“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.
In Signs of New York, architect and photographer Emma Verhagen invites you on a visual journey through the streets of the Big Apple. With a keen eye for detail, she captures the most fascinating signs, typefaces, and graphic gems found in the public realm. From iconic restaurant logos and vintage advertising murals to the distinctive signage of the subway: every photograph is paired with the exact location where it was captured. This collection is presented in a beautifully crafted, tactile hardcover. Featuring elegant foil stamping and printed on premium uncoated paper, it serves as the perfect souvenir for any New York visitor, as well as a must-have for enthusiasts of typography, graphic design, and urban nostalgia.
Author, photographer and interior designer Blue Carreon, known for The Gardens of the Hamptons and Equestrian Life in the Hamptons, takes readers on an all-access tour of New York’s hidden gardens. Blue has compiled a wide variety of beautiful residential gardens, of various sizes and styles, and shares the backstories from owners and designers to inspire and excite readers.
This breathtaking and unique collection features vivid, full-color photography of gardens both large and small, such as townhouse gardens, penthouse terraces, and charming balconies, alongside the personal stories behind each one. From meadow plantings on rooftop gardens to contemporary skyscraper terraces, from penthouses with swimming pools to townhouses with French garden flair, Secret Gardens of New York City offers a rare opportunity to peer behind the facades of numerous residences and explore the stunning urban oases hiding within breadth and width of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
This beautiful and picturesque title is perfect for garden enthusiasts, people with an interest in real estate, and avid fans of New York. It’s a fitting companion to Blue’s best-selling The Gardens of the Hamptons; together they take readers on a dazzling tour of New York’s town and country gardens.
“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.
A dialog between Rome and Vienna unfolds through the masterpieces of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, tracing the cultural ties that united the two capitals and shaped their artistic traditions. Featuring over fifty works commissioned by the Habsburg imperial family between the 16th and 18th centuries, the volume offers a privileged insight into the splendor, collecting taste, and political vision of one of Europe’s most powerful dynasties. Through essays and scholarly contributions, the book explores the relationship between art, history, and power, highlighting masterpieces by Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velazquez, Anthony van Dyck, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Arcimboldo.
“David Brafman, just like the alchemists did, mixes ingredients to make gold.” — The New Scientist
Alchemists are notorious for attempting to synthesize gold. Their goals, however, were far more ambitious: to transform and bend nature to the will of an industrious human imagination. For scientists, philosophers, and artists alike, alchemy seemed to hold the key to unlocking the secrets of creation. Alchemists’ efforts to discover the way the world is made have had an enduring impact on global artistic practice and expression.
Brafman’s book is the first to explore how the art of alchemy globally transformed human creative culture from the ancient world to the modern scientific age, and displays the ways its legacy still permeates the world we make today.
“His is a warm, charming page turner of an autobiography: from start to finish full of fascinating characters, incredible and amusing anecdotes, self-effacing humour and wry asides, beautifully detailed observations and, of course, stuffed with great nuggets of jewellery and art history.” — The Jeweller Magazine
“In this dazzling memoir revealing his encounters with royal and celebrity clients including the Queen Mother, Sir Elton John, Dame Joanna Lumley and Frank Sinatra, Antiques Roadshow presenter and jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn reflects on his stellar career, having spent more than five decades bejewelling some of the biggest names in the world.” — Hello!
“In this colourful and witty narrative, Geoffrey Munn, OBE, MVO, FSA, FLS, best known as a presenter on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, reflects on his career in the London art world, spanning over 50 years.” — Arts & Collections magazine
“Discover delightful anecdotes from Fabergé expert Geoffrey Munn’s time at Wartski in 1970s London, featuring encounters with royalty, Hollywood icons, and the pursuit of Imperial Eggs.” — The Jewellery Editor
Born and bred in Sussex, Geoffrey Munn, Antiques Roadshow presenter and jewelry expert, came from a traditional rural background – but only weeks after leaving a country Grammar School in 1972, he was plunged into the vortex of the London art world. It was the beginning of the career of a lifetime at the famous firm of Wartski, whose showrooms scintillated with gem-set necklaces, tiaras and three of the famous Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs.
