New Taschen Art books

Featured New Titles

19th January 2007

Atlases. Very handy in case you get lost.
Of course these are maps of places from hundreds of years ago, so probably more help if you get lost and own a time machine.

First there was Blaeu's, Atlas Maior of 1665, Arty Bees book # 61830 - a masterpiece of early cartography and modern book production, and a monster at 626 pages.
And now Taschen - ever ready to out do themselves - have put out 6 more volumes, revisiting the original 11 volumes which they so carefully squeezed into one in Atlas Maior of 1665.

These new titles are smaller (but only very slightly in size) than the stunning original, not to mention cheaper, and they go into the various geographical areas in much greater detail - Need to find out where Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandma lived in Cumbria in 1702? - Atlas Maior - Anglia, Scotia et Hibernia is probably going to have the street on it.

"The Atlas Maior, the cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque period, was brought out between 1662 and 1665 by the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu, one of Holland’s leading cartographers. Originally appearing in Latin, the atlas comprised 594 maps in 11 volumes, which depicted the whole of the world as known to early modern Europe. It was the largest and most expensive book published during the 17th century. For more than 100 years it remained the definitive atlas of the world, and today is among the most sought-after and valuable antiquarian rarities. This reprinted edition in six volumes is based on the hand-colored, gold-heightened copy in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, thus ensuring the best possible detail and quality. Alongside Joan Blaeu’s original commentaries on the individual maps, a new text by Peter van der Krogt explains the historical and cultural associations and introduces the reader to the fascinating world of early modern cartography."

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Atlas Maior - Anglia, Scotia et Hibernia
$170
by Joan Blaeu
Boxed in 2 hardcover volumes
ISBN 978-3-8228-5104-3
Arty Bees book # 62318

This two-volume set features all 58 maps of England and 55 maps of Scotland and Ireland and the text is in English, French, and German.

Atlas Maior - Gallia
$100
by Joan Blaeu
Hardcover ISBN 978-3-8228-5105-0
Arty Bees book # 37005 & 62318

This volume includes all 64 maps of France and the text is in French, English, and German.

Atlas Maior - Germania, Austria et Helvetia
$170
by Joan Blaeu
Boxed in 2 hardcover volumes
ISBN 978-3-8228-5102-9
Arty Bees book # 62321

This two-volume set includes all 97 maps of Germania, 20 maps of Austria, and 7 maps of Switzerland and the text is in German, English, and French.

Atlas Maior - Hispania, Portugallia, America et Africa
$100
by Joan Blaeu
Hardcover ISBN 978-3-8228-5106-7
Arty Bees book # 37004 & 62315

This volume features all 28 maps of Spain and Portugal, 13 maps of Africa and 23 maps of America and the text is in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

Atlas Maior - Hollandia et Belgica
$100
by Joan Blaeu
Hardcover ISBN 978-3-8228-5103-6

Arty Bees book # 62320

This volume includes all 63 maps of Belgium and The Netherlands and the text is in Dutch, French, and English.

13th December 2006

Racinet & Dupont-Auberville,
The World of Ornament

$450
by David Batterham,
(Taschen, 2006, combined reprint of 1875, 1877 & 1888 editions)
Hardcover, enormous single vol. (with box)
ISBN 3-8228-2194-2
Arty Bees book # 36915

At Arty Bees, and indeed in the other bookshops where I have worked, there are a few things that one is always asked for and can seldom supply.
"Maori tattoos?" Nope.
"Satanic bible?" Nope.
"Junky by William Burroughs?" Geddout 'a here!

Notable in this category are designers, set dressers, and artists who are looking for sourcebooks for the styles and motifs of a particular era. It pains Matt's mercenary heart terribly when I have to say to them, Go the the library and photocopy what you need 'cos we ain't got nuffin' here.
But with this new Taschen number, you have a one-stop doorstop with any and all sources for styles and designs major and obscure. Come in and have a look, then put it on the company credit card and write it off on your taxes.
While you're here, have a gander at Taschen's reprint of the astounding 17th century Atlas Maior.

"Imagine having an opulent compilation of history's most elegant and beautiful patterns and designs at your fingertips — to use, peruse, admire, and be inspired by.
World of Ornament brings together the two greatest encyclopedic collections of ornament from the 19th century chromo-lithographic tradition: Auguste Racinet's L'Ornement polychrome Volumes I and II (1875/1888) and M. Dupont-Auberville's L'Ornement des tissus (1877).
Adapted from historical items dating back to antiquity, such as jewelry, tiles, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, and ceramics, these ornamental designs encompass a wide range of cultural aesthetics including classic Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Etruscan motifs, Asian and middle-Eastern patterns, as well as European designs from medieval times through the 19th century."

