Coffee table books

The Best of Architecture Meets Interior Design in 'America's Finest Rooms'

Filed under: Decor, Books, Architecture & Design

Refinement is not about expense, notes Thomas Jayne in his new book "The Finest Rooms in America," a definitive, luxuriously illustrated record of the country's best interior design from the 18th century to the present day. Jayne, a top-drawer interior designer and scholar of American decor, includes a complete cross section of rooms covering a broad range of American periods and styles, beginning with the Tea Room at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

Tags: American design, American interiors, architecture, best design books, best interior design, best+interior+design+books, bestinteriordesignbooks, books, coffee table books, decor, deign books, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Washington, interior designer, Los Angeles, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Oscar de la Renta, The Finest Rooms in America, Thomas Jayne, Thomas Jefferson, Vizcaya

Continue reading “The Best of Architecture Meets Interior Design in 'America's Finest Rooms'”

Fifty Years of Equestrian Champions from the Stables of His Highness the Aga Khan

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Books, Wealth

Fifty Years of Equestrian Champions from the Stables of His Highness the Aga Khan

A new lavishly illustrated volume by Philip Jodidio from Prestel highlights fifty years of the prestigious horse racing and breeding enterprises of His Highness the Aga Khan, the immensely wealthy Muslim spiritual leader. The urbane Aga Khan, a philanthropist, Harvard graduate and stepson of Hollywood bombshell Rita Hayworth, built his world class thoroughbred empire on a legacy handed down through generations and now oversees one of the largest and most successful racing and breeding operations in Europe. The luxe book traces the history of the Aga Khan Studs including many famous champions through remarkable photographs, engravings and paintings taken from the Aga Khan's archives. Also included is a lengthy interview with His Highness and informative essays on what makes a great racehorse. Check out the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: The Horses of the Aga Khan

A group of mares and foals bred at St Crespin, France

Dalakhani, winner of four Group I races, including the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Zarkava, unbeaten winner of five Group I races, descends from Mumtaz Mahal, purchased in 1921 by the Aga Khan III

His Highness the Aga Khan inspecting yearlings at St Crespin in Normandy

A group of mares and foals grazing in a field in Ireland

Tags: Aga Khan, books, coffee table books, equestrian, Harvard, horse racing, horseracing, horses, Islam, Muslim, racehorse, racehorses, Rita Hayworth, royalty, sports, stables, the+aga+khan, theagakhan, thoroughbreds, wealth

The Life & Work of the Late Herb Ritts

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

Madonna, Julia Roberts, Michele Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Richard Gere, Cindy Crawford – all of them owe their fame in some measure to the late Herb Ritts, the renowned photographer whose portraits for the likes of Vanity Fair, Vogue and various fashion houses in the '80s and '90s helped turn many of his subjects into icons. A new book by Charles Churchward, Herb Ritts: The Golden Hour, is a lavish scrapbook / oral history looking at both Ritts' life, legacy and work. Along with some of the well known celebrity and supermodel poses the book's 200 images include intimate portraits, images of extravagant Hollywood parties, travels to exotic locales, and other unforgettable moments from an extraordinary career, many from Ritts' personal archive and previously unpublished. Richard Gere provides an introduction and there are scores of interviews from Ritts' friends including Annie Leibovitz, Elton John, kd lang, Helena Christensen, L'Wren Scott and more.

Tags: books, celebrity, Cindy Crawford, coffee table books, Elton John, fashion, Helena Christensen, Herb Ritts, Hollywood, Julia Roberts, Madonna, photographer, photography, Richard Gere, supermodels, Vanity Fair

Art, Style & Culture: Paris Between the Wars

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

Paris Between the Wars: A Cultural Crucible

A brilliant new book, Paris Between the Wars, 1919-1939: Art, Life & Culture by Vincent Bouvet and Gérard Durozoi from The Vendome Press explores the myriad cultural forces which collided in the City of Light during the two decades between World Wars I and II. Over those 20 years artists and intellectuals flocked to Paris from around the world, resulting in a crucible of creativity that wrought great achievements in fashion, graphic design, architecture, literature, fine arts, theater and more. Illustrated with hundreds of paintings, drawings, archival photographs, advertising posters, film stills, and plans, the book travels between the bohemian charms of Montparnasse, which attracted artists such as Picasso, Chagall, and Giacometti, and the vibrant café culture which provided a forum and hunting ground for Dadaists, Surrealists and expatriate writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald.

