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“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.”The Independent
Discover the city’s best-kept secrets, with this practical guide to Antwerp’s most beautiful, interesting and often unknown places. This book takes you off the beaten track to discover the city’s hidden gardens, small museums and intimate coffee bars. On its pages you will find the 5 best places to eat frites, the 5 most secret courtyards and the 5 best independent record shops in town. It also guides you to some of the more unusual experiences that you can track down in Antwerp. So you can find out where to eat the best dim sum in Chinatown, sample a chocolate flavored with fried bacon, or dance the night away. The aim of this book is not to cover the city from A to Z, but to inspire; it is a guide to the places the author would recommend to a friend who wants to discover the real Antwerp.
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Antwerp offers a practical way to explore Antwerp’s finest places, and Derek Blyth covers all bases to ensure no visitor to the city is ever anything short of captivated. Packed with accessible, easy-to-read information summarized in handy lists, maps, itineraries, sections on food & drink, accommodation, green spaces, museums, galleries and shops; this guide is an essential resource for the inquisitive traveler.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.”- The Independent
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels is a guide to the Brussels that no one knows. It takes you to undiscovered art museums, forgotten squares and secret shops. The book doesn’t mention everything there is to see. There are already more than enough guides that cover the familiar tourist places. This book goes one step further and lists the places the author would recommend to friends if they asked him where to go in Brussels. Here you will find the 5 best places to eat frites, the 5 small museums that no one should miss and the 5 best record shops in town. The aim is to take the reader to the unexpected places that give the city its charm, like the restaurant on the top floor of the national library, or the metro station that is decorated with 140 characters from Tintin albums, or the art cinema that seats just 20 people. You do not have to do everything listed in the book, but you are urged at the very least to drink a Gueuze beer in one of the 5 best Brussels bars, eat at one of the 5 best fish restaurants, and visit one of the 5 best independent cinemas. If you do, you will begin to discover a city that no one else knows.
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels offers a practical guide to Brussels’ finest places, and Derek Blyth covers all bases to ensure no visitor to the city is ever anything short of captivated. Packed with accessible, easy-to-read information summarized in handy lists, maps, itineraries, sections on food & drink, accommodation, green spaces, museums, galleries and shops; this guide is an essential resource for the inquisitive traveler.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.” The Independent

Where are the 5 best places to eat like a Portuguese? Which are the 5 best restaurants for Petiscos? Where can you find the nicest salons and barber shops? Which are the 5 best places to see Azulejos? Where will you find the most unique lifts and elevators? The best Lisbon area beaches? The 500 Hidden Secrets of Lisbon reveals these good-to-know places and many more. An affectionate and informed guide to Lisbon, written by a true local.

This is a book for visitors who want to avoid the usual tourist spots and for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.”The Independent
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Milan gives you 500 reasons to book a city trip to Milan. In this affectionate guide, true local and journalist Silvia Frau shares 500 favorite places in her hometown in fun lists of five, such as 5 trattorias for truly authentic Italian cuisine, the 5 best bars for aperitivo, 5 old-school stationery shops, the 5 most beautiful places to enjoy the silence, 5 addresses to visit in the footsteps of Giuseppe Verdi, and much more.
This is the perfect book for those who wish to discover the trendy city of Milan and avoid the usual tourist haunts, as well as for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.” The Independent

For tourists who want to avoid the well-known tourist spots and discover the locals favorite addresses, and for residents who want to get to know their city even better, this handy little guide is eminently useful. Written by a true local, the book includes lists such as the 5 best vintage markets, the 5 best workplaces for freelancers and the 5 best concert venues. It features 500 addresses and facts that few people know, such as an elegant spice shop that sells condiments from all over the world, a small stationer’s where the daylight streams in gloriously and you can find the most beautiful Japanese paper creations, or a little shop where gifts like embroidered serviettes are made to order.

Interiors: Inside the American Home is a chic, modern book that showcases the diversity in approach to interior design across the United States. Honing in on the subtleties of interior design, the book delves into the range of techniques, art and decorative pieces, furnishings, and materials used by designers to merge their own unique aesthetics with the lifestyles of their clients. From eclectic trinket-filled sitting rooms, to expansive, minimalist open-plan living, this book offers a stunning array of intriguing interior spaces for all tastes and styles.

