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Antique Collectors Club
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Hollywood Dogs showcases a fine selection of photographs taken from the famous John Kobal collection. Taken between 1920 and 1960, during the 'Golden Age of Hollywood', they feature stars including Humphrey Bogart, Buster Keaton and Audrey Hepburn posing with dogs of every shape and stature. In almost every case, these stunning photographs have never been seen before. John Kobal was an authority on Hollywood portrait photography, who established a preeminent collection of works featuring iconic stars of the day. Many of his photographs were used for publicity purposes, often featuring the stars with their dogs. This book brings together a fabulous collection of these superb black and white photographs showing some of the greatest movie stars of the twentieth century in enduring poses that you will never have seen before. |
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'Contemporary Designers' Own Gardens' offers a rare opportunity to view twenty gardens not generally open to the public.'The outstanding gardens featured in 'Contemporary Designers' Own Gardens' are all designed by innovative, influential, award-winning designers. Fascinating text and sumptuous photography profile each garden, analysing the relationship between the garden and its setting, planting schemes, the aims of the designers, and their achievements. In addition, the book examines the ways in which the designers' personalities affect their creations, and how their own gardens differ from those of their clients. 'Contemporary Designers' Own Gardens' is an inspirational, informative and beautiful work, which will appeal to anyone who is interested in landscape architecture or garden design, be they a beginner or a professional. The gardens featured belong to and have been designed by: Patrick Blanc, Fernando Caruncho, Kate Cullity, Jim Fogarty, Ludwig Gerns, Adriaan Geuze, Isabelle Greene, Bunny Guinness, Ron Lutsko, Shunmyo Masuno, Dan Pearson, Antonio Perazzi, Tony Smith, Ted Smyth, Tom Stuart-Smith, Andy Sturgeon, Jacques Wirtz, Ute Wittich, Made Wijaya and Stephen Woodhams. The book presents the gardens of designers from the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, The United States, Japan, and Indonesia. |
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El (Eleazar) Lissitzky (1890-1941) was a vital force in the revolutionary period in Russia. Having first trained in engineering and architecture and later becoming a painter and illustrator, his creative activity ranged across disciplines. This he called 'the interchange station between painting and architecture', and it made him enormously influential — as a painter, graphic designer, teacher, propagandist, exhibition designer, and also as an architectural theorist. Lissitzky had studied in Germany before the Russian Revolution, and after it he became a vital link between Soviet culture and Western art groups, travelling officially to present Soviet art in the West, but at the same time contacting many leading figures in Western art, including the De Stilj group in Holland, Dadaists in Switzerland and Germany, and artists and designers at the Bauhaus, as well as architects with international aims. He was a tireless creative force, and a determined traveller who brought many collaborative projects to a fruitful conclusion that involved connections across the political East-West division of Europe. Yet this determined and dynamic man suffered grievously from tuberculosis. From the sanatorium he still sent witty letters and drawings to his wife Sophie Lissitzky-Kuppers in Russia. In his last year he turned his abilities to designing Soviet trade fairs and, briefly, to propagandist war posters. |
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This book divides the Galle cristallerie's vast production of light fixtures into two basic categories: those created before Galle's death in 1904 and those produced by the firm from then until its closure in 1931. Curiously, many of the firm's most desirable models in today's market were introduced as late as the 1925 Exposition Universelle, Paris, still in the Art Nouveau high style at the very moment that it had been replaced by the era's ascendant Art Deco movement. |
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In 1954, a sixteen-year-old student at the Bradford College of Art opted to study lithography as part of the National Diploma in Design. His first effort, a small self-portrait printed only in a handful of impressions, marks the beginning of one of the longest and most diverse careers in modern printmaking. By turns traditional and groundbreaking, over six decades David Hockney has created graphic works of great wit, beauty and intellectual complexity. Hockney, Printmaker features over 150 works, from etchings executed at the Royal College of Art in the 1960s, to experiments with printed computer drawings some fifty years later, via portraits, pools, poetry, Xeroxes and investigations into multi-point perspective. Written by Richard Lloyd, head of prints at Christies, with contributions from Hockney's friends and associates, it explores the many achievements of Britain's greatest living practitioner of the graphic arts. |
