeth Siddal: Her Story, Jan Marsh forces us to take a closer look and see a very different picture. Siddal was not passive and lacking in agency, she was a woman with a strong mind, flourishing career and an admirable talent.
There’s more to Washington, D.C. than politics. Beyond the suits and monuments, the nation’s capital is a playground for kids of all ages. Where else can you find a hidden slide inside a public library or rent paddle boats surrounded by iconic memorials and monuments? Fairy gardens, dinosaur parks, swings, and themed playgrounds pop up everywhere, offering adventures at every turn. Kids can also taste the world without leaving town – empanadas from Latin America, Asian-inspired ice cream, and bustling food halls.
Museums aren’t just for grown-ups either: create at the Hirshhorn’s art carts or join a scavenger hunt at the National Portrait Gallery. Families can hike Civil War-era trails, cheer at Nationals Park, or step inside a mansion with 80 secret doors once visited by Rosa Parks. Washington, D.C., is a place where kids can discover history, science, art, and more – all while having a blast and making lasting memories. Explore these 111 kid-friendly spots and uncover a city that’s fun, surprising, and unforgettable.
Companies face increasingly turbulent times. To what extent are the traditional strategy models still relevant to deal with this new environment? This new book presents how to analyze turbulent environments, how to build new strategies, and how to implement them. Through many case studies managers of large and smaller companies can learn how to successfully react to fundamental change. It covers these topics: 1. What is turbulence: disruption vs. disturbance. 2. Corporate foresight/sensing turbulence (incl. scenario analysis) 3. Choosing the right turbulence strategy 4. Implementing turbulence strategies
Even though they belong to the mineral kingdom, the stones in the collection of the French writer Roger Caillois appear miraculously similar to works of art. Beginning from this mysterious but captivating link between two such apparently distant universes, the book collects a carefully curated selection of the finest stones in the collection and recounts the life of Caillois (sociologist, member of the surrealist movement…), reviewing and presenting his essays on stones. The persona and the personality of this atypical 20th-century intellectual emerge from the essay by Stefano Salis, who introduces us to Caillois’ world and that of Marguerite Yourcenar, who took his place in the Académie de France after his death with a speech reviewing his life and work. The literary critic Carlo Ossola traces the outlines of the cultural climate in which Caillois lived and operated, while François Farges, now in charge of the collection, illustrates it in the final essay.
The Ashmolean Museum catalog Italian Maiolica and Europe (2017) included a range of works from Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, England, and Mexico, as well as Italy, to illustrate the rich history of European tin-glazed pottery. Since then, the Ashmolean has expanded its holdings of tin-glazed and related earthenwares to consolidate its position as one of the world’s most important and wide-ranging collections. Among the acquisitions described here is the only known piece of Italian maiolica made for a Tudor Englishman, a plate made for Humphrey Dethick, who caused a nationwide stir in 1602 by an apparent attempt to assassinate King James VI of Scotland. The bequest from Sidney Knafel of New York has transformed the Museum’s holdings of French faience; while important 16th-century maiolica comes from the collection of the late Airlie Holden-Hindley. Among the lustrewares included are fin-de-siècle pieces by Clément Massier and work by some of the world’s supreme contemporary masters of the technique.
Swiss Art Brut 1945–2026 is being published to coincide with an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Collection de l’Art Brut (Swiss). It brings together a wide range of works from the Lausanne museum’s collection that were created by Swiss artists or artists who worked in Switzerland. With Switzerland as the common thread, this publication and the accompanying exhibition highlight the close and lasting ties between the originator of the concept of art brut Jean Dubuffet and this country. Indeed, it was this close bond that led him to donate his collection of outsider art to the City of Lausanne in order to ensure its preservation and the public’s access to it.
The book includes a foreword by writer Metin Arditi and a presentation by Sarah Lombardi, director of the museum and curator of the exhibition, followed by Jean Dubuffet’s own handwritten notes recounting his trip to Switzerland in search of extra-cultural works in the summer of 1945. This previously unpublished document is reproduced here in facsimile. Other authors provide further analyses of the works: Michel Thévoz, the museum’s first director; Lucienne Peiry, who succeeded him until 2011; Andreas Steck, president of the Aloïse Corbaz Association; and Astrid Berglund and Eleanor Philippoz, respectively curator and outreach coordinator at the Collection de l’Art Brut.