Milton H. Greene (1922-1985), famous for his fashion photography and celebrity portraits from the golden age of Hollywood, met Marilyn Monroe on a photo shoot for Look magazine in 1953. The pair developed an instant rapport, quickly becoming close friends and ultimately business partners. In 1954, after helping her get out of her studio contract with 20th Century Fox, they created Marilyn Monroe Productions, Inc. Milton and Marilyn were much more then business partners, Marilyn became a part of the Greene family. By the time their relationship had ended in 1957, the pair had produced two feature films, in addition to more than 5,000 photographs of the iconic beauty. There was magic in Milton and Marilyn’s working relationship. The trust and confidence they had in each other’s capabilities was on full display in each photo. Greene passed in 1985, thinking his life’s work was succumbing to the ravages of time. His eldest son, Joshua, began a journey to meticulously restore his father’s legacy. A photographer himself, Joshua spent years researching ways to restore his father’s photographs as well as cataloging and promoting Milton’s vast body of work all over the world. As a result, Joshua established “The Archives,” a company committed to the restoration and preservation of photography. After spending nearly two decades restoring his father’s archive, Joshua Greene and his company are widely regarded as one of the leaders in photographic restoration and have been at the forefront of the digital imaging and large-format printing revolution.
Now Joshua Greene, in conjunction with Iconic Images, presents The Essential Marilyn Monroe: Milton H. Greene, 50 Sessions. With 280 photographs, including newly scanned and restored classics, as well as images that have appeared only once in publication, Greene’s Marilyn Monroe archive can finally be viewed as it was originally intended when these pictures were first produced more than 60 years ago. These classic sessions – 50 in all – cover Monroe at the height of her astonishing beauty and meteoric fame. From film-sets to the bedroom, at home and at play, Joshua has curated a lasting tribute to the work of a great photographer and his greatest muse. Poignant and powerful, joyful and stunning – these breathtaking images of an icon stand above all the rest. The Essential Marilyn Monroe: Milton H. Greene, 50 Sessions is sure to be a book that will become the platinum standard in photography monographs.
There are no rules, and even less justice. Death takes everyone without discrimination. Sometimes it is accidental – like Signorelli, who fell from scaffolding. Sometimes it is expected, as with the diabetic Cezanne, who wrote “I am old, sick, and I swore to die while painting”. But often, researching a painter’s death is an easier task than determining which of their works is truly their ‘last’. Paintings tend to be dated by year and not month, inciting much debate among art historians. This book embraces this ambiguity, studying 100 examples of works that lay completed for several years, or were left unfinished on the easel, or were finished post-mortem by a friend’s grieving hand.
The Last Painting collects 100 terminal paintings from 100 artists, including Dalí, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Goya, Pollock, Rembrandt, Dix, Bonnard, Titien, and many more. Each picture gives us a glimpse into the painter’s mind. Did they know death was coming? Did they paint with denial, or acceptance? Did they return to a favorite subject, or decide to embark on a new, original project while they still had time? A poetic and thought-provoking book, The Last Painting is a sensitive exploration of the relationship between art and death.

The Royal Touch is a beautiful compilation of stunning recipes gathered from far and wide on an incredible culinary journey. It is one that has covered three continents over several decades and has taken in many a royal palace along the way. Carolyn Robb, former personal chef to TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry, presents the food that she loves to serve to her family and friends; food that is fit for a king, yet is accessible to us all. Inspired by everything from her mother’s home-cooking, memories of her happy childhood in South Africa and her extensive travels to the extraordinary experiences of 13 years as a chef in the royal household, Carolyn’s recipes are simple to prepare and perfect to share. Whether you are entertaining special guests, going on a picnic, planning a cosy fireside supper, cooking with children or you simply feel like trying your hand at some baking, this book has it all and the ingredients you require won’t break the bank.