"Visual beauty, crafted by hand, pleases more than just the eye; it goes to the heart of all that is cultured and stands as a rebuke to the uncouth. This truth was grasped from the earliest times: Witness the polychrome motifs of the ancient Egyptians, done against a backdrop of sand and stone. Or consider the frets and patterns of the Greeks, Byzantine filigree, even the Celtic drakslingors, or dragons coiled so elaborately on runic stones.

These wonders of embellishment - and others from India, China and the European Renaissance — have been reproduced in The World of Ornament, a magnificent encyclopedia of adornment as practiced by painters, illustrators, weavers, potters, jewelers and embroiderers through the ages . . .
This compendium of decorative styles - complete with 320 plates — represents a bounteous à la carte menu for any modern decorator or designer. The pleasure is here provided not merely by the illustrations — each of which is sumptuous enough to make a reader purr — but also the accompanying text."

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The Big Book of Breasts

$150
Edited by Dian Hansen
Hardcover, 30 x 30 cm (11.8 x 11.8 in.), 396 pages
ISBN 3-8228-3303-7
Arty Bees book # 62302

The Golden Hills before the Silicone Valley: Three decades of the world’s most spectacular natural curves

"Some call it the American obsession, but men everywhere recognize the hypnotic allure of a large and shapely breast. In The Big Book of Breasts, Dian Hanson explores the origins of mammary madness through three decades of natural big-breasted nudes. Starting with the World War II Bosom-Mania that spawned Russ Meyer, Howard Hughes’s The Outlaw and Frederick’s of Hollywood, Dian guides you over, around, and in between the dangerous curves of infamous models including Michelle Angelo, Candy Barr, Virginia Bell, Joan Brinkman, Lorraine Burnett, Lisa De Leeuw, Uschi Digard, Candye Kane, Jennie Lee, Sylvia McFarland, Margaret Middleton, Paula Page, June Palmer, Roberta Pedon, Rosina Revelle, Candy Samples, Tempest Storm, Linda West, June Wilkinson, Julie Wills, and dozens more, including Guinness World Record holder Norma Stitz, possessor of the World’s Largest Natural Breasts.

The 396 pages of this book contain the most beautiful and provocative photos ever created of these iconic women, plus nine original interviews, including the first with Tempest Storm and Uschi Digard in over a decade, and the last with Candy Barr before her untimely death in 2005. In a world where silicone is now the norm, these spectacular real women stand as testament that nature knows best."

Yes, well.
At 396 pages, with at least 1 pair of breasts on every page, you can definitely be assured that you are getting you moneys worth at well over 800 individual breasts.

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Movies of the 30s

$100
Edited by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Müller
Flexicover, 19.6 x 24.9 cm, 576 pages
ISBN 3-8228-4010-6
Arty Bees book # 38407

Talkie times: the wonderful world of cinema during the Great Depression

From Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931) to Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940), this tome explores a diverse and fascinating era in world cinema.

The stock market crash of 1929 had left the America—and the globe—in a devastating depression that would not begin to lift until World War II. With so many jobless, penniless, broken people singing the blues, is it any wonder that Hollywood strove to distract viewers from their misery with comedies like Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936), Capra’s feel-good Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), and the Marx Brothers’ hilarious Duck Soup (1933), thrillers such as Hitchcock’s seminal The 39 Steps (1935) or Hawks’s Scarface (1932), or the epic romantic classic Gone with the Wind (1939)?

While American moviegoers flocked to the theaters to escape their troubles and find solace in the magical world of Hollywood movies, filmmakers in Europe were experimenting with new techniques in a medium that had only recently gained sound; Fritz Lang’s German Expressionist M (1931) and Jean Renoir’s anti-war masterpiece La Grande Illusion (1937) greatly enhanced cinema as an art form, while Leni Riefenstahl’s visually stunning Olympia (1936-38) pushed the limits of the medium’s technical capacities. It’s clear that while the 1930s was a time of poverty and struggle for many people, the world of cinema was much enriched.