Flowers and plants are a staple of British life. Nearly 40% of our population considers themselves to be gardeners, making this and associated activities a national pursuit. And yet, while we hold endless discussions over how to seed, grow, and disseminate our cherished plants, we still known relatively little about how they were collected, exchanged, circulated, identified, and modified, and how much art has shaped our understanding and appreciation of them. This publication, designed to accompany the homonymous exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, explores some of these plant stories through highlights from Oxford’s collections. Bringing together historical and scientific expertise, art and material culture, traditional and contemporary artworks, this book ultimately reflects on the long-lasting impact of flora on our society – and of us on it.
“Futuristic, shrill, strange? Beyond these clichés, photographer Richard Koek captures everyday life in Tokyo – his pictures tell of life in the metropolis.” — Stern Germany
A unique book by photographer Richard Koek about one of the world’s largest cities, Tokyo. The visitor of this megapolis in Japan will see a lot of neon and plastic, but also traditional kimonos and cherry blossoms. Fashion and advertising are at least as important as etiquette and tidiness. In Tokyo Tokyo Koek reveals the true face of a city where tradition and innovation go hand in hand. Surely the stereotypes are a subject of his photographs, but Koek always gives them his own twist. His colorful images are raw, realistic and extremely striking. Koek knows how to capture the magic of everyday life by putting the ordinary on a pedestal. The beauty of the image and the story behind it always go hand in hand in his works. This is how he shows a different side of the city.
From the 1950s, Beirut and Lebanon have been a veritable laboratory of architectural modernity in the Middle East, calling on the greatest national and international architects. Institutions and large Lebanese companies have turned to concrete and so-called brutalist forms, participating fully to the renewal of world architecture.
If Lebanon gave birth to a flowering of exemplary buildings of this period, this work is an invitation to discover more than thirty, often unknown and admirably captured by the gaze by Matthieu Salvaing.
By their selection, the authors invite the reader to follow in their footsteps at the heart of the various modernist experiences who crossed Lebanon as so many testimonies of an international and generous vision.
Public commissions, such as the emblematic Tripoli International Fair built by Oscar Niemeyer or the Ministry of Defense of André Wogenscky, with private villas such as those created by Henri Edde, passing by the Interdesign building of Khalil Khoury, this work is the celebration of a history happy with Lebanon, rooted in modernity and open to the world.
Text in English and French.
Often overlooked in Chinese poetic history are a number of accomplished late-Song poets, among the most important of whom were four men from Wenzhou known as the “Four Lings” because, apparently by common consent, they all had noms-de-plume containing the character ling, meaning “numinous” or “magical.” The four were: Weng Juan (d. after 1214), Xu Zhao (d. 1211), Xu Ji (1162–1214), and Zhao Shixiu (1170–1219). As other late-Song poets, they leaned toward understated, straightforward diction that incurred the enmity of those who preferred the more flowery, allusive style of the high Tang.
As they navigated the uncertain career paths of would-be minor officials, the Four Lings wrote movingly about their joys and disappointments, the hardships of poverty and old age, and the solace to be found in nature and friendship. Seeming to share a single poetic sensibility, they wrote in a naturalistic and accessible style that won widespread admiration; it is fitting that they now be presented together, as friends and fellow poets of consequence.
This book reveals the collection presented at Ajuda Royal Palace in Lisbon (Royal Treasure Museum), that has been recently renovated, and where is displayed this unique collection with particular significance for a country with a nine-century history. Over the time, from the 17th century until the 20th century, the Braganza Royal Family has collected precious jewels and works of art intensively, often through relations with other important European families, but also through royal gifts. Finally displayed in a monumental permanent exhibition, each object in this collection witnesses the history of a leading country, as well as the story of the people who have worn or conserved these highlights of decorative art.
The book begins by the North Sea. It is a late summer’s afternoon, and a bright sun has dispersed the greyness of the day. Two Englishmen are enjoying a swim off the Essex coast when all at once both have the feeling that they are back at the French seaside. They find themselves starting to tell each other of their youthful experiences of living in France. The adventures they narrate follow one after another like waves rolling onto the shore.