In a colourful and witty narrative, Geoffrey relates his daunting but delightful encounters with HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, HRH Princess Margaret and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. In their wake, Geoffrey met a rich variety of luminaries, including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Vivienne Westwood and Dame Edna Everage. This is certainly a rapid and amusing read but it is also unique study of a narrow and fast-changing society.
These pages tell the story without words of a journey through Spain in which the author, the photographer Fernando Manso, visited unknown and hidden corners and captured them on the plates of his large-format camera. From the remotest parts of Galicia to those of Almería, he passed through coasts, deserts and mountains, stopping at old churches, ghostly castles or majestic cathedrals, in forests and gorges, at natural pools and salt mines, and at cemeteries, Arab baths and hermitages carved out of the rock.
Fernando has made the light of these places into the leading figure of his journey. His is a different light, as he has relinquished blue skies and brilliant sunshine, often the stuff of clichés, to make way for visions of places that appear to us with such intimate truth that even if we know them, we can barely recognize them. This is thanks to his technique, his art and the patience with which he waits for the light.
Fernando’s luxury is being able to use all the time in the world to draw us into an artistic heritage that is sometimes secret and hard to reach, and which the viewer has to know how to see. He reveals these places, often in danger of disappearing, after detailed investigation. Both architecture and landscape – for he knows that natural scenery is also a major patrimony that has to be affectionately preserved and protected from speculation – belong to all of us, and we are responsible for their care. We must be aware of this.
The result of that trip is this publication, with beautiful images in reproductions of exceptional quality that present us with a vision of Spain in a different light.
In addition to being an entrepreneur (Komono, Le Rub) and brand creator, Raf Maes is also a photographer and a devoted lover of Italy. During his travels along the coasts of Amalfi, Sicily, and other stunning corners of the peninsula, his Leica is always around his neck. What Maes’s eye perceives, he captures in a way that is uniquely his own: dreamlike, slightly mysterious, and framed to reveal not everything, but the essence. Light always plays the leading role. Over the years, Maes has built a loyal following and an Instagram audience of more than 18K followers. This beautiful photo book brings together his finest images. There is little text, though each location is identified in a separate section at the back, making the book not only a visual journey, but also a source of inspiration for your next trip to Italy.
Tomas De Bruyne is one of today’s leading floral event designers, known for architectural and conceptual floral spaces. An internationally celebrated artist, he creates breathtaking large-scale installations for events ranging from royal weddings to corporate celebrations. At a certain point in a designer’s journey, flowers become more than decoration – they become a language. Every petal, line, and colour turns into an intentional choice. This book is inspired by that transformation. As a floral scenographer, De Bruyne has spent decades shaping atmospheres across the world, discovering that beauty is a living structure defined by rhythm, hierarchy, and intelligence. When these align, design becomes an unforgettable experience. In this book, he shares not formulas, but a way of thinking. It goes beyond flowers, offering insight for designers who shape how people feel – event planners, floral designers, hoteliers, architects, and scenographers – inviting them to see design through the eyes of a floral architect.
Text in English and Dutch
Tomas De Bruyne is one of today’s leading floral event designers, known for architectural and conceptual floral spaces. An internationally celebrated artist, he creates breathtaking large-scale installations for events ranging from royal weddings to corporate celebrations. At a certain point in a designer’s journey, flowers become more than decoration – they become a language. Every petal, line, and color turns into an intentional choice. This book is inspired by that transformation. As a floral scenographer, De Bruyne has spent decades shaping atmospheres across the world, discovering that beauty is a living structure defined by rhythm, hierarchy, and intelligence. When these align, design becomes an unforgettable experience. In this book, he shares not formulas, but a way of thinking. It goes beyond flowers, offering insight for designers who shape how people feel – event planners, floral designers, hoteliers, architects, and scenographers – inviting them to see design through the eyes of a floral architect.
