Beautiful Books

[Ek weet nie]

A thread dedicated to books that are beautiful objects themselves.

The Flavour Thesaurus


Swimming Studies


Atlas of Remote Islands


Any others (and yes, I am looking for Christmas present ideas)?

[Duncan Gardner]

Beautiful Books

A rite of passage for all students at Trinity College, Dublin.

An elderly American tourist approaches and booms "Say friend, can you direct me to Kelly's Book?"

[Crusoe]

Beautiful Books

A couple of years ago I read this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-Stoic/dp/0195374614



Beautiful little hardback book, classy dust jacket, lovely thick pages and an elegant typeface. Unfortunately the book itself wasn't up to much, but as an object it was lovely.

[Lucia Lanigan]

Beautiful Books

Some lovely Penguin ones by Alan Spain:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26518458@N05/2522112426/

[Lucia Lanigan]

Beautiful Books

This is a site to get lost in: http://50watts.com/filter/book-covers

[evilC]

Beautiful Books

I was lucky enough to work in an art college for 11 years, 9 of those being in the library. There were some fantastic exhibition catalogues and 'art books' there. One day, toward the end of my spell there, I was looking at one such book, but instead of looking at the pictures and the words, I found myself looking at the actual book itself: the paper, the binding, the layout - all of which were glorious. I'd read about a character doing that in a Science Fiction book I once read, but I never thought I'd end up doing the same.

Anyway, these are by no means the greatest examples, but just a couple that I'm particularly fond of:

'An English Forest' by Richard Krauss. I bought this for my Mother, one birthday, when her health was deteriorating to the point where I knew she'd never again get to visit the places she was born & brought up - Lymington and Brockenhurst, both central to the locations photographed. Examples of the images here.

'Golden Gate' by Richard Misrach, which I bought for an ex of mine, who was rather fond of San Francisco. The images on that page really don't do it justice. If you get a chance to look at it - even just in a shop - then do.

edit: Here's some images from 'Golden Gate':

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[Amor de Cosmos]

Beautiful Books



Pictured is the first 1981 edition. Following printings are in a single volume. I've the 1993 edition. It's gorgeous. Undoubtedly the first object I'd rescue in a fire.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Beautiful Books

I'm hankering after a copy of Letters of Note, which looks like a wonderful treasure trove of personal correspondence - so many personal histories detailed with care and attention. I'm waiting for it to drop in price a little.

[Sits]

Beautiful Books

A little while back I got this lovely hardback of Machiavelli which contains a beautiful selection of Renaissance art:

http://books.lk/product.php?productid=28960