For your reading and viewing pleasure we present the second in a series looking back at highlights from the first year of The Classicist, the weekly column devoted to timeless style, enduring elegance, and true, built-to-last luxury as opposed to mere extravagance. For our second installment we sum up the best in luxe books, featuring our favorite subjects ranging from high equestrian style to classic architecture, historic estates, high society, jetsetters, megayachts and more. No truly luxurious library is complete without these volumes.


1. Equestrian Style: Home Design, Couture, and Collections from the Eclectic to the Elegant by Vicky Moon (Clarkson Potter)

Moon divides her volume into different facts of the equestrian experience: In the Field, On the Farm, At the Track, In the Ring, On the Move, and Down the Road, focusing on all facets of horsiness and everything that goes along with it. The emphasis is on authenticity, not affectation; she notes all that's really required is a "basic love of horses" but opines that actually riding them gives one a much stronger connection. True equestrian style, she writes, is "more than a feisty, wet Jack Russell terrier, a pair of Wellington boots and a tweed jacket. It goes beyond hanging a hunting print in the dining room wall to actually leaping over a stone wall on your favorite hunter. An unspoken equestrian philosophy surpasses wearing an Hermes scarf; it celebrates riding over jumps in an Hermes saddle."


2. The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills by Jeffrey Hyland (Rizzoli)

A meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated history of 50 magnificent estates in three world-famous enclaves of the ultra-wealthy - Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and Holmby Hills - this is a definitive history of the area's most famous estates, "the architecturally spectacular homes and lavish grounds that have been home to countless celebrities and the world's richest families for almost a century." Aside from the purely visual pleasure of the photographs both old and new, Hyland explains the history and architectural importance of each estate, and tells the fascinating stories of the many famed owners, from their "passionate involvement in the design of these costly properties, to their intrigues, triumphs, calamities, and romances."


3. Great Estates: The Lifestyles & Homes of American Magnates by William G. Scheller (Universe)

This oversized, lavishly illustrated volume celebrates the history of 40 of America's true barons of business, from the 1700s through this year's Forbes list, and opens the door into their private palaces along the way. Great Estates follows the "restless careers of our most brilliant and driven merchants, industrialists, and financiers as they mastered a new economic world of textiles, railroads, oil, and steel." Men of great fortune erected massive monuments to their success, inclduing Henry Clay Frick's Manhattan mansion, now a magnificent museum; William Randolph Hearst's San Simeon in California, aka Hearst Castle; and one of our personal favorites, railroad magnate Jay Gould's gothic castle on the Hudson River, Lyndhurst and more.


4. Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts from teNeues

In the rarefied world of mega yachts, the ultimate achievement is to have one designed by a certain Norwegian genius named Espen Oeino. The world's top star in naval architecture, Oeino's megabucks creations "combine the precision of fine machinery with indulgent finishes and the high-end amenities of a palace." When German luxury publisher teNeues opted to focus a volume in its amazing Luxury Toys series to the world's greatest yachts, it was quickly decided to dedicated the entire book to Oeino. The book showcases 20 of his stellar creations, including Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's 413-ft. Octopus, the 8th largest yacht in the world and the second largest superyacht that is not owned by a head of state.


Continued after the jump.

There's only just over a week left for easy access to one of Antwerp's more hidden treasures: the Nottebohm Room. This reading room is in what used to be the City Library, recently renamed the Hendrick Conscience Library (or Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience in Flemish), for its location on Conscienceplein in the city center.

The Nottebohm Room is everything you'd imagine a traditional reading room should be, all dark wood paneling, inviting desks, and two stories of books that will bring a respectful hush over any book lover. The library's collection dates back to 1481, and includes more than a million books, with 6,000 rare books, folios and other priceless book-related artifacts, including a delicately calligraphed and illuminated history of Rome written by Eutropius . In the early 20th century, the Nottebohm Room was the gathering place for Antwerp's literati -- you can see some more pictures of it here, although the page is in Flemish.

It's my understanding that the Nottebohm Room isn't open to the public regularly, but it's currently hosting an intimate exhibit of modern hand printed books called "Mooi Marginaal", and the contrast between these modern and often whimsical works, along with the nostalgic presence of the entire sweep of publishing history is a fine reason to fit this in when you visit this jewel of a city in Flanders. The exhibit is on until June 14th, Tuesday through Sunday, and admission is free.

Know of any reclusive millionaires with an end-of-the-world obsession? If so, perhaps they might want to be aware of the auction of the Nostradamus Library of the late Daniel Ruzo held by Swann Galleries in New York. On April 23 auction, Swann will auction off the 16th to 18th century books from the Nostradamus Library, which features an admirable selection of early editions of books and prints relating to the 16th century astrologer and seer. Ruzo, a Peruvian attorney and Nostradamus scholar possessed the only known copies of the earliest extant editions including the only copy of the earliest surviving prognostication by Nostradamus which is estimated to sell for $1,500-2,500. Offerings from the library also include books by contemporary imitators, interpreters, and critics of his predictions, and related work.

Levenger has always catered to readers with their catalog of lapdesks, book bags and shelves. Now they've gone straight to the libraries for inspiration. Their Library Treasures include desk lamps similar to those used in the New York Public Library, a bag used to deliver books to the Boston Library and the simply charming library steps which are a reproduction of ones in use by the Library Company of Philadelphia, which Benjamin Franklin founded in 1731. Prices range from $28 to $498 for the line.

I've mentioned the amazing auctions held by Red Baron Antiques before. The latest one, which will take place on November 11 and 12 in Atlanta offers the usual display of antiques such as a massive bronze sculpture of Apollo and his winged chariot and a 60-foot-long wrought iron and stone fence and stained glass windows. One of the most fascinating pieces is former President Dwight D. Eisenhower's library from Boulevard Lundy in Reims, France where he lived in 1945 at the end of WWII in Europe. President Eisenhower used this room as his office and worked on the treaty of unconditional surrender within these walls. The oak paneled library is carved in high relief and has panels which open to reveal shelves. There is also a rouge marble veined mantel with fluted columns that sits under a large beveled mirror. If you've got the money and the space you can bring history into your own home.

In movies, the library shelves always seem to reach from floor-to-ceiling in 25-foot tall rooms and people need to use huge, rolling ladders to move around and locate the book they want. While most homes don't have a library system that is that daunting, floor-to-ceiling shelves are not uncommon and a small ladder or step is not a bad idea. Designed by by Konstantin Grcic, Step is a lightweight set of library steps, about 5-ft. high, that is safe and adds something of a distinguished look to even a simple library. There is a book rest at the top, so you can flip though volumes without climbing up and down. Price: £345 ($645).

Assouline's special edition of In the Spirit of Venice by Alexis Gregory is a two-book set printed on thick cotton paper with golden edges, wrapped with soft fabric and contained in a luxurious velvet box. Gregory's book is a reminiscence of the famed city as seen through the eyes of a bon vivant with the love of telling tales of the history and characters of the city. Like all of Assouline's collections, the presentation is as important as the words.  You can pick up the ordinary version for under $30 but this deluxe version will run you $300.

Courtney Love, the rock singer and widow of Kurt Cobain, has sold 25 percent of Nirvana's music library to Primary Wave Music Publishing. Though their entire catalog does not have an exact monetary value, Courtney reportedly banked $50 million for the sale of the rights. Love has closely guarded the rights to the 98% of the band's library since she inherited it upon the death of her husband, the Nirvana front man, in 1994. His former band-mates own a mere 2% of the collection, including some of the band's most famous works, like Smells like Teen Spirit.

In and out of rehab, as well as prison, for the past several years, it is likely that she decided to sell this share of Nirvana's music to cover some of her legal costs, since her money problems are well known, though she said she found managing her entire estate "overwhelming."