“…a beautiful book, filled with captivating images and explanatory text which never gets too dry or too technical…” – Revolution
Despite the functional obsolescence of the mechanical wristwatch (our phones and computers tell more accurate time) the early 21st Century has seen a boom in the development, production, and appreciation of all things horological. Whether it is presented to the collector as an alternative investment, as a feat of micro-mechanical technology, or as a showcase of artisanal mastery, the mechanical wristwatch has never possessed more forms, functions or facets than it does today.
The Wristwatch Handbook is written from the epicentre of a renaissance, a place in time between the Quartz revolution and the rise of the smart device – where the mechanical wristwatch is the antidote to the microprocessor and the permanent buzz of your inbox. From the multi-axis tourbillion, to the split-second chronograph, to the sidereal sky chart, The Wristwatch Handbook covers it all and does so with more than 470 rich illustrations from over 90 of the World’s leading brands.
The book is separated into two sections. The first section provides the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical movement. Its chapters explore power, transmission, distribution and regulation illustrating the basic concepts before considering the innovation and complexity that takes place further toward the cutting edge. From the fifty-day power reserve, to the constant force mechanism, and the 1,000Hz mechanical escapement, section 1 will allow the reader to understand and appreciate what is happening beneath the dial of their watch. Section two allows the reader to take this understanding and apply it to the vast range of complications (functions) that exist in modern horology. Each chapter showcases a distinct category of complication. For example, the regatta timer, pulsometer, and monopusher chronograph join a host of others in a chapter entitled ‘Recording Lapses of Time’; The power reserve indicator, dynamograph, and crown position indicator are featured in a chapter for ‘Power and Performance Indication’; The moon phase indicator, annual calendar, and planetarium can be found in the ‘Astronomical Complications’ chapter. Once the functional categories are exhausted, the final three chapters explore whimsical complications that have little regard for practical function, novelty time indication, and the ‘super-complicated’ watch – a rare breed of timepiece that houses an intimidating host of complications featured throughout the book. Upon completion of The Wristwatch Handbook the reader will be able to identify even the most exotic complication from across the room, and be able to share their appreciation and understanding of what makes it so useful and compelling.

The Wristwatch Handbook is “brand agnostic”, using only those watches that most aptly illustrate the given subject-matter. As a consequence the book places equal emphasis on the classic and the cutting edge, on watches produced in large volume or exclusive runs, by industry-leading technology or at the hand of a master. In doing so the book provides an unparalleled range of watches from over 90 brands, allowing the reader to determine for themselves which brands, complications, and styles they will build their collection from.

The wee folk have returned! Uncover the mystery of who they are and why they are here in the first book of the Vinetrope Adventures. Following a young girl, Sara, who has recently lost her mom to cancer, Return of the Vinetropes tells the story of a remarkable fairy-like creature found in Sara’s back yard. Lucinda Vinetrope: born wise, full-grown, and all alone. She may only be 12 inches high, but her personality is huge! Her arrival signifies the return of the Vinetrope nation, but also the return of their evil counterparts, the Chargons and the Vinkali. Joined by a supporting cast of comedic characters, animal and human alike, Sara and Lucinda set off on their quest to find the other Vinetropes and protect their world from danger.

Women Garden Designers presents twenty-seven of the most important and influential women garden designers and their gardens from around the world, showing both their finest commissions as well as the gardens they designed for themselves, in their own space. The carefully researched text examines their influences and their legacy to garden design. Beginning with the remarkable Gertrude Jekyll and Beatrix Farrand, who were working simultaneously, though on different sides of the Atlantic, the book then moves on into the 20th century, featuring international designers as diverse as Florence Yoch – who created gardens for film sets and for glamorous Hollywood homes – and Vita Sackville-West – whose regular gardening column in the Observer, along with her own garden at Sissinghurst, influenced those in Britain. In Australia, Edna Walling supplemented her income from her practice with regular articles in life-style magazines. Increasingly with picture-led articles, designers found a way to publicize and advertise their work, thus gaining new clients in emancipated women who were in a position to place their own commissions. Women designers were more likely and quicker to embrace the ecological garden movement particularly in Germany and Sweden in the middle of the 20th century. They are represented by Herta Hammerbacher and Rosemary Weisse, who created the glorious perennial plantings in Munich’s West Park and Ulla Bodorff in Sweden, as well as Isabelle Greene in California with her dry native plantings. The modern movement includes Monica Gora and Topher Delaney, for whom spirituality and landscape as works of art are important. The more conventional structured approach is represented by Penelope Hobhouse and Rosemary Verey, who began creating gardens later in their lives, following motherhood. Haruko Seki from Japan and Isabel du Prat from Brazil express their own special cultural qualities in their trans-global practices. Contents: Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932, English); Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959, American); Norah Lindsay (1876-1948, English); Marian Coffin (1876-1957, American); Florence Yoch (1890-1972, American); Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962, English); Edna Walling (1895-1973, Australian); Brenda Colvin (1897-1981, English); Herta Hammerbacher (1900-1985, German); Sylvia Crowe (1907-1997, English); Maria Teresa Parpagliolo Shephard (1903-1974, Italian); Joane Pim (1904-2002, South African); Ulla Bodorf (1913-1982, Swedish); Rosemary Verey (1918-2001, English); Cornelia Oberlander (1921-, Canadian); Rosmarie Weisse (1927-2002, German); Penelope Hobhouse (1929- English); Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002, French); Isabelle Greene (1934- American); Arabella Lennox-Boyd (1938- Italian); Nancy Goslee Power (1942- American); Topher Delaney (1948- American); Isabel du Prat (1954- Brazilian); Petra Blaisse (1955- Dutch); Monica Gora (1959- Swedish); Haruko Seki (1959- Japanese).