Film entries include:
• Synopsis
• Film stills and production photos
• Cast/crew listings
• Trivia
• Useful information on technical stuff
• Actor and director bios

Plus: a complete Academy Awards list for the decade

The editor: Jürgen Müller studied art history in Bochum, Paris, Pisa, and Amsterdam. He has worked as an art critic, a curator of numerous exhibitions, a visiting professor at various universities, and has published books and numerous articles on cinema and art history. Currently he holds the chair for art history at the University of Dresden, where he lives. Müller is the series editor for TASCHEN’s Movies decade titles.

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Blaeu's, Atlas Maior of 1665

$450
by Joan Blaeu
Hardcover, enormous single volume
ISBN 3-8228-3125-5
Arty Bees book # 61830

The finest and most comprehensive baroque atlas was Joan Blaeu's exceptional Atlas Maior, completed in 1665. The original 11-volume Latin edition, containing 594 maps, put Blaeu ahead of his staunch competitor, mapmaker Johannes Janssonius, whose rivalry inspired Blaeu to produce a grandiose edition of the largest and most complete atlas to date. Covering Arctica, Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, Blaeu's Atlas Maior was a remarkable achievement and remains to this day one of history's finest examples of mapmaking.

This reprint is made from the National Library of Vienna's complete, colored, gold-heightened copy, thus assuring the best possible detail and quality. The book's introduction, by the University of Utrecht's Peter van der Krogt, discusses the historical and cultural context and significance of the atlas; Krogt also provides detailed descriptions of the maps, allowing modern readers to fully appreciate Blaeu's masterwork.

The authors: Joan Blaeu (1596 Alkmaar–1673 Amsterdam) was the son of Willem Blaeu and a leading Dutch cartographer. In 1620 he became a doctor of law and subsequently joined his father’s workshop.
In 1635 they published the two-volume Novus Atlas (Theatrum orbis terrarum, sive, Atlas novus). Joan and his brother Cornelius took over the workshop after their father had died in 1638. Joan became the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. Around 1649 he published a collection of Dutch city maps entitled Tooneel der Steeden (Theater of Cities). In 1651 he was voted into the Amsterdam council. In 1654 he published the first atlas of Scotland. In 1662 he reissued the atlas in 11 volumes, known as the Atlas Maior. A cosmology was planned as his next project, but a fire destroyed the workshop in 1672. Joan Blaeu died in the following year.

Since 1990, Peter van der Krogt, the leading expert in the field of Dutch atlases, has been working on Koeman’s Atlantes Neerlandici, the cartobibliography of atlases published in the Netherlands. His second project is the compilation, in cooperation with the Nijmegen University, of an illustrated and annotated catalogue of the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem, the most important multivolume atlas preserved in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna.

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16th October 2006

Fashion: Kyoto Costume Institute, A History from 18th to 20th Century

$150
By Akiko Fukai (Chief Curator of The Kyoto Costume Institute), Tamami Suoh (Curator of The Kyoto Costume Institute), Miki Iwagami (Lecturer of fashion history at Sugino Fashion College (Tokyo)), Reiko Koga (Professor of fashion history at Bunka Women's University), and Rie Nii (Assistant Curator of The Kyoto Costume Institute).
Hardcover, 2 vol. in a slipcase, ISBN 3-8228-2763-0
Arty Bees book # 60417

A fashion history from the 18th to the 20th century

Clothes define people. A person's clothing, whether it's a sari, kimono, or business suit, is an essential key to his or her culture, class, personality, or even religion. The Kyoto Costume Institute recognizes the importance of understanding clothing sociologically, historically, and artistically. Founded in 1978, the KCI holds one of the world's most extensive clothing collections and has curated many exhibitions worldwide. With an emphasis on Western women's clothing, the KCI has amassed a wide range of historical garments, underwear, shoes, and fashion accessories dating from the 18th century to the present day.

Showcasing a vast selection from the Institute's archives of skilled photographs depicting the clothing expertly displayed and arranged on custom-made mannequins, Fashion History is a fascinating excursion through the last three centuries of clothing trends. The KCI believes that "clothing is an essential manifestation of our very being" and their passion and dedication positively radiate from every page of this book.

This special 25th anniversary edition has a chic new format: two volumes packaged in a slipcase.

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16th Octber 2006

Video Art

$25 By Martin, Dr. Sylvia
Softcover, flaps, 18.5 x 23 cm (7.3 x 9.1 in.), 96 pages
Basic Art Series
ISBN 3-8228-2950-1
Arty Bees book # 36668 and # 62176

Art history's most important movements and genres

The immediacy and accessibility of video makes it an ideal medium for artists who want to work with sound and moving image; no sooner than video cameras were available to the public in the 1970s were artists already beginning to experiment with the possibilities of video. Though it took decades for it to be widely embraced by mainstream art, video is now firmly accepted as an important medium, thanks to the work of artists such as Matthew Barney, Bruce Nauman, Bill Viola, and Gillian Wearing.