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A fresh approach to nineteenth-century European painting; lusciously illustrated, it offers a comprehensive overview of the century's artistic innovation This extensive survey also includes biographies for each of the artists Nineteenth-Century European Painting: From Barbizon to Belle Epoque represents a comprehensive guide to the range of stylistically diverse genres of nineteenth-century European painting. Accessible and insightful, this exquisitely illustrated volume presents the historical context behind the century's essential artistic movements including Romantic Painting, The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Realist Painting, Academic Painting, and Impressionist Painting. Influenced by an overwhelming wave of political, military and social change, nineteenth-century Europe represented an era more diverse in painterly subjects and styles than any before it. Indeed, it was a period that saw many European painters moving away from the strictures of the academy system, choosing instead to use their training to develop new techniques and traditions. A collection of independent stories, this book also outlines the unique progression between the different movements, exciting and enlightening the reader about the most magnificent period of art the world has ever known. Contents: Foreword; Dr. Vern G. Swanson; Introduction; Author's Note; STYLES: The Barbizon School; Romantic Painting; Orientalist Painting; The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Realist Painting; Academic Painting; Impressionist Painting; The Newlyn School; Post-Impressionist Painting; SUBJECTS: Landscape Painting; Venetian View Painting; Maritime Painting; Sporting Painting; Animal Painting; Genre Painting; Cardinal Painting; Costume Painting; British Neoclassical Revival Painting; Belle Epoque Painting; Conclusion; Endnotes; Bibliography. Considered one of the world's foremost experts on 18th and 19th century European and American antiques, fine art and jewelry, Bill Rau has worked in his family-owned gallery, M.S Rau Antiques, for over 30 years. An avid collector and authority in his field, Bill has helped place several items in museums around the world. In addition to being a prominent member of many local business organizations, he was the youngest senior member ever accepted to the American Society of Appraisers. In addition to writing numerous articles published in a wide variety of national magazines and antique journals. |
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William Bouguereau (1825-1905) was a highly important and influential French academic painter, this is an illustrated biography of his life and works. |
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Russia's last great Imperial celebration took place at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with the lavish ball of 1913 celebrating 300 years of Romanov rule. The finest gowns, jewels, snuff boxes, porcelain and silver tableware of the Tsarist era were ostentatiously displayed then for the last time. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 brought such flamboyance to an end. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's nouveau riche have been desperate to track down and buy back their lost heritage. Works by jewellers and silversmiths to the Tsars are particularly sought after today as status symbols, with the market for pre-revolutionary decorative arts touching a wide audience — from the curators at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, to the pre-dawn bargain hunters at the Paris flea markets. Russian Decorative Arts offers an introductory guide to porcelain, glass, silver, Tula work and other base metals, orders and decorations, jewellery, objects of virtue, Faberge, lapidary, woodwork and walrus ivory. Each topic is covered in an illustrated chapter introducing the techniques, its specific Russian characteristics and an overview of the principle makers. |
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This book acts as a practical introduction to the subject of collecting British watercolour paintings. There is a lot more to collecting than noting just the price, the name of the artist and deciding whether or not one likes the subject. Many watercolours are either not signed or bear false signatures, or perhaps have been saddled with misleading attributions. The text and carefully chosen illustrations take collectors behind the formal signature on the picture and show them what to look for in it, the idiosyncrasies of the artist, his style and his individual methods of working. Yet even when all the technical points are understood there remains the whim of fashion which varies over long periods and has moved round, ignoring or praising each artist in turn. Without an understanding of the movement of fashion, past collections and ideas on collecting, it would be hard to understand the subject. |