Gallery: Paris Between the Wars

Tags: architecture, art, books, coffee table books, culture, fashion, France, Hemingway, literature, Paris, paris+between+the+wars, parisbetweenthewars, photographs, Picasso

Jerry Schatzberg's Timeless Beauties

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

Photographer and filmmaker Jerry Schatzberg did more than just chronicle the fashion and celebrity scenes of the '50s and '60s – he was a part of the action. Perhaps best known for the cover of Bob Dylan's 1966 album Blonde on Blonde, The Classicist covered his groundbreaking work for Esquire at the Paris fashion shows in 1962 in this 2008 column. His journalistic, documentary style ran counter to the usual carefully-posed fashion shoots of the time and influenced many to come. A conoisseur of gorgeous women with an unmatched eye for beauty, Schatzberg's alluring new book Women Then: Photographs 1954 - 1969, pays homage to 15 years of favorites. Featured in the lavish volume are the likes of Nico, Edie Sedgwick, Sharon Tate, Catherine Deneuve and Faye Dunaway, to whom he was once engaged. It also contains a few surpises, including the Rolling Stones dressed in drag.

Tags: art books, Bob Dylan, books, Catherine Deneuve, coffee table books, Edie Sedgwick, fashion, Faye Dunaway, Jerry Schatzberg, Photographer, photography, Rolling Stones

The Classicist: The Year's Best Luxe Books

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books, The Classicist

Followers of The Classicist, the weekly column devoted to timeless style, enduring elegance, and true, built-to-last luxury as opposed to mere extravagance, are familiar with the fact that we take pains to search out every season's most luxurious books and bring you exclusive glimpses. 2010 was a particularly good year for top-drawer tomes; if you've any space left in your library we suggest you stock up on the following titles which we declare to be the best of the best from those that made our grade in 2010. Featuring our favorite subjects ranging from Savile Row to classic Louis Vuitton luggage, high equestrian style to high society, and classic architecture to the perfection that is is Porsche, this is a chance to catch up on the must-have volumes you might have missed.

Topping the list are our two favorites, Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks (Abrams) and Bespoke: The Men's Style of Savile Row (Rizzoli), both dealing with icons of luxe style, the first a legendary French luggage firm, the second a street synonymous with the world's best men's tailoring. Can you imagine anything better than a suite of Vuitton trunks full of Savile Row suits? Didn't think so. While you're busy assembling a collection these books are the next best thing. Men's style also comes into play in two other titles on our can't-miss list, the bible of Ivy League style Take Ivy (powerHouse) and We Want Miles: Miles Davis vs. Jazz (Skira Rizzoli). They're more closely related than you might think; the jazz legend had a not-so-hidden passion for preppy finery in his early years, while Take Ivy's title is a reference to jazz.

Gallery: The Best Luxe Books of 2010

Tags: Abrams, architecture, books, coffee table books, equestrian, Flammarion, jazz, Louis Vuitton, luggage, mens style, Miles Davis, Paris, Porsche, Rizzoli, Savile Row, Scotland, Take Ivy, teNeues, The Classicist

Continue reading “The Classicist: The Year's Best Luxe Books”

The Classicist: Inside the Embassies & Historic Mansions of Paris

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books, The Classicist, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Very rarely do any of Paris' remaining private palaces come on the market; when they do the properties invariably rank among the world's most expensive, such as the 1912 mansion built for the Duchesse de Montmorency recently listed at $140 million that we told you about back in November. The reason there is so little movement among these magnificent monuments to wealth lining the famed city's storied avenues is that most are occupied as embassies and ambassadorial residences. An equally magnificent new book, Historic Houses of Paris: Residences of the Ambassadors from Flammarion by Alain Stella with photography by Francis Hammond offers a guided tour of 22 of these amazing edifices, some seen for the first time, most originally built for members of the aristocracy and now the setting for lavish diplomatic entertainments and intrigues.

