Winemakers all over the world have set out in search of the Holy Grail: to repeat Burgundy’s success with Pinot Noir. In Search of Pinot Noir investigates the changing character of Burgundy, asks what happens to Pinot Noir outside of Burgundy, and examines how the wines of each region age. How far are styles of Pinot Noir inside and outside of Burgundy due to terroir and how far are they influenced by winemaking? Extensive tasting notes address these issues and complement discussion of the regions where Pinot Noir is grown. Is Pinot Noir uniquely successful in Burgundy or have other regions in Europe or the New World succeeded in their challenge? Can Pinot Noir really achieve its full complexity only on limestone soils, or does it produce equally interesting expressions in other terroirs? Is there only one true path for Pinot Noir or have plantings in new places revealed alternative truths for this fascinating grape? What is the ultimate Pinot Noir?

Pinot Noir is a uniquely challenging grape with an unrivalled ability to reflect the character of the site where it grows. In Search of Pinot Noir is a world wide survey of everywhere Pinot Noir is grown, extending from Burgundy to the New World .

The last two decades have seen a revolution in Bordeaux. What Price Bordeaux? presents a unique overview of the forces making Bordeaux wine what it is today. The book considers terroir, how events ranging from the phylloxera plague to global warming have changed the fundamental nature of Bordeaux, the mysteries of the en primeur system, the rising influence of oenologues and critics, the changing nature of the wine itself, and the rise and fall of various chateaux. A running theme is the powerful effect that the classification of 1855 continues to have on the chateaux of both Left and Right Banks, and this and the other classification systems are considered before concluding with a new classification of the chateaux based on the existing market.

Color photographs of Italian provincial towns and landscapes taken at the beginning of the 1980s that were included in Viaggio in Italy, curated by Luigi Ghirri, in 1984. It presents a completely new picture of the ‘Bel Paese’ beyond any folkloristic clichés.

Text in English and Italian.

For more than four decades, jewelry artist and educator Laurie Hall has been making stories the subject of her work. Her playful, often whimsical jewelry made with found objects is about the places she lives, the landscapes that fill her imagination, her family history, and her ideas of what it is to be an American. As a jeweler, Hall never plays it safe, preferring to fly by the seat of her pants and push her skills and technical knowledge. Her work is part of numerous private and public collections including The Museum of Art and Design in NYC, The Tacoma Art Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She is a product of the jewelry histories that make the Pacific Northwest unique within the larger story of American contemporary jewelry. Featuring 58 images of Hall’s jewelry spanning the period from 1974 to 2019, this book explores why she is an important maker whose practice deserves to be more widely known.

This publication was designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Riace Bronzes. In it, Luigi Spina’s photographic research dialogs with the texts written by Carmelo Malacrino.

The photographer here develops a continued narrative, offering a direct comparison between the two sculptures, identified as A and B, exploring interpretations of the physicality of the two subjects as well as the three-dimensional quality of the bronze bodies, often concealed by the two-dimensional appearance of photographic images.

Carmelo Malacrino analyzes these famous 5th century BC masterpieces from two points of view: as ancient works of art on the one hand, and considering their significance for contemporary culture on the other. He retraces the story of the Bronzes beginning with their discovery in August, 1972, exploring the circumstances of their unearthing, the restoration they underwent, the exhibitions in which they were shown, as well as the impact they have had on the public, both nationally and internationally. Equally relevant is the reinterpretation of these two statues, beginning with their contextualization in the sphere of ancient Greek art, the related stylistic issues, and the reflection upon the practices and the knowledge possessed by Classical sculpture workshops.

This volume will be a pleasant surprise for those of you who love Classical sculpture, for archaeology enthusiasts, and for all those who aren’t satisfied with a quick glance when it comes to admiring a work of art.

Step into the captivating world of Chanel, where heritage, reinvention, and effortless chic intertwine in a story of timeless allure. This expanded volume guides you through the legendary house of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, exploring its journey from a trailblazing atelier to a global symbol of modern elegance.

Uncover the tales behind Chanel’s most iconic creations—from the little black dress and the classic tweed jacket to the legendary No. 5 fragrance—and the unforgettable women who made them iconic, from Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy to contemporary muses like Keira Knightley and Kristen Stewart.

Trace the evolution of Chanel’s creative vision, from Coco’s revolutionary designs that liberated women to the innovative interpretations of Karl Lagerfeld and today’s forward-thinking creative directors. With exclusive photographs and fresh perspectives, this book reveals the captivating world of Chanel and its lasting influence on fashion and culture.

Also available is ISBN 9788794190589 The Essence of Chanel.

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

Tough and stubborn. That’s Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, the oldest and best-preserved castle in the Netherlands. It is a magical place, surrounded by greenery and water. Built by Count Floris V in 1285, during its long history it has been used as a home, besieged and occupied, demolished, rebuilt and refurbished. This book tells the turbulent story of the finest Medieval castle in the Netherlands, now a lively place enjoyed by many visitors.

In the 1950s, a large number of internationally renowned artists created pictures made of ceramic. In 1956, in close collaboration with the artist and ceramicist Richard Bampi, Julius Bissier developed a ceramic work for the University of Freiburg. The abstract composition on a wall in the city center measures over 19.5 meters long by 2.6 meters high (64 × 8.5 feet). Its restoration and relaunch is occasion to examine more closely the story of its genesis. The distinctiveness of the artwork becomes clear against a backdrop of the cultural politics oriented on France in Freiburg after 1945. Unexpected parallels in contemporaneous ceramic murals by Fernand Léger, Joan Miró, and Victor Vasarely are revealed and make the Freiburg ceramic picture a unique work in the post-war art of Germany.

Text in German.

In 1933, Virginia Woolf wrote a biography of the poet Elisabeth Barret Browning, told in the first person by her cocker spaniel, Flush. In 1936, to write her memoirs, All the dogs of my life, Elisabeth von Arnim chose to tell the story of the 14 dogs that had accompanied her throughout her life. In 1957, the dachshund Lump arrived at the home of Pablo Picasso, whose life he shared until 1973. This book charts Picasso’s intimate family life, with Jacqueline, Claude and Paloma, and with the animals that populate the villa La Californie, as well as his artistic life. Inspired by these references, this collection (whose title is a nod to Picasso and Lump) takes a look at the lives and works of the great artists and art lovers of the 20th and 21st centuries from the perspective of their relationship with the “dogs of their lives”. These lighthearted, erudite books offer a unique approach to the life and work of Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Peggy Guggenheim and Yves Saint Laurent…

Lancaster and Morecambe are like chalk and Lancashire cheese. So near, yet so far apart in what they offer. Morecambe, the traditional seaside resort, its ‘Bring me Sunshine’ favorite son Eric Morecambe and Victoria Wood’s ‘two soups’ cafe. Plus, its awesome 1930’s Art Deco Midland Hotel, haunt of Coco Chanel and Laurence Olivier.

Lancaster, with its Roman remains, its impregnable ‘John O’Gaunt’ castle and characterful Georgian buildings, built in part from slave-trade profits. Notorious Lancaster, known as the ‘Hanging Town’ for its use of the noose, with its fearsome castle cells that held Quaker maker George Fox.

Leave the crowds behind and embrace the true character of this story-filled region, one special place at a time.

An impressively tattooed but unnamed Easter Island (Rapa Nui) man appears often in the pages of Pacific Island histories and museum catalogs. The Swedish ethnographer Dr. Knut Hjalmar Stolpe knew him only as Tepano, the Tahitian version of the Christian name Stephen. But what was his real Rapanui identity, and what can his life story tell us about the history of Easter Island?

This book reveals his identity, who illustrated him, and how he transcended the tragic events of 19th-century Rapa Nui to become one of the most iconic faces of the Polynesian past. The authors summarize the history of tattoo as practiced by Rapanui artisans, link that history to island geography, and present rare barkcloth sculptures as a visual record of tattoo patterns.

This title is the first in a new series on Polynesian Arts & Culture by Mana Press, in partnership with Floating World Editions.

For a list of future titles, visit: www.FloatingWorldEditions.com. For more on Rapa Nui, the Mana Gallery and Mana Books, visit: www.eisp.org.

Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584-1645) is the most revered and celebrated swordsman in Japanese history; in Japan alone close to a thousand works have taken the ancient warrior as its subject. Unfortunately, our modern portrait of this folk hero is derived mainly from popular books, comics, and film, with little heed paid to the early denki, chronicles recorded by men who, though they had not known Musashi in his lifetime, faithfully recorded what was passed down by those who had. The Bushû Denraiki is the earliest such record still in existence. Completed in 1727 by Tachibana Minehide, the fifth generation master of Musashi’s Niten Ichi school of fencing, it is the most reliable record of Musashi’s life and exploits outside those from the hand of the master swordsman himself. Now, after three centuries, Minehide’s insight into this enigmatic and solitary swordsman are available to the English reader. His text throws a new and refreshing light on many aspects of especially Musashi’s early life-his troubled relations with his father, his first battle experience during Japan’s period of unification, the sad death of his illegitimate child, and of course his legendary duel on Ganryû island.

This book – researched and authored by recognized rum expert Pascal Kählin – offers a comprehensive overview of a wide range of different rums and the most important places of production around the world. The evolution of rum is closely tied to the cultural history and prevalence of sugar. As a comprehensive guide, Rum – Rhum – Ron discusses and classifies different rum brands and portrays important distilleries in image and texts, detailing their history, local variations and particularities. This ‘atlas of rum’ tells rum’s story and its rise from sailor’s drink to collector’s item – a compendium for experts and anyone with an interest in spirits.

Marriage a la Mode is the most famous of William Hogarth’s ‘progresses’ or series paintings, the story of a marriage de convenance and its unhappy consequences in fashionable 18th-century London. Contemporaries relished teasing out the meaning of all its rich detail, and the most extensive and popular of all the commentaries on the artist’s accomplishment: was that of the witty, many-sided German, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Brilliantly translated, thoroughly annotated, this text is accompanied by the earlier and less-known commentary by Hogarth’s friend, the French-Swiss enameller Jean-Andre Rouquet, and by a selection of Lichtenberg’s remarks (in letters to friends) on his purposes and problems in interpreting Hogarth’s work. Included also is another and very rare ‘explanation’ of the plates, an anonymous 1746 pamphlet titled Marriage A-la-Mode-An Humorous Tale, in Six Cantos. A foreword on Lichtenberg, and an historical essay on Hogarth’s work by Mr. Coley, supply necessary background on artist and commentary. Of Hogarth’s greatness there is little that need be said. But it is worth noting that, of his several ‘progresses’ or ‘modern moral subjects’, only Marriage a la Mode centers on the upper levels of British society – the aristocracy and the mercantile class.

a+u’s May issue features Manthey Kula. Based in Norway, the firm was founded in 2004 by Beate Hølmebakk and Per Tamsen. This issue includes 13 built works and five paper-architecture projects. Manthey Kula’s buildings result from the encounter between the given program, sensitivity to the site, and methods of construction, while their paper architecture explores the relationship between storytelling and form through varied inspirations – dreams seen by others, women depicted in literature, an imaginary tribunal, and narratives woven by self and others. Manthey Kula’s architecture is based on story, making, and how things are made. They use words, drawings, and materials to construct a new and potent reality. In a world where architectural approaches and values have diversified, Manthey Kula targets another public realm – fiction – prompting the viewer’s intuition and imagination to “reaffirm our presence in the world.”

Text in English and Japanese.

The French city of Limoges was world famous for the production of champlevé enamels during the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance a revival of Limoges enamels took place, but the technique employed was that of painted enamel. Triptychs with a sacred subject, conceived as a painting but shining like jewelry and built with durable materials, became popular. The three works held at the Bargello National Museum in Florence are attributable to Nardon Pénicaud (1470–1542), a primary artist with an active workshop. The three enamel paintings came from the famous collection of Louis Carrand, a Lyon antiquarian, who donated them to the Bargello in the 19th century. Their story is told in Ilaria Ciseri’s essay. Paola Venturelli analyzes the historical and artistic aspects of the works and places them in the context of contemporary enamel production. The final contributions from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure address the conservation of the three delicate enamels and analyzes materials and pigments.

Postcards were to people in 1900 what the Internet was to the world in 2000. The world went from a thousand to a billion postcards in a very short span of time, with the finest painters from India, Austria and Japan getting involved. Paper Jewels is the story of postcards during the Raj, and covers India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Burma. It is the first book on the subject and features hundreds of professionally-restored images in original format, weaving together the postcard artists, photographers, and publishers who define the rich history of the medium. The author’s research also charts the history and progression of the technological aspects of postcard publishing and its key players. The concluding chapters explore the role postcards played in the Independence struggle, from the First Non-Cooperation Movement through the Dandi March and Partition. It includes some of the earliest cards of Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and other political figures. Many of the images in the book have not been seen since they were first published nearly a century ago. Published in association with The Alkazi Collection of Photography.

Dr. Balkrishna Doshi (1927–2023) was foremost among the modern Indian architects. An urban planner and educator for over 70 years, Doshi has to his credit outstanding projects ranging from dozens of townships and several educational campuses. Apart from his international fame as an architect, Doshi was equally known as an educator and institution builder. He received several international and national awards and honors, and in 2018 Doshi was selected as the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, internationally known as architecture’s highest honor.

This autobiography captures Doshi’s career from his childhood to his studies in Bombay and London, his work at Atelier Le Corbusier in Paris and collaboration with Louis I Kahn for IIM Ahmedabad. It recounts his meetings with the most remarkable persons in his own and allied fields, and his equally remarkable patrons, and the story of his own family.

Put together, for the first time, from the lifelong diaries and notes maintained by him, Paths Uncharted is a personal recounting of this remarkable journey unfolding over more than 80 years and across all the continents.

“The most important portraits to me are the ones of people who have enriched my own thinking or awareness. Areas of philosophy, religion, psychological perspectives, poetry, music, art history, women’s roles and the inner life are important issues for me – and all have been nurtured by these people whom I have met through portraiture.” – Victoria Crowe. Victoria Crowe is one of Britain’s most vital and original figurative painters. Here, Duncan Macmillan explores the exceptional skill of this remarkable artist’s portraits and Victoria Crowe, herself, contributes many insightful accounts of her own thoughts and perceptions as each work developed. This book also tells Crowe’s own story – both professional and personal – through her art. She has developed an approach to portraiture that seeks to do more than record the outward appearance of a person: she aims to represent something of the inner life. With 80 illustrations, the portraits include the artist’s family, composer Ronald Stevenson, pioneer medical scientist Dame Janet Vaughan, poet Kathleen Raine, actor Graham Crowden, psychiatrist Professor Sir Peter Higgs and many others.