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I Used to be in Pictures is a collection of unpublished correspondence between English born brothers, Austin and Howard Mutti-Mewse and some of the most celebrated and iconic film stars from the silent and 'golden' era of film-making. The brothers' foray into this glamorous world began with a simple fan letter to Lillian Gish, followed by another to Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. This gave rise to a wealth of letter writing. Yet, the most interesting part of this story is that these letters were written retrospectively, as raised on a diet of black and white movies, Austin and Howard's unique relationships with these screen legends developed long after the height of their celebrity, a quarter of a century after the cameras had stopped rolling, at a time when they were able to reflect back on lives lived in the spotlight. During the nineties, the brothers were entertained by stars, including Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart and Elizabeth Taylor who, thrilled at this late recognition, invited them into their homes in Hollywood, Palm Springs, Malibu, Glendale and Santa Barbara; to reminisce over afternoon tea. Accompanied by many intimate and candid photographs of screen icons both at the height of their stardom and in later years, this is a collection for anyone looking for an insider glimpse into arguably Hollywood's finest hour; a time when stars were made in black and white, when all that glittered was the sequins and the gold, a time of magic and some amazing memories. In this book Howard and Austin have captured it all... beautifully. |
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100 British Chairs depicts a selection of chairs that date from several important periods in the history of British chair design. Presented in a roughly chronological sequence, the emphasis is on early (pre-1745) and late (post-1840) periods. The presentation is also thematic, and this more accurately represents the purpose of the book, which is to illustrate some of the key developments in British chair design in the chosen periods. Design and development before 1740 were largely the work of artists and craftsmen whose names have been lost, so the chairs are mostly unattributed and arranged by type and period. The later chairs are arranged differently, highlighting the work of well-known designers of the Gothic Revival, Arts and Crafts, and other progressive British design schools. Readers wanting more detailed information can find it, together with numerous images, in the full online catalogue: www.crabtreefarmcollections.org. This will be continually developed and updated to include new research. The online catalogue also aims to be a forum for debate and the dissemination of knowledge. In this way, historic British chairs that until now were not available for study and comment can be made accessible. |
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The history of Rolex is inextricably linked to its founder Hans Wilsdorf, who took the first steps in the world of Swiss watchmaking as he dreamed about a timepiece that could be worn around the wrist. This experimental research led Rolex to achieve its highest goals in both technological innovation and in the use of the finest materials alone. Its models have been photographed on the wrists of political leaders, sports champions, and film and fashion celebrities, transforming each Rolex into a fully-fledged status symbol, a synonym of elegance and precision. Including essays with a historical and technical slant, in-depth descriptions of the most representative pieces and a brief glossary, the pages in this book sparkle with golden hands, diamond-studded dials and patent-leather watchbands, illustrated in period photographs and macro-detail. The volume ends with a chapter dedicated to the most amazing auctions that saw the sale of the Geneva-based company's vintage watches. |
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The Arts and Crafts Movement produced some remarkable furniture. Its principal designers, though not all, were architects motivated by principles of good design and honest workmanship. The results varied from the sober oak austerity of Voysey and the rural perspectives of the Cotswold School, to the exuberant inlays of Ashbee and even Morris & Co. Written by a recognised authority on the subject, Arts and Crafts Furniture examines the furniture produced by the movement's protagonists: the Guilds, the Cotswold School, the Glasgow designers, Heal, and Liberty. Starting with the seminal office of G.E. Street and ending with the effects on Ambrose Heal and Gordon Russell, the reader is taken on a colourful journey from the origins of the Movement, through its heyday, to its culmination. Indeed, it is a tour that explains how the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement became an enduring part of modern design. In this second edition of the standard work of reference the author has included new information about the movement and pieces, much of which has only recently emerged. More than sixty new illustrations have also been added, a few of them showing rare pieces of special interest, but most of them recording more of the furniture belonging to or influenced by the movement. |