Text in English and Dutch
Although Vitis vinifera vines have been grown in the American southwest for nearly 400 years, its modern wine era only really began with the new pioneers of the 1960s and 1970s. All four states can boast growing wine industries, each with its own distinct identity. Although home to those first wine grapes, New Mexico may be the least experienced player, with a few major producers and many smaller, new arrivals. The Texas industry is bigger, more developed and more polished, with at least 350 wineries operating and plenty of room for growth. Arizona has perhaps made the most progress in the shortest time; some impressive growing conditions, educational initiatives, and a tight-knit band of producers have led to promising quality wines. Colorado, long known for its fruit orchards, is now home to vineyards too, with many producers also farming other fruit and creating wines from both.
Taking each state in turn, Jessica Dupuy guides us expertly through its history before presenting a thorough summary of its climate and geology, discussing the grapes grown, explaining the sub regions (AVAs), and appraising the challenges wine growers face. Influential and innovative producers are profiled, and each section concludes with ideas on where to visit, dine, and stay. Boxes throughout the text supply asides on historical, geographic, and cultural points of interest. For anybody interested in discovering a truly up-and-coming wine region this book makes for fascinating reading.
Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot is not just the oldest castle in the Netherlands. It is a magical place, surrounded by water and vegetation. The castle gardens feature lots of heritage varieties: vegetables, herbs, fruit, herbaceous plants and flowers (some of them edible). The produce from the gardens was for centuries used to prepare the exquisite meals at the castle. And the gardens still produce a rich harvest every year. Muiderslot is also part of the Amsterdam Defence Line, a World Heritage Site. The castle gardens are open daily, offering visitors the chance to enjoy this lush part of our heritage.
Tea was introduced to Britain in the 1650s. Its popularity burgeoned over the following two-and-a-half centuries, until it became a defining feature of British culture.
Drawing inspiration from China, British craftsmen worked to display their skills on numerous tea-related objects, which ritualised the process of drinking tea and imbued it with luxury status. Calling on an array of different materials and techniques, they developed a huge variety of canisters and lockable containers for storing and preserving this precious commodity.
Tea chests and caddies were not merely functional items that might lurk at the back of the kitchen – they were intended for display and were an essential accoutrement for fashionable women. As the habit of tea drinking filtered down the social scale, caddies were made in larger numbers and in more affordable forms.
This book brings together a great range of decorative antique tea containers, presenting them alongside detailed historical research conducted into their making and their place in British society across the centuries. It also explores the materials and techniques employed. With historical art showing tea’s integration into British society, examples of old trade cards and original designs, and a wealth of illustrations of the objects themselves, this is a must-buy book for historians, collectors and those interested in the decorative arts.
This book focuses on six Ming and Qing dynasty garden masterpieces—Qiuxia Garden, Guyi Garden, Yu Garden, Zuibaichi Garden, Qushui Garden, and Kezhi Garden—presenting the wisdom of Jiangnan garden design, where “though man-made, it appears heaven-sent,” through 202 exquisite images and professional analyses. Approaching from a cultural heritage perspective, it details the distinctive features and legacy of each garden’s core heritage structures, uncovering the cultural codes embedded in pavilions, terraces, towers, rockeries, and ponds. Special attention is given to precious cultural relics such as stone inscriptions, plaques, and couplets found in these classical gardens. Combined with an exploration of construction techniques, the book reveals the Jiangnan literati spirit and everyday urban memories embodied within these garden spaces.
Text in English and Mandarin.