Gilded halls, formal sitting rooms, stately dining rooms, paneled libraries, perfectly landscaped gardens, chambers filled with rare antiques, luxurious wallcoverings and private living quarters are all examined in delectable detail, in mansions ranging from a 17th-century hôtel particulier to a Belle Epoque palace and even a couple more contemporary examples, now occupied by the ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, China, India and more. The cover (above) depicts the Sicilian theater of the incredible Italian Ambassador 's residence, aka the Hotel de la Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, built in 1732. Some, like the Indian Ambassador's residence, aka the Hotel de Marlborough built in 1910 by architect René Sergent, who also designed Claridge's in London and Rome's Grand Hotel, are named for famous former owners; in this case the Duchess of Marlborough, aka Consuelo Vanderbilt, one of the world's richest and most beautiful women at the time.

Gallery: Historic Houses of Paris

Hotel d'Avaray (Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Tags: antiques, architecture, aristocrats, Belle Epoque, books, coffee table books, decor, embassy, estates, France, historic houses, mansion, Paris, politics, real estate, wealth

Continue reading “The Classicist: Inside the Embassies & Historic Mansions of Paris”

Inside the World of Famed Design House Fornasetti

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Books, Architecture & Design

With an incredible 3,000 photographs and illustrations, Rizzoli's massive new monograph on iconic Italian design house Fornasetti is a work of art in itself. Fornasetti: The Complete Universe details how the firm's founder Piero Fornasetti (1913–1988) achieved fame transforming everyday objects into works of art featuring idiosyncratic designs. His work is carried on today by his son Barnaba Fornasetti, who now runs the Fornasetti atelier and authored the impressive volume. Designed to be an "artist's book" that reflects Fornasetti's iconic overall approach to design, the slipcased $250 monograph is divided into two sections: the first half is dedicated to Piero Fornasetti as an artist and highlights his pictorial and graphic work and their artistic applications; the second half focuses on the 70-plus years of the atelier's production.

This includes furniture, sculptures and etchings, graphics, textiles, glass, screens, trays, ceramics, and more. The second section covers the activity of the atelier up to the present day as well. The book also addresses Barnaba's commitment to keeping the Fornasetti legacy alive by showing how Piero's ideas and models are "transformed, reworked, and contextualized." Today the Fornasetti atelier not only reissues historical pieces, but also "offers reinterpretations of themes and objects drawing inspiration from the vast repertory of the atelier's archive of lithographic plates, designs, notes, documents, and objects." Finally, the beautiful and comprehensive book includes a list of exhibitions and a register of the atelier's complete works.

Gallery: Fornasetti: The Complete Universe

Curved chest of drawers, Palladiana (Palladian Motif)

Piero Fornasetti with the Braccio con moneta (Arm with a Coin) tray

Plate 150 from Tema e Variazioni (Theme and Variations) series

Tags: books, coffee table books, decor, design, Fornasetti, furniture, Italy, photographs, Rizzoli

Ermenegildo Zegna Celebrates a Century of Style

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Books, Men's Style

The subtitle of a lavish new book on Ermenegildo Zegna – An Enduring Passion for Fabrics, Innovation, Quality and Style – is an apt description of the Italian luxury men's fashion house's core values. Celebrating the famed firm's 100th anniversary, the book from Skira is divided into four chapters – Mind, Hand, Style and Environment – exploring the origins and values of the brand and the four generations of family members who have made it a success story while remaining committed to the concept of "ethical expansion". As evidence of the latter, Ermenegildo Zegna is donating 20% of the retail sales of the book to the children's educational charity Care & Share.

Each chapter is introduced by noted international writers and accompanied by images that retrace the history of the Zegna brand, from ad campaigns to previously unpublished images. "Today we celebrate one hundred years since the foundation of our Group and we look towards future global developments," notes the company's CEO Ermenegildo Zegna, "as it is our duty to continue to represent the values of excellence and Italian quality all around the world. This is the heritage that our grandfather left us: savoir faire in craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and loyalty to our ethical founding values." See the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: 100 Years of Ermenegildo Zegna

Tags: ad campaigns, books, coffee table books, Ermenegildo Zegna, fashion, Italian fashion, Italy, mens style, Zegna

Miranda Kerr, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley & More Go Nude at Necker Island

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

The world's sexiest new supermodels pose sans clothes at Richard Branson's Necker Island paradise in a massive new monograph from famed photographer Russell James. V2 from uber-luxe publisher teNeues showcases the girls James believes will be the superstars of the new era, including Miranda Kerr, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Candice Swanepoel and Brooklyn Decker (on the cover, above). The Australian lensman, a connoisseur of the female form, has shot numerous ad campaigns for Victoria's Secret as well as sizzling spreads for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. In V2 he presents the gifted goddesses in the natural splendor of Necker Island, Vrigin mogul Richard Branson's luxe tropical retreat. We're sure Branson was only too happy to play host to the bevy of naked beauties. See the gallery for an SFW preview (you'll have to buy the book to get the full treatment).