From the Coolest Corner – Nordic Jewellery presents groundbreaking and fresh jewelry from Northern Europe, a comprehensive selection of current works by artists from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic States. The best and most innovative Scandinavian art jewelry is presented, assessing its possibilities and potential at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The project presented in this publication, culminating in a symposium and a traveling exhibition, challenges stereotypical notions of northern European art jewelry. Do the typical Nordic trends of the nineteen-nineties still apply today? Indeed are there currently any general trends at all in Scandinavian design? Or has the orientation towards international design become so dominant that there are no longer any regional characteristics? Renowned experts have made a selection of representative works, as a basis for researching the role of northern European jewelry in the context of international art.

Text in English, Norwegian & Swedish.

The Miller Ceramic Art Collection features masterpieces highlighting the artistic ideals of numerous luminaries of mid-twentieth century to early twenty-first century American ceramic art. In addition, the collection includes important examples of European and Japanese ceramic artworks of the same period. Marlin Miller’s profound understanding of materials began with ceramic engineering. His interest in brick and its role in architecture informs a keen eye for surface texture, dimension and materiality.

The publication is a comprehensive presentation of one of the world’s most distinguished private collections of contemporary studio ceramics, and an observation on the correlation between ceramics and architecture. With contributions by Meghen Jones, Sequoia Miller, Michael McKinnell and Wayne Higby.

Religion has always been a fundamental force for constructing identity, from antiquity to the contemporary world. The transformation of ancient cults into faith systems, which we recognize now as major world religions, took place in the first millennium AD, in the period we call ‘Late Antiquity’. Our argument is that the creative impetus for both the emergence, and much of the visual distinctiveness of the world religions came in contexts of cultural encounter. Bridging the traditional divide between classical, Asian, Islamic and Western history, this exhibition and its accompanying catalog highlights religious and artistic creativity at points of contact and cultural borders between late antique civilizations.

This catalog features the creation of specific visual languages that belong to five major world religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. The imagery still used by these belief systems today is evidence for the development of distinct religious identities in Late Antiquity. Emblematic visual forms like the figure of Buddha and Christ, or Islamic aniconism, only evolved in dialogue with a variety of coexisting visualizations of the sacred. As late antique believers appropriated some competing models and rejected others, they created compelling and long-lived representations of faith, but also revealed their indebtedness to a multitude of contemporaneous religious ideas and images.

In keeping with an editorial strategy that aims to bring to public attention all of the various groups of works belonging to the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, a book devoted to its drawings and watercolors has been published. Featuring texts by Manuela Fidalgo, who worked as a curator at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum until her retirement, this edition is the product of several years of thorough research underpinned by technical and scientific rigor and the involvement of several international experts in the art of drawing.

This publication therefore plays an essential part in raising awareness of one of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum’s least-well known collections, which includes works produced in the main centers of European art (France, Holland, Flanders, England and Italy) between the 16th and early 20th centuries by great masters such as Dürer, Watteau, Boucher, Turner and Sargent, among others. This book also gives us a clearer picture of Calouste Gulbenkian’s artistic sensibility as a collector: despite claiming not to be attracted to drawing, the beauty and quality of the works brought together here were such that he could not resist purchasing them.

Miami and the Keys are the cultural and geographical gateways to the United States; where Latin America gracefully blends into North America, and land embraces the sea. This unusual guide leads you along the fulcrum that is Miami and the Keys, laden with world-class architecture, sandy beaches, pristine waters, nightclubs, and trendy hotels. Beneath the well-polished surface lies a history and culture that strays far from the conventional, bubbling up through unexpected places, like a coral fortress built for a spurned lover, a divey laundromat that serves the sweetest café con leche you’ve ever had, or an enclave of houses built on stilts in the midst of the ocean. Lose yourself in a glass rainforest. Glide over the mysterious waters of the Everglades. Visit your own desert island. Drink the sweet nectar of the Cuban coffee gods. Venture into the “other” Miami, beyond the glitz and glamor, steeped in natural beauty and deep-seeded tradition. See why Ernest Hemingway called the Keys his home. Though teeming with tourists, there are still plenty of hidden gems to be unearthed, you just have to know where to look…

