Kraken Opus

Magnum Opus: The $40,000 Ferrari Book

UK ultra-luxury publisher Kraken Opus, known for using real blood in some of their outlandish tomes, plans to charge $40,000 for a forthcoming book on Ferrari. The epic volume, which will be limited to just 399 copies, is signed by all living Ferrari champion racing drivers. The text is contributed by the world's finest automotive writers and interviewers, accompanied by hundreds of rare and previously unpublished archival images, including unseen pictures of Enzo Ferrari's villa and action inside Formula One racing pits, along with specially-commissioned photographs and illustrations. Opus uses special color processes and only the highest grade paper stocks, and each book is individually hand-bound and designed to stand the test of time and increase in value. A hedge-fund manager has already ordered 20 copies of the book (or $800,000 worth) and will pay Kraken a quarterly fee to store them in a climate-controlled facility, Karl Fowler, CEO of parent company Opus Media Group, tells the Wall St. Journal. Of course, for $40,000 you could buy a real Ferrari, albeit an older model like a 308 or Mondial.

Tags: books, coffee table books, Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari, Formula One, Kraken Opus, motor racing, publisher, racing, supercar, UK

$75,000 Book Contains Subject's Blood

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Books

Kraken Opus has put out some pretty lavish books but the most recent is a bit macabre. The coffee table book dedicated to Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar contains something special, a pint of his blood was mixed with paper pulp to create the signature page for the book dedicated to his career. The special page appears in 10 limited-edition copies, which cost $75,000 each and according to the WSJ, have already sold out. The Tendulkar Opus website explains that the purpose of this is that Sachin's DNA profile is actually meant to help trace his genealogy. This is the second time a Kraken Opus book has been dedicated to a single person, the first was soccer legend Diego Maradona. The Tendulkar Opus is close to 800 pages and took almost three years to complete. The book will be released next February .

Tags: CoffeeTable, CoffeeTableBook, CoffeeTableBooks, kraken opus, luxury books, Sachin Tendulkar

Michael Jackson Opus Goes On Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The Official Michael Jackson Opus, a massive 38-pound tome has gone on sale. The book was endorsed by Jackson's estate and includes many portraits of Michael Jackson including a portrait in which he is painted by David Nordahl as a statue surrounded by children dressed as angels. The book also features many Jackson photographs, copies of song lyrics and personal remembrances of the people who knew him best and were inspired by his work including Reverend Jesse Jackson, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Paula Abdul, John Landis, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jimmy Jam, Spike Lee, Teddy Riley, Jane Fonda and many more. The book sells for $249.

Another piece of Michael Jackson art, a Kehinde Wiley piece showing Michael Jackson on horseback dressed in royal garb sold at Art Basel Miami Beach for $175,000. The image is after the jump.

Tags: kehinde wiley, KehindeWiley, kraken opus, KrakenOpus, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, opus books, OpusBooks

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Weighty Luxury Wine Book Will Come With Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Books

There are plenty of coffee table books on wine but the one planned by luxury publisher Kraken Opus will require a very sturdy table. The Wine Opus will list the top 100 wineries but will weigh over 60 pounds. The book will cost and estimated £600,000 but that includes a six-bottle case of wine from every one of the 100 wineries listed, as well an invitation to visit some of them. Decanter says that only 100 copies will be made and 25 have already been pre-ordered. The list of wineries will be determined by sommeliers and wine experts and chef Marco Pierre White will also be involved in the launch. The book will be released next year.

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Tags: coffee table books, CoffeeTableBooks, kraken opus, krakenopus, vineyards, wine

A Lavish Look At The Haj

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

The haj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, gets grand treatment in the form of a $10 million movie called "Journey to Mecca" and an accompanying coffee table book from luxury publisher Kraken Opus. The movie was shot in IMAX, is narrated by Ben Kingsley and follows 14th-century Arabian explorer Ibn Battuta on his first holy pilgrimage of haj in 1325. The world premiere took place at the Emirates Palace hotel.

The book will include more than 2,500 photographs, poetry and artwork related to the haj and will cost more than $3 million to complete. It will cost around $4,000 a copy and unlike other Opus books it is not a limited edition. The goal is to have a book in every mosque around the world. The book will be released during Ramadan this year. The first copy of the book will be auctioned off for charity.

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Tags: haj, kraken opus, KrakenOpus, mecca, opus