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Taschen

Hugh Hefner's $1300, Six-Volume Autobiography

Filed under: Books


In September, Taschen will publish Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's illustrated biography in six volumes, combined with a chronological selection of highlights from the seminal men's magazine's first 25 years (1953 to 1979). Limited to 1,500 numbered and signed copies, the six-volume set comes packaged in a luxurious plexiglass box and costs $1,300. Beginning with Hef's youth and his boyhood comic collection and ending with the height of Playboy's success, the anthology is billed as "the most probing and intimate portrait of Hefner ever made."

Hefner's extensive participation and the inclusion of a wealth of memorabilia from his personal scrapbooks set this anthology apart from other Playboy books. The six volumes contain over 700 pages of autobiographical text about Hef's youth, army days, first attempts as a cartoonist, early career, girlfriends, and Playboy's launch, illustrated by original Hefner artwork and cartoons, correspondence, and a huge selection of archival photos, many previously unpublished.

Ltd. Edition Complete Works of Jean Nouvel

Filed under: Books


The complete works of Jean Nouvel, France's most unique and internationally celebrated contemporary architect and winner of the 2008 Pritzker Prize, are featured in a new limited edition book. Restricted to 1,000 signed and numbered copies, the two volume set (above) is packaged in a translucent plexiglass slipcase specially designed by Nouvel and priced at $700. Nouvel worked for five years together with author Philip Jodidio to assemble this monograph, published by Taschen. Each volume features 400 pages of completed projects and works in progress, such as the new Louvre in Abu Dhabi, the Philharmonie de Paris, and the extension of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. All of the book's graphic design and images were conceived and selected by the architect himself.

Luxury Living by the Sea

Filed under: Decor


A really great, oversized design book with beautifully-reproduced images can sometimes actually transport you to another place. Such is the case with a new volume titled New Seaside Interiors, edited by Angelika Taschen, which is anything but a mishmash of coastal clichés. Forget what you think you know about nautical décor; with examples of brilliant seaside design on all five continents, from Iceland to Chile, the architecture in this book harmonizes with the ocean in ways that go far beyond sprinkling a few seashells around the guest bath. From fashion designer Pierre Cardin's Bond villain-style floating house in St. Tropez to Dolce & Gabbana's eye-popping seaside villas in Italy, this is the né plus ultra of seaside style. See the gallery for more.

Richard Meier's Modern Masterpieces

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books, Real Estate Developments


Photo by Scott Frances / Esto

Every edifice ever built by rationalist architect Richard Meier -- and then some - is featured in a new mega monograph about to be published by Taschen: Richard Meier & Partners: Complete Works 1963-2008. The extra-large $150 volume showcases Meier's entire career to date, including such stunning commissions as the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the City Hall and Library at the Hague and the beauteous Southern California beach house pictured above. Meier, one of the world's top architects - or "starchitects" as he and a select few of his contemporaries such as Frank Gehry and Rem Koolhaas are known - has an insatiable appetite for large swaths of white, but it works (to say the least). Meier will be at Taschen's New York store to sign copies on June 3rd from 6 - 8 p.m. You can preview the book in the gallery below.

Valentino's Fashionable New Book

Filed under: Art


've seen high-priced books from Gucci and Chanel recently and now Valentino gets the deluxe treatment. Una Grande Storia Italiana - Valentino Garavani is a new book from Taschen. The book comes in a silk-covered clamshell box that is tinted in Valentino red. Inside, the 738-page book includes drawings, magazine shoots, advertisements, portraits of Valentino, and documentary photographs. The text includes Vanity Fair writer Matt Tyrnauer's interviews with twenty of Valentino's collaborators and friends and a tribute to Valentino by fashion writer Suzy Menkes. The Collector's Edition is limited to 2,000 individually numbered copies, each signed by Valentino and sells for $1,000.

[via Vogue UK]


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