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The Dress of the Year is a deluxe study of exquisite fashion from 1963 to the present, drawn from the renowned collection at the Fashion Museum, Bath. Each year, a fashion-world luminary is invited to capture the definitive moment in an international whirlwind of creative style by choosing the outfit that truly represents that year's mood in fashion. The announcement of each winner is widely covered in the British press, and the resulting Dress of the Year collection is a treasure trove of international design. Among the extraordinary roll-call of design names are Mary Quant, Jean Muir, Ossie Clark, Biba, Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, Margaret Howell, Katharine Hamnett, Giorgio Armani, John Galliano, Paul Smith, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Ralph Lauren, Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Marni, Prada, Alexander McQueen, Kate Moss for Top Shop, Vivienne Westwood and Sarah Burton. The choices are made and explained by a Who's Who of great style writers, including Felicity Green, Prudence Glynn, Beatrix Miller, Grace Coddington, Suzy Menkes, Colin McDowell, Liz Tilberis, Isabella Blow, Iain R. Webb, Alexandra Shulman, Hilary Alexander, Paula Reed and Hamish Bowles. Through specially-commissioned new photography, unseen archive material and contemporary media images, this sumptuous book reveals the Dress of The Year collection in all its glory for the first time. The book champions an important and fascinating fashion project, offering a detailed insight into our ever-changing styles and tastes since the early 1960s, and revealing the complex interplay between haute couture, celebrity endorsement and the High Street. |
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Claude Monet spent the last 43 years of his long life at Giverny, creating the paintings and gardens for which he is now revered. From the standpoint of his garden this book considers the controlling intelligence behind both landscape and art, and the influences that shaped Monet's life and vision. The artist is shown as a consummate plantsman who composed his gardens with an Impressionist's care for colour and form, re-interpreting its motifs in paintings of power and abstraction. Drawing upon the voices of Monet and his contemporaries and offering a wealth of horticultural detail, this is a fascinating celebration of a unique artistic mind. Using contemporary correspondence and plant catalogues, with over 150 illustrations including paintings, engravings and garden views from Monet's lifetime and today's magnificent recreation, this book provides a visual exploration of the gardens at Giverny where Monet celebrated his passion for painting and plants. |
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The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida owns one of the finest and most comprehensive Meissen collections in the world, outside those of the Porzellansammlung, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden and the Arnhold Collection in New York. Donated to the Museum by Ralph H. and Constance I. Wark in 1965, it features nearly 700 pieces of Meissen porcelain, including rare pieces from the earliest years of the royal factory, established in 1710. Author Ulrich Pietsch uses the fascinating history of the foundation of the Meissen factory in order to set the background for his essay on Wark's collection, and the surprising story of how it survived the Second World War in a Hamburg cellar before being shipped to America. The catalogue features notable examples by the leading sculptors and painters of early Meissen production including Bottger, Johann Joachim Kandler, and Johann Gregor Horoldt. |
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Ilya Repin (1844-1930) is a key figure of Russian nineteenth-century realism; his career spanned a period of huge cultural, social and political change, bearing witness to the challenge to the Russian autocracy, the coming of the October Revolution and the dawn of the Soviet Union. From humble peasant beginnings Repin rose to a place of artistic pre-eminence and international acclaim and was the most important influence in shaping a distinctly Russian school of art. Through a series of successful but controversial works he addressed such issues as the hard lives of the peasants, the fate of revolutionary activists and Russian history, as well as painting some of the nation's greatest cultural figures, many of whom — such as Tolstoy, Mussorgsky and Gorky — he counted as personal friends. The Russian Vision: The Art of Ilya Repin presents the life and work of the most celebrated Russian painted of his generation. A comprehensive survey of Repin's oeuvre, featuring a wealth of little-seen paintings; dramatic, distinctive images that evoke the hardships, pleasures and everyday routines of Russian society in the twilight years of Tsarist rule. Having declined in the twentieth century, Repin's reputation is growing again. Combining close readings of all his major canvases, as well as many of his lesser-known works, within the broader context of Russian art, society and culture, written in an accessible style, David Jackson's book, featuring more than 100 colour plates of Repin's work, and telling the story of his life, will do much to help restore his stature. |