Artists featured: Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Chris Cunningham, Matthew Barney, Fischli/Weiss, Gary Hill, Nan Hoover, Christian Marclay, Steve McQueen, Mariko Mori, Bruce Nauman, Tony Oursler, Marcel Odenbach, Nam June Paik, Pipilotti Rist, Sam Taylor-Wood, Bill Viola, Gillian Wearing.

TASCHEN's Basic Art movement and genre series: each book includes a detailed introduction with approximately 35 photographs, plus a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, etc.) that took place during the time period. The body of the book contains a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation of the work, a reference work, portrait of the artist, quotes, and biographical information.

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18th September 2006

Robots - Spaceships and other Tin Toys

$30.00 Kitahara, Teruhisa / Shimizu, Yukio
Hardcover, 15.5 x 21.7 cm, 352 pages
ISBN 3-8228-5062-4
Arty Bees book # 36379 and # 61978

Tin toy mania! (TASCHEN's 25th anniversary - Special edition)

Now that computer games have come to stay, tin toys have become obsolete for today's children. For those of us who remember them from times past, these tin toys can transport us back to our childhoods; they call up a vision of a time we thought we had already forgotten. They also bear witness to history; they have survived wars and crises, and tell us something of the fashions, colors and tendencies of their times.

This book will be of special interest to anyone fascinated by early space travel and technology, those who simply want to wax nostalgic about a bygone era of their youth, and of course to collectors and fans of 50s and 60s tin toys. The roots of today's toys can be seen in these precursors, notably in the early transformer robots. Taken from collector Teruhisa Kitahara's vast collection, which is on display in many museums in Japan, the tin toys featured here are quite rare and give a wonderful overview of this era in the history of toys. A must for any toy lover!

The author:
Born in Tokyo, Teruhisa Kitahara graduated in economics from Aoyama Gakuin University. He is one of the world’s most famous Tin Toy collectors, and Managing Director of Toys Co. He has established seven Tin Toy museums throughout Japan.

The photographer:
Born 1944 in Tokyo, Yukio Shimizu graduated in photography from The Art Center College of Design. He is active in various areas of art, including commercial films and magazines.

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18th September 2006

Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities

Müsch, Dr. Irmgard / Willmann, Prof. Dr. Rainer / Rust, Prof. Dr. Jes

Original Delux Hardcover, $600.00 (image right) 29 x 44 cm, (ie. it's huge!) 636 pages
ISBN 3-8228-1600-0
Arty Bees book # 34128
(Only 1 in store at our Manners Street branch - we believe it's the last in New Zealand)

January 2010 - But we do have a Second Hand copy in beautiful condition at an amazing $395.00 - Get in quick!

Albertus Seba's curious creatures. A most unusual collection of natural specimens

Albertus Seba's "Cabinet of Curiosities" is one of the 18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time.

Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection-from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon.

Seba's scenic illustrations, often mixing plants and animals in a single plate, were unusual even for the time. Many of the stranger and more peculiar creatures from Seba's collection, some of which are now extinct, were as curious to those in Seba's day as they are to us now.

Our superb, complete reproduction is taken from a rare, hand-colored original. The introduction offers background information about the fascinating tradition of the cabinet of curiosities to which Seba's curiosities belonged and an additional annex, written by contemporary biologists, provides descriptions of the specimens.

The authors:
Irmgard Müsch, born in 1967, studied art history, history and classical archaeology in Mainz and Berlin. Her Ph.D. thesis from 1999 examines Johann Jakob Scheuchzer’s Kupfer-Bibel, a richly illustrated scientific commentary on the Bible from the early 18th century. She has published on art of the 18th and 20th century, scientific illustrations and Kunstkammer pieces.

Rainer Willmann, born in 1950, occupies the chair for morphology, taxonomy and evolutionary biology at the Institute for Zoology and Anthropology of the University of Göttingen. In some 120 publica-tions he has addressed the phylogeny of insects, snail evolution, and historical and theoretical issues in biology. He is co-founder of the Research Centre for Biodiversity and Ecology at the University of Göttingen.

See also Taschen Icons by Albertus Seba, including Butterflies, Arty Bees book # 34624 and Shells and Corals Arty Bees book # 34439

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