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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

William Bouguereau (1825-1905) was a highly important and influential French academic painter, this is an illustrated biography of his life and works.

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.

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.

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.

Nurtured by the aesthetic-social critique undertaken by the British Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau contrasted the heaviness of mechanical production with the ingenious elegance of forms inspired by pure and alluring lines, based on plant forms. Enlivened by nostalgic fin de siecle decadence, the movement's unique style was built upon the transposition of industrial materials and techniques into the pristine elegance of the vernacular handicraft tradition. The wealth of images in this book illustrate the artists' approach, and the objects themselves, as well as the birth and evolution of Art Nouveau in the countries that contributed most to the success of this new aesthetic — France, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, United States, etc.

«The history of the corset proves that women have attached great importance to outward appearance and this since more than 2000 years. The corset was not a fashion item for the masses. The first flourishing period for the corset dates back to the Elizabethan and Spanish fashion between the 16th and 17th Century. The strict form of the corset went hand in hand with the fashion of the hoop skirt which was made in hard metal and accentuated female slenderness. The slender the loins, the more beautiful a woman». In 'Fashion Icons', Leen Demeester explores fashion trends throughout the centuries. She traces the origins of items of clothing such as the corset, the bra, the dress, the mini-skirt, trousers, accessories and high heels. These 'icons' show a distinct parallel between the history of women's appearance and the history of female emancipation. Top designers confirm that the image of a woman (and her place in society) still depends on her appearance and especially on the clothes she wears.»

The first volume in the series on Twentieth-Century Decorative and Applied Arts is dedicated to what is known in Italy as 'Stile Liberty', or Liberty style. Flowers, ribbons, garlands, dragonflies, butterflies and graceful young women dancing, followed by a host of curvilinear, sinuous and spiralling forms: this was Liberty, the new style that at the dawn of the twentieth century, by creating a rupture with traditional artistic forms, spread throughout Europe. Although the movement was short-lived, the First International Exposition of Modern Decorative Arts held in Turin in 1902 showed that it numbered excellent interpreters in every single field. Chini's ceramic works, furniture designed by Quarti and Basile, Mazzucotelli's wrought iron objects, glass-work by Buffa and Cambellotti: pieces that are now much sought after by private collectors and museums.

Over the years since its inception in 1875 as the Oriental Emporium, Liberty's has both been at the forefront of fashion and the decorative arts and has sat comfortably riding on its waves. Its history is at the heart of its image to the outside world. In the fifties, Liberty's tried to subvert this image, but subsequently embraced it wholeheartedly in the following decade. Liberty's beginnings are well-known and most historians of the decorative arts will agree that the company had a significant impact on design in the early twentieth century. However, through the years Liberty & Co. took many forms.History, far from being irrelevant nostalgia, offers us a chance to learn from our mistakes and, indeed, successes. Perhaps now, as, emerging from a difficult recent period, this grand company looks confidently to the future, it is a good time to look back to the Liberty of the fifties and sixties: a less well-recognised moment in Liberty's history, but perhaps no less significant. The 1950s were a frugal time and any retailer who wholeheartedly promoted modern design was taking a risk. In truth, Liberty & Co. probably played it safe, running its modern products alongside the more traditional ones, so as not to scare away longstanding customers. It is perhaps for this reason that Liberty & Co. is not so prominent in people's memories as a 'modern' store in the 1950s. In a way this was a period that prepared the business for its flowering in the 1960s. Almost overnight, the emporium of traditional style found itself not just at one of the best spots in London, but at the very epicentre of the world of fashion: Carnaby Street in the sixties.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing has set new standards. It is best in class and increases the standing of the Mercedes — AMG brand, thanks to its charisma. Two years after the commercial launching of the contemporary legend, the roadster is added to the fascination SLS AMG cosmos. With the coupe, roadster, GT3, an e-cell, AMG has succeeded in creating a quartet of dream machines. The genes of Mercedes — AMG are in every variant.

An authentic Provençal cooking class, from an authentic Provence cook. Twelve cooking classes, using twelve fresh products, creating menus with asparagus, cuttlefish, octopus & squid, purple artichoke, mussels, spices, zucchini, tomatoes, sardines, potatoes, cooking in foil, stuffings, and a menu for a special occasion Reine Sammut takes us into her kitchen and her living space, introduces us to her favourite products and suppliers. For each recipe she shows us the main steps, the tips and techniques.

In a multitude of exciting photos and numerous enlightening essays, 'Seglen Exclusiv: The World of Superyachts' unites the passion for sailing with fascination for design, sports and technology. This opulent volume takes the reader from the outside all the way into the very hearts of unique sailing yachts, tells the history of yachting, presents descriptions of most coveted yachting hotspots around the globe and introduces prestigious racing yachts and regattas. Peter Sandmeyer dedicates an essay to man's eternal longing for freedom at sea and muses about dedicated sailors and their constant valiant struggle with nature.

At the end of 2011, the exhibition 'FoMu: the collection' opened. It presented an outstanding selection of works from the collections of the FotoMuseum Antwerp (FoMu) and, after years of relative invisibility, a wealth of objects finally gain the place in the museum that they deserve. An entire wing of the museum building is devoted to an impressive ensemble of masterpieces, interspersed with unknown gems. To reinforce this statement, FoMu has produced this publication, with corresponding text and images, to document this wonderful anthology.

Shafik Gabr started his collection of Orientalist art in 1993 by acquiring a painting by Ludwig Deutsch entitled Egyptian Priest Entering a Temple. His collection is today amongst the very few in the world to count such a large number of works by the famed Austrian artist as well as some of the finest examples of the greatest masters of Orientalism such as Jean-Léon Gérôme, Frederick Arthur Bridgman, Gustav Bauernfeind and many others. Important for both scholars and art lovers, the Shafik Gabr Collection impresses us with its richness and variety. It includes masterpieces by some of the major nineteenth and twentieth century Orientalists found in private hands today and demonstrates the owner's appreciation of differences as well as similarities in European visions of the versatile and diverse Orient. The selection of paintings in this collection illustrates the owner's evolving taste, his relationship with the world of Orientalism and his interest in its European expression. This Orientalist collection is a harmonious 'kaleidoscope' of genres, presenting the Orient through a variety of forms, styles and techniques, and revealing to the European viewer the mysterious East with its bright colours, its exotic and leisurely lifestyle. Over the years, it has become one of the most complete and magnificent tributes dedicated