Florence is aimed at showing how one of the Italian cities most strongly linked with its past, the quintessential symbol of the Renaissance period, conceals a myriad of innovative architecture. Florence is not a static city. It has often been guilty of long delays and a certain lack of courage in assimilating new approaches, but its way of introducing contemporary architecture into a consolidated context, is unique. Changes with great impact began in Florence at the end of the 19th century with the urban planning transformations designed by Giuseppe Poggi. The strongly defined limits of the historic centre became blurred with the demolition of the fortifications and the city was opened up to permit expansion. In the 1930s, the Rationalist design of the Santa Maria Novella Station introduced a new form of architectural expression into the historic center and outskirts of the city. This is the building that begins the itinerary proposed in this guide; a chronological, but also a physical beginning: a starting point for visitors to begin their architectural excursion.

The American House is an exceedingly diverse collection of contemporary residential designs in the United States. This book follows the successful title European House, likewise a gorgeous collection of new residential architecture. The American House contains cutting-edge residential designs by leading architects from across the United States. Stunning color photographs and plans underline the sensitivity of today’s architects to the natural environment, as well as the care and attention paid to interior design and everyday living. This new volume features an extraordinary variety in style, sophistication, affordability, site and landscape, with an emphasis on sustainability practices in both design and construction. Each project illustrates how architects adapt their signature styles to accommodate the challenges posed by local topography and variations in climate, along with a sharp focus on optimum strategies for sustainable living. A lively introduction by critic Ian Volner comments on the many trends, often contradictory, that characterize the architecture of houses in the 2010s. In its sweeping scope, this book considers the present and points to the future of residential design in the United States.

“The well-judged employment of classical detail in a new home has an additional significance that cannot be underestimated. It is an expression of an informed personal choice and an evocation of the delight in the human senses. This is true of all the houses featured in this book.” Jeremy Musson
“The architects and craftsmen that Phillip has featured in this wonderful book all have a love for classical detail. The art is alive and well, as can be attested to in these pages.” David Easton
In The Art of Classical Details, Phillip James Dodd takes a close-up look at some of the finest examples of contemporary classical architecture. The book consists of two chapters: The Essays and The Projects. Starting with a foreword by renowned decorator David Easton, The Essays are written by some of today’s most sought after architects, scholars and craftsmen. Accompanied by sumptuous full page photographs and renderings that illustrate a use of fine materials, intricate detailing, and superb artisanship, these insightful texts are essential reading for anyone with an interest in the theory, practice and craft of classical design. The Projects presents an illustrated look at 25 of today’s finest classically-designed homes. Employing the theories prescribed in the writings of the first chapter, this portfolio of contemporary buildings exhibits the work of some of the most recognizable and celebrated architects in Great Britain and the United States. The work featured in within this book demonstrates the timeless beauty of classicism, and delights in the role that superbly crafted details play in creating art.

“Neural networks do not understand what optical illusions are.”Technologyreview.com

“Some pictures tell a thousand lies.”hplyrikz.com

An optical illusion confuses the eye by pretending to be something it isn’t. It both misleads and deceives the brain, which is trying to make sense of the information the eye is sending. This book presents a selection of brain-bending optical illusions featuring graphic art and photography by 60 artists, and includes an overview of the history of optical illusions in art.

“Anybody who’s aware of what life is in a contemporary world is influenced by Margiela.” – Marc Jacobs.
Martin Margiela, known for his avant-garde ideas and cult following, became the arbiter of all things classic French Chic. His ability to apply his unique design process to vastly different fashion houses is the hallmark of a great designer. This new edition of Margiela. The Hermès Years has been published with the cooperation of the reclusive Margiela himself, including never-before-published photographs, drawings and testimonies.

The digital revolution has made customers more demanding than ever. Speed, transparency and hyper-personalization are the new norm. More and more brand manufacturers are now selling in their own stores and webshops are selling directly to consumers in increasing quantities. In the meantime, new technologies are heralding the next phase of seismic change. In this book, Gino Van Ossel introduces the concept of optichannel, which will guide retailers, brand manufacturers and service companies through and beyond the current wave of digital hysteria. Using recognizable examples, he offers a realistic view of the retail landscape of the future and sets out a practical framework for a successful strategy that combines profit, competitiveness and customer focus.

The unique selection of almost 300 paintings and drawings collected in The Realism of It shows the evolution of artist Rik Vermeersch and unveils an amazing coherence throughout his work. His earlier gestural paintings later make room for more objective work, the so-called ‘digital paintings’, nudes in particular. With texts by Paul Depondt and Matthijs Van Dijk.