From rockers to ravers, The Illustrated Book of Songs is the book every music lover will want. In quick-witted style, Irish writer Colm Boyd navigates us through lists of classic songs for every occasion. Prepare yourself for fascinating facts, cool illustrations and withering commentary on songs presented in lists such as:
Songs about Getting Dumped
Songs about Prostitution
Songs about Environmental Matters
Songs about Being a Complete and Utter Asshole
Songs about Gender Identity
Alternative Christmas Songs
The Illustrated Book of Songs
features 70 lists, discussing hundreds of songs from different genres and artists – from Adele to Aretha, Jagger to Jarvis, Rufus to Rosalía. Many of the songs are well-known, others are a little more off-radar. Some have amazing musicality, some have lyrics – quite literally – worthy of a Nobel Prize. Some deal with death, others deal with zebras, one song deals with prostitute-frequenting chess players in Bangkok. You get the idea.
Each of the book’s lists is accompanied by a scannable Spotify code, allowing readers to use their smartphones to directly access the songs mentioned. So, time to get reading and get listening.
Check out the book’s website for more information: colmboyd.com/the-illustrated-book-of-songs.
Bonnard drew on the Japanese printmakers, especially Hiroshige, to convey the essence of Paris not through its monuments or vistas, but with scenes of bustling daily life observed from idiosyncratic angles. But unlike the Japanese artists, he worked with a painterly sense of texture and color that remains as astonishing today as when it was first published. This is one of the three hugely original portfolios of etchings brought out in 1899 by the great dealer Ambroise Vollard, and printed by the master craftsman Auguste Clot. The other two are by Édouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, and all three are being published simultaneously by Pallas Athene.
From wild parrots in the streets of Tokyo to prize pigeons outside New York, this book brings together the world’s best contemporary photography of birds and asks us to look anew at these mysterious winged creatures in all their complexity and majesty.
Featured photographers: Frankie Alduino, Barbara Bosworth, Xavi Bou, Giacomo Brunelli, Robert Clark, Tim Flach, Andrew Garn, Mark Harvey, Leila Jeffreys, Simen Johan, Tracy Johnson, Katerina Kaloudi, Sanna Kannisto, Tom Leighton, Neeta Madahar, Dillon Marsh, Joseph McGlennon, Yoshinori Mizutani, Yola Monakhov, Carla Rhodes, Pentti Sammallahti, Joel Sartore, Aniruddha Satam, Søren Solkær, Tamara Staples, Luke Stephenson, Julia Tatarchenko and Janice Tieken.
Indian art is deeply inspired by philosophical and religious thought. In this original and extensively researched work, the author explores the history of the Pushti Marg community. She explains the spiritual beliefs as laid down by the saint and founder Shri Vallabhacharya, which inspired the art that was created for use in the religious practices of the Vallabha Sampradaya.
This book first delves into the core of Pushti Marg — Vallabhacharya’s philosophy and theology of Shrinathji (a form of Krishna); secondly, it explores how his system of beliefs was expressed in an organized religion and rituals that resulted in the production of sacred objects, mainly paintings, pichvais and shrine textiles. Finally it discusses the influence of Pushti Marg on the social and cultural aspects that carried these traditions forward. While doing so, the book showcases many rare paintings and textiles created for the personal and public shrines of the faith. The book reveals the provenance of the most important pre-Mughal manuscript, Palam Dispersed Bhagavad Puran, and that of Golden and Kalamkari pichvais. The fact that many of the beautiful artefacts, depicting aspects of the worship of Shrinathji, were created by Muslim artisans is a remarkable example of the syncretic culture of India.
The author has analyzed the influence of the Vallabha Sampradaya on Indian paintings in minute detail. As a member of a family that has devotedly followed the tenets of Pushti Marg across many generations, she is uniquely placed to offer an insider’s view of its philosophy, an in-depth understanding of its practices, and a museologist’s perspective on the exquisite artefacts inspired by this faith, which are now displayed in collections worldwide.