Clive, coming from London, had found himself spending a year deep in the French countryside within sight of the western Pyrenees; John, hailing from Devon, had ended up living for a while in the City of Light within sight of the Folies Bergère. Outsiders though they were, they momentarily became part of French society, their adventures fuelled by the culinary delights of their adopted land.
They tell their tales with humor and relish as they recall their initiation into the French way of life of decades ago – and how it shaped their own.
This book highlights and explores some of the world’s most extraordinary and luxurious spa destinations. It offers readers a curated list of 150 exceptional spas across various countries and regions, each renowned for its unique treatments, breathtaking locations, and exceptional wellness experiences. Includes detailed insights into each featured spa, its amenities, signature treatments, wellness philosophies, and the overall ambiance. Readers can expect to find a combination of destination spas, resort spas, urban retreats, and wellness centers that offer a diverse range of holistic therapies, relaxation techniques, and rejuvenating experiences. It could serve as both a practical travel guide for spa enthusiasts and a source of inspiration for those seeking ultimate relaxation and self-care experiences. A bucket-list reference for spa enthusiasts, travelers, and wellness seekers, providing a curated selection of some of the world’s most indulgent and transformative spa experiences.
In an era of over-communication, brands have to face radical new realities and shape their identities in multi-polar manners. Spontaneously forming and iterative narrations can take on this task. This is the idea behind Neo-narratives. On a search for virtuoso forms of articulation of brands, the basic idea of the narrative is recast and a journey into new radical narrative structures is undertaken in essay form.
Text in English and German.
It is 1994, the year of the OJ Simpson saga, Tony Blair’s rise to the leadership of the Labour Party, and South Africa’s first fully multi-racial elections. Nola Marks is a London nightclub hostess with an art history degree and itchy feet. Suddenly her world changes. She begins a new career with a fledgling publishing company, meets Lucian Freud, and finds herself adopted as his latest muse. Over the course of the following seven months, her professional and emotional worlds are turned upside down, as external forces impact in unexpected ways. Set ten years on from Tableaux, the author’s debut novel, the narrative cuts between divergent national cultures and different social tribes. With photographs by Jamie Noise, Nightingales combines art and storytelling in a compelling hybrid form.
Now more than ever, the kitchen continues to be the epicentre of the home. To serve its multiple purposes, the design must be functional, comfortable, and chic. Enter Kitchen Conversations: the friend you want in your corner. Whether you are working on a budget, sparing no expense, or trying to find a nice balance, this book will guide you to make crucial decisions on details large and small, and be your companion on the journey of imagining, planning, designing and then building the kitchen of your dreams. While feasting on full-color photography and real kitchen plans, you can also savor the input from kitchen designers and other industry professionals; personal stories of kitchen builds, remodels and cosmetic changes from many homeowners; useful checklists from homeowners and industry sources, and valuable tips for managing contractors throughout the entire process. There may be challenges along the way but being aware of what lies ahead will allow you to manage them well.
“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.
The moving life of Jan Bontjes van Beek (1899–1969) is closely associated with 20th-century German history. A “strikingly blond sailor who could dance and play the violin,” he joined the Worpswede artist’s colony in 1919 and later found a home with the Breling family in Fischerhude, who introduced him to ceramics. With the support of his second wife, the architect Rahel Weißbach, he moved to Berlin in 1933, where his studio became a well-known meeting place for artists. Despite having been arrested by the National Socialists and his daughter Cato executed, he could not endure the GDR’s Socialist Unity Party regime either and stepped down from a teaching post at the East Berlin Weißensee art school in 1950. He broke into teaching in West Berlin and, finally, in Hamburg continued his ceramic work, which provided the free thinker with a firm footing. Like no other, he emphasized materiality in form and dynamism in color. During tumultuous times, he sought out the perfect balance for his vessels, and ultimately for himself.
Text in English and German.
The war in Ukraine is the largest war Europe has seen since 1945. War photographer Jan Grarup and journalist/historian Adam Holm have documented the bloody struggle of the Ukrainians, in both the hinterland and on the front lines of eastern Ukraine (Zaporizjza, Donbas and Kharkiv). Through photography and reportage, they paint a picture of a country where death reaps its harvest daily. A country in which the fear of impending nuclear war is real and where an entire generation of children and adolescents carry iodine tablets and receive schooling inside basements and bunkers.