book

"The Godfather Family Album," Limited Edition

Filed under: Books

Everyone knows someone who loves The Godfather. Here's a gift idea for the true fan: "The Godfather Family Album" is a pictorial book with never-before-seen photos from the sets of all three films, taken from photographer Steve Schapiro's archives. This edition is limited to 1,000 copies, each numbered and signed by Schapiro. Also included are background articles and interviews about the films. This lavish, leather-bound book allows fans a privileged peek behind the scenes in the making of film history. Edited by Paul Duncan; color and black/white; hardcover plus box; 29 x 44 cm (11.4 x 17.3 in.); 444 pages; $700.

[Thanks, Ben]

Tags: Book, Books, Godfather, The Godfather, TheGodfather

Michelangelo Book Features Marble Cover

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

I've covered many expensive books over the years but there aren't too many like "Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano" the new book by Italian publisher FMR. The book measures 18 by 28 inches and weighs a backbreaking 61 pounds. Why so heavy? The cover is a marble carving of a replica of the Madonna della Scala encased in a velvet binding. Inside there are reproductions of drawings by Michelangelo, photographs by Italian photographer Aurelio Amendola and writings on Michelangelo spanning centuries of scholarship. The book commemorates the 500th anniversary of the start of Michelangelo's work on the Sistine chapel. You can see the book at the New York Public Library's Bill Blass Public Catalog Room from Dec. 2-8. Or, if you have the money and sturdy shelves you can pick up one of your own from the limited edition of 99 for $130,000.

[via LA Times Jacket Copy]

Gallery: The Pricey Tomes

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Tags: book, marble, michelangelo

Milkweed Editions Inc., Charity of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Charity of the Day

Milkweed Editions Inc. was founded in 1979 in Minnesota with the intention of "making a humane impact on society." The independent non-profit publishing house puts out 12 - 20 new books each year and strives to use literature's unique ability to reach people and change their thinking to make the world a better place. They support writing creations of all kinds (fiction, nonfiction, children's, poetry) as long as it conveys a message in keeping with their mission of the essence of the human heart and spirit.

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Tags: book, books, charity, charity of the day, CharityOfTheDay, literature, milkweed, milkweed editions, milkweed editions inc, MilkweedEditions, MilkweedEditionsInc, publish, publishing, reading

Biblioteca Bookrack: From Two Tables Comes One Shelf

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art, Books

Designer Matt Carr found found two vintage coffee tables and was inspired to create a bookrack for his own home. Earning points for recycling and keepin' it green (possibly saving the tables from the landfill), he configured them into the Biblioteca Bookrack, offered by Umbra.

The shelves have a natural mahogany top and black lacquered legs. Dimensions: 44" x 37" x 11" (111 cm x 93 cm x 20 cm).

$525 on the Umbra site, but pssst, Unica Home offers it for $500.

See the gallery below for more views.

Gallery: Biblioteca Bookrack

Tags: book, bookrack, books, bookshelf, Matt Carr, MattCarr, umbra

Superchef to Publish Superbook

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Heston Blumenthal from world-renowned The Fat Duck in Bray, England is known for his expensive and innovative cuisine and now one of the world's best chef is creating one of the world's priciest cookbooks. He is partnering with the jewelry company Asprey to created a limited edition £1,000 luxury leather-bound book. The book will also come with two surprise 'silver gifts' from Asprey. The Independent reports that in spite of a weakening global economy luxury books are still big business. We've certainly seen more than a few, check out some examples in the gallery below.

Gallery: The Pricey Tomes

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Tags: asprey, book, cookbook, expire-images2009-4-19, fat duck, FatDuck, heston blumenthal, superbook

Books for Soldiers, Charity of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity of the Day

Whether or not you support the reasons and politics behind why our troops are deployed, the troops themselves always deserve our support to make their service more pleasant and bearable. Books for Soldiers is a non-profit corporation that sends books to soldiers to help alleviate some of the boredom they face when isolated on bases in foreign countries and facing massive amounts of downtime. It's a great way to get rid of books you've already read (instead of taking them to a used book store) or why not buy the soldiers some books brand new? They certainly deserve it.

Thanks for the tip, Chad!

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Tags: book, books, books for soldiers, BooksForSoldiers, charity, iraq, military, soldier, soldiers, war

Fill a Bookshelf "by the Foot"

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

It seems like I barely have time to read anything anymore that isn't online, but I still love books. Bookshelves of books are relaxing and interesting, and they bring extra depth to a room's decor. The best thing is an established home with an established library of books, but what if you're just starting out or are completely redoing the interior design of a room? It could take years to find and collect the right kind of books if you do it yourself, but if you go through New York City Strand Bookstore you can order custom designed books by the foot. Looking for a collection of old leather-bound classics? Or maybe a bookshelf full of your favorite hobby? You can spend as little as $10 per foot (for a random mix) or as much as $400 per foot (for 19th century antique leather hardcovers).

I think it would be fun! Kind of like a big grab bag of books.

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Tags: book, books, bookshelf, bookshelves, by the foot, ByTheFoot, decor

The World of Rare Books: The Gutenberg Bible, First and Most Valuable

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

There are countless rare books in the world, but by most expert's standards the rarest of them all is the Gutenberg Bible. It was the first book ever printed back in 1456, and although several hundred copies were originally printed finding a complete first edition would net you $25-$35 million. In today's market single pages alone go for $25,000 each, and several years ago just 1 volume (it's a 2 volume set) sold for $5.5 million.

Besides the Gutenberg Bible other rare books include the first edition of Shakespeare's collected works from 1623 (worth $6 million), a collection of Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts (potentially worth as much as $100 million), and of course any first edition copy of the Declaration of Independence (worth $8 million). Edgar Allen Poe's work also makes in onto the "rarest books" list with his first published poem ("Tamerlane") being rare and difficult to find due to a byline of simply "By A Bostonian." It's worth as much as $200,000 to the right buyer.

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Tags: Bible, book, books, Declaration of Independence, DeclarationOfIndependence, Edgar Allen Poe, EdgarAllenPoe, first edition, FirstEdition, Gutenberg, rare, rarest, Shakespeare, the rare, TheRare

David Beckham Buys Victoria A Book For Christmas

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping

A few weeks ago, we learned that Victoria Beckham had bought her kids a Neiman Marcus treehouse for Christmas, now The Sun reports that David Beckham has bought his wife a book for Christmas. Now a book may not sound like much of a present, especially for Victoria, who, although she has authored a couple of books, famously claimed in 2005 never to have read one, but this is no ordinary book. David bought Victoria Una Grande Storia Italiana - Valentino Garavani, a fabulous new book from Taschen which celebrates the designer. 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. At least if Victoria doesn't read it she can check out the pretty pictures.

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Tags: book, christmas presents, ChristmasPresents, david beckham, holidash, valentino, victoria beckham, VictoriaBeckham

Rowling Book Sells For Nearly $4 Million

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Charity

J.K. Rowling's latest book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, just went up for auction and ended up making nowhere near the amount expected. The last of 7 handwritten editions of the book (which will not be published) was expected to go for around $100,000, so I'm sure there were some pleasantly surprised faces when bidding closed just shy of $4 million dollars.

The money will be donated to The Children's Voice, a charity that campaigns for the rights of children in Europe and was co-founded by Rowling and Baroness Nicholson back in 2005. In response to the auction's end Rowling was "ecstatic" and was quoted as saying "It means Christmas has come early to me this year."

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Tags: book, J.K. Rowling, J.k.Rowling, JK Rowling, JkRowling, literature, Rowling, Tales of Beedle the Bard, TalesOfBeedleTheBard

Jeff Koons Art Book

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

If you can't afford one of Jeff Koons's monumental works you can content yourself, or the art lover on your holiday list, with a book on his workds. The Jeff Koons monograph includes a catalog of his work which is organized to tell his story through pictures. There are 100 limited art edition copies with an original artwork by the artist. The book is 606 pages and measures a hefty 13" x 17¼". It sells for $1,000.

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Tags: book, christmas gift, coffee table book, holidash, jeff koons, JeffKoons

Tolkien Limited Edition Novel: The Children of H�rin

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

If you or someone on your Christmas list is a fan of famed author J.R.R. Tolkien then this might be the perfect thing: the first new story by Tolkien in over 30 years available in a luxury limited edition of 500 copies. Called The Children of Húrin, the story is set in a time well before that of The Lord of the Rings and was edited from various manuscripts by Tolkien's son Christopher.

Each edition is signed and numbered by Christopher Tolkien and Oscar winner Alan Lee and comes hand bound in the finest leather with a hand-sewn spine for the ultimate in beauty and durability. £350

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Tags: book, books, gift, gifts, holidash, Lord of the Rings, LordOfTheRings, novel, The Children of Huron, TheChildrenOfHuron, tolkein, tolkien

The Maltese Falcon Gets Its Own Book

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

The Maltese Falcon, the amazing clipper yacht created by Tom Perkins has gotten its own coffee table book. The Maltese Falcon: Art of Innovation is a 240-page book full of lush photography and tells the story of the creation of this gorgeous yacht which was a labor of love for Perkins. The 287-foot yacht has three masts which can rotate depending on the wind direction. Just how was the $100 million it took to build this yacht spent? The book goes into the long hard journey from design to launch. The book however, will only run you £55. The book is a limited edition of 5000.

[via Superyacht Times]

Related: It looks like Perkins' house in Belvedere, CA is still on the market. It was our estate of the day back in October of 2006 and is listed at $20.5 million.

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Tags: book, maltese falcon, MalteseFalcon, tom perkins, yacht

Valentino's Fashionable New Book

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

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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Tags: book, designer, fashion, taschen, valentino

Diamond Book For Russia's Big Spenders

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Preferred

A regular edition of Roger Shashoua's book Dancing with the Bear: A Serial Entrepreneur Goes East can be had for around $30. But somehow it seems fitting that a book about getting seriously rich should also come in a seriously rich edition. How does £3m strike you? That is what British entrepreneur Shashoua is hoping to fetch for the made-to-order "oligarch" edition of his book, which features over 600 flawless diamonds on the cover.

The book, said to be the most expensive in the world, is touted as a how-to guide for entrepreneurs looking to follow in Shashoua's footsteps and make big money in post-Soviet Russia. Shashoua knows of what he speaks - he is the co-founder of ITE, which trades on the London Stock Exchange with a market value of more than £500m.

It seems to me that those who could actually afford this special edition book probably don't need the advice. But Shashoua hopes the wealthy Russian ex-pats who might buy it won't just stash it in the safe. "I can only hope that oligarchs will read the book, rather than just keeping it locked away," he says.

[via bornrich]

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Tags: book, dancing with the bear, DancingWithTheBear, diamond, diamond book, DiamondBook, entrepreneur, oligarch, Roger Shashoua, RogerShashoua, russia, shashoua, soviet russia, SovietRussia