This delightful manuscript, published in facsimile, was composed around 1585 by a clergyman in a bid for the patronage of an Elizabethan magnate, Sir John Petre. Modeled on printed writing books, German and French, it presents a profusion of scripts, accompanying decorated capital letters from A to Z. Its texts are eloquent on the value of learning. All is transcribed in print and, when needed, translated, including poems in English and Latin in which Amos Lewis, the creator, presses his case, reinforced by colorful Petre heraldry. The commentary unravels the Alphabet Book’s precursors and analyzes its ingredients, including a lively range of ornament. The first writing book published in London, in 1570, was by a Frenchman, Jean de Beau Chesne. Lewis’s manuscript is the first attempt at an original writing book by an Englishman. This signal rarity, virtually unknown hitherto, is a window into handwriting and education in the age of Shakespeare.
The ethnographic literature of the 20th century focused mainly on the sculptural traditions of the numerous ethnic groups that populated Southern Nigeria while the more northern areas remained largely terra incognita. In 2013 Jan Strybol published a study on the sculpture of Northern Nigeria. He pointed out that in many parts of this region there are people who still had, at least until recently, their own sculptural tradition. In this study the author restricted himself to what is referred to as the Middle Belt and especially to the part between the Bauchi Plateau, the Gongola River and the Katsina Ala River. In 1974 Roy Sieber pointed out that, with a few exceptions, the people who were members of the Niger-Congo language family laid the foundations for the great African sculptural traditions south of the Sahara. However, the largest group of iconophile peoples in the Central Middle Belt of Nigeria is to be found in the Chadic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
In this book of objects from private collections the author shows the great variety of the sculptures of the Middle Belt. This study mainly deals with wooden figures but also contains four wooden masks and three bronzes.
Text in English and French.
William Nicholson was still in his twenties when he started working on books for the publisher William Heinemann that combined a hugely powerful woodcut style with peerlessly precise observation and sly humor. The Square Book of Animals brings together a collection of 12 beasts drawn with Nicholson’s sweeping line and unerring eye for the lively detail. The text is by Arthur Waugh, the father of Evelyn Waugh. A great classic of British book illustration, unavailable for decades. Published simultaneously with two other works An Alphabet and The Book of Blokes.
The Razmnama or The Book of War is the Persian translation of one of the great Hindu epics of India, the Mahabharata. The Mughal emperor Akbar took a personal interest in the translation project and a lavishly illustrated copy was prepared for his personal use. Out of the three copies made, the three-volume Razmnama in the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata is the only copy that is complete with 81 miniatures that bear the name of the scribe and the date of completion, 1605. The paintings combine the finest elements of the Mughal court style with the narrative style of storytelling.
Sought after for his colorful coat, Rajah may be possessed of immense strength, but he is impetuous and careless. He often has to be saved from this scourge by resourceful and brave humbler members of the jungle, such as the squirrel Lil Squi and the jungle mouse Chuhi. They are joined by Hathi, Loombar, Magar and others. Written lyrically with beautiful illustrations, Rajah: King of the Jungle is a unique contribution to children’s literature. Intended to be read out to younger children, these delectable tales can also be enjoyed by parents and teachers. For older children, the poetic prose is a source of inspiration.
Royal Tombs of India, the first book of its kind on the Islamic royal tombs of India, focuses on the Tughluq and Lodi tombs, Qutb Shahi tombs and Mughal tombs (Humayun, Akbar, Aurangzeb, Jahangir and Nur Jahan, Bibi-ka-Maqbara, and the Taj Mahal). It also discusses the controversy surrounding the location of Babur’s tomb. The tombs are described in the broader historical and architectural context of the reign of Tughluq, Lodi, Qutb Shahi and Mughal dynasties. It traces the history of royal tombs, from the ancient Egyptian pyramids, the Greek/Roman mausoleums and the Chinese royal tombs to the Islamic tombs of Central Asia, Pakistan and India. It also analyses the different characteristics of pre-Mughal and Mughal architecture and how it was influenced by Persian and Indian architecture. The royal tombs of pre-Mughal sultans (Slave, Khalji and Tughluq), Qutb Shahi kings and Mughal emperors are also discussed.