Gallery: Russell James: V2

Tags: books, Brooklyn Decker, Candice Swanepoel, coffee table books, Island, Miranda Kerr, models, Necker Island, nude, photography, Richard Branson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Russell James, supermodels, teNeues, Victorias Secret

The Classicist: Inside a Hundred Legendary Louis Vuitton Trunks

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Books, The Classicist

Since 1854, when Monsieur Louis Vuitton opened his first store in Paris, his name has been synonymous with the ultimate in luxurious luggage. His incredible trunks with their now iconic canvas coverings, introduced that same year, combined pragmatism and elegance and were "perfectly adapted to the current means of transport and changes in the lives of his clients." That's the basis of the best luxury book of the year, Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks, just published by Abrams, Illustrated with 600 images taken from the Louis Vuitton archives in France and new, specially-commissioned photographs. From trains and ocean liners to the earliest automobiles and even hot air balloons, on journeys to all corners of the globe, the Vuitton trunk has crossed time and borders and remains an icon of the golden age of travel, epitomizing the glamour and elegant decadence of an era when journeying to a foreign land involved adventure, romance and style.

The trunks featured in the incredible book are "extraordinary in every way, for a hundred reasons," writes Patrick-Louis Vuitton, the fifth-generation descendant of Monsieur Vuitton who is now in charge of bespoke orders for the firm, "as much for what they carried as for the work, the care, the inventiveness and the ingenuity required to make them." The 100 featured trunks are divided into five sections according to the people who owned them: Explorers & Adventurers, Crowned Heads & Aristocrats, Dandies & Fashionable Ladies, Artists & Scholars, and Hedonists & Eccentrics. Many a Maharaja, actors from Douglas Fairbanks to Sharon Stone, couturiers from Jeanne Lanvin to Karl Lagerfeld, as well as the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Leopold Stokowski, and Damien Hirst have all traveled with Louis Vuitton trunks, often customized in various ways.

Gallery: Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks

The Complete Wardrobe made for Sacha Guitry, 1913

The volume of a Louis Vuitton trunk can be defined by the nature of its contents, the means of transport, its handling, etc.

The Mail Trunk made for Paul Poiret 1911

Tags: Abrams, Aristocrats, bespoke, books, coffee table books, exotic leather, France, Louis Vuitton, luggage, luxury goods, luxury travel, LVMH, Maharaja, Paris, travel, trunks

Continue reading “The Classicist: Inside a Hundred Legendary Louis Vuitton Trunks”

The Classicist: Celebrating a Century of Style Icons

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Books, Men's Style

Cary Grant, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, Tom Ford and David Beckham have all had an undeniably important influence on the world of men's style – but what about Truman Capote, Che Guevara, the Sex Pistols and Jarvis Cocker? They all deserve credit as well, argues Simone Werle in a cool, lavishly illustrated new book called Fashionisto: A Century of Style Icons from Prestel. Werle names 50 figures from the last 100 years who have had an impact not only on the way men choose to adorn themselves but how they act and as well. She dubs them "fashionistos", the male equivalent of the famous fashionista. What makes a man a fashionisto? "Swagger, elegance, daring, perhaps a really well cut suit," the author notes, but not always – see Oscar Wilde, Johnny Depp and Kurt Cobain.

Each icon is featured in a double page spread with glossy full-color photographs and Werle's acute observations, anecdotes, and historical insight. While you may not have personally felt the sartorial influence of Boy George or Bootsy Collins, Werle makes a compelling case for their inclusion. She divides the book into sections according to the various styles or fashion phylum represented: The Gentlemen, The Rebels, The Dandies, The Rock Stars, The Classics, The Fashion Designers, The Beautiful People, The Bands and The Extraterrestrials.