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This major work, first published in 1950, is still considered the classic work on the subject. The book was revised and enlarged by ACC in the year 2000, and published to overwhelming acclaim; this is a reprint of that edition. It provides a comprehensive, critical and well illustrated survey of the portrayal of plants through more than three thousand years. Of the first edition, the poet and gardening writer, Vita Sackville-West, after referring in The Observer to the wealth of illustration and the fascination of the text, then said, Let no one think this is a book only for the specialist. It is essential for the specialist, certainly, but it is also for all the flower-lovers and all those who enjoy the by-ways of biography and the added attraction of good writing. Wilfrid Blunt, an artist himself, brought to it a craftsman's appreciation and knowledge gained from experience, the extensive literature and visits to many galleries on the Continent. William T. Stearn gave him much help on botanical, biographical and bibliographical matters and contributed part of the text. Professor Stearn has revised and enlarged this classic work and greatly extended the chapter on the twentieth century. This edition includes 126 colour plates (more than twice as many as the original 1950 edition) and 140 black and white illustrations, thus making available to the general public numerous examples of the work of great botanical illustrators past and present. |
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This is an intriguing introduction to the graphic work of Abram Games. With images drawn from his personal archive, many less well known, it is possible to follow the social history of 20th Century Britain. For more than six decades Abram worked entirely on his own, always adhering to his personal maxim of maximum meaning, minimum means. From the start, Abram Games was determined to become one of Britain's great poster designers and would often say, I have a small talent which I polish like a diamond. A first generation Londoner, and an autodidact, he maintained that the three qualities a designer needs are curiosity, concentration and courage. These he had in abundance. Just three months before his own death in November 1996, Abram's friend, the great American designer, Paul Rand, wrote in an obituary, Stubborn, unique, a man of integrity, honour and talent, he meant what he said and said what he meant... Abe's work is well known; it is not my purpose to itemise his achievements, his posters for the army during WW2, his posters for Guinness, for the underground, many distinguished for their humour, their inventiveness and enthusiasm... Only Paul got away with calling him Abe! |
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I was impressed by The Stones. They were dressed casually, had mischief in them and were different to other bands. Terry O'Neill. In July 1962, a group of young men played a gig at The Marquee Club on Oxford Street, London. They called themselves 'The Rollin' Stones' and little did they know they would soon be making music history. This brilliant new book captures the youth, the times and the spirit of The Stones' formative early years. And documenting 1963-1965 were two young photographers just starting out in their careers. Terry O'Neill, aged just 25, had a few years' experience photographing musicians and knew that this group had the same magic as another British phenomenon that just recently started to chart, The Beatles. As the band was starting to record and tour, Gered Mankowitz came along. His first shoot, the now famous Mason's Yard session, was so fruitful, Gered was asked to tag along on tour to America. Gered was a mere 19 when he picked up his camera and joined the band on stage in 1965. Between these two legendary photographers, they document the band's beginnings and these indelible images are forever placed in music's consciousness. The photography throughout this book is embellished with various memoires and interviews, celebrating the early days and giving an inisght into what it must have felt like to go from a small club in Soho with no record deal to touring the world a few years later with a number one record. Terry O'Neill and Gered Mankowkitz, two of the most respected, collected and exhibited photographers in the world were sitting in the front row. There are quotes from Andrew Loog Oldman, Norman Jopling, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bill Wyman, full interviews with Terry O'Neill and Gered Mankowitz, original articles from the Record Mirror (1963), Evening Standard (1964) and Detroit Free Press (1965), and many rare and previously unseen photographs and contact sheets are included. |
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