"Fashionistos like fashionistas choose clothing that accentuates their best parts, not only of their bodies but also their personalities," Werle writes. "Both know when to follow the rules of style and when to break them. And both have the courage to stay who they are. But all the same, there is a huge difference. Men have a much easier time in fashion – and yet a much more difficult one." How so, you ask? "Classic men's fashion has very clear-cut rules; if you follow them, you can't go wrong. The man who doesn't look good in a custom-made suit of ﬁne fabric has yet to be born," she notes. "But to make a mark on the history of style, more is needed – and this is where it gets tricky. Men's fashion does not suffer rebels gladly. If you have the courage to rebel, you need self-conﬁdence – and more than that, a sense of style."

Gallery: Fashionisto: A Century of Style Icons

Tags: bespoke, books, Cary Grant, coffee table books, David Beckham, fashion, James Dean, Johnny Depp, male+style+icons, malestyleicons, mens style, Steve McQueen, style, suits, Tom Ford, Truman Capote

Continue reading “The Classicist: Celebrating a Century of Style Icons”

An Aristocrat's View of Ireland's Great Country Houses

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books

The country houses of Ireland are not as well known and celebrated as those of England, yet no serious student of the form can afford to miss what are undoubtedly some of the most stunning examples on the Emerald Isle. Ten exquisite Irish country estates are given lavish treatment in The Irish Country House, a beautiful new book by Irish aristocrat the Knight of Glin – whose own castle is among the finest – and James Peill from the Vendome Press. All of the historical houses and castles featured in the book are still owned and lived in by the original families, an increasing rarity, and many have never been published before. Specially commissioned photographs by James Fennell show grand but inviting living rooms, hallways lined with hunting prints, well-trampled mudrooms and richly-furnished libraries. The decor of the houses has "evolved over generations, furnished with heirlooms and cherished hand-me-downs, exuding the mossy scent of peat fires", full of telling details capturing the distinctive personalities of the colorful inhabitants whose stories are recounted in the text.

Gallery: The Irish Country House

Tags: aristocrat, books, castles, coffee table books, country house, English country house, estates, historic houses, Ireland, UK

Great Art in Great Books of 2010

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

Asian Art Now by Melissa Chiu and Benjamin Genocchio (Monacelli Press, $60)
Chiu is the Museum Director of Asia Society in New York. Genocchio is an art critic for the New York Times. Together they have written an up-to-the-second survey of contemporary Asian art. Throughout this lavishly illustrated book, the authors reflect on the conflicted responses of artists, both established and emerging, to the super-fast changes in their lives. The book is fascinating primarily because the Asian landscape is changing so rapidly. This forces artists to confront these changes and examine the impact on their social, economic, and urban culture and environment. The front cover is just one example of the dynamic work the two authors examine. It is an illustration of Ah Xian's China, China ---Bust 14, a cast porcelain with traditional Chinese ceramic designs and motifs.

Tags: American nudes, art books, billy baldwin, coffee table books, Fornasetti, henri matisse, Hokusai, Indonesian textiles, Jung, Matisse

Continue reading “Great Art in Great Books of 2010”

Luxist Giveaway: Living Jewels Book

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Books

Today's giveaway is a little gift for jewelry lovers, especially those who like the unusual. Living Jewels: Masterpieces from Nature by Ruth Peltason is a new lavishly illustrated book just published by The Vendome Press. The book gives due homage to organic materials used in jewelry. The book is full of images of jewelry crafted from pearls, shells, amber, coral, wood, horn and more. The book covers both historical pieces from top jewelry designers including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Tiffany, Fabergé, Bulgari as well as the work of newer artists such as Mesi Jilly and Christine Brandt, all displayed in beautiful images on rich, glossy paper. Peltason is a jewelry writer who was the editor of Elizabeth Taylor's book on her famous diamonds, Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry and her words convey a genuine enthusiasm and interest in the world of jewelry and the role it plays in our shared cultural history.

Kate Spade said of this book: "For those of us who consider jewelry part of enduring style, Living Jewels is a must. Here's a book that is welcoming and inspiring, and a tribute to the artists who have made these exquisite pieces. Living Jewels is a book I'll treasure."

The book sells for $50 and we are giving away one copy to a reader chosen at random.

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before December 20, 2010 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive a copy of Living Jewels: Masterpieces from Nature by Ruth Peltason, which has a retail price of $50.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.

See complete giveaway rules here.

This contest is now closed. Thank you for your participation.

Tags: art books, coffee table book, coffee table books, jewelry, jewelry designers, JewelryDesigners, luxist giveaway

Coffee table books

Featured Galleries

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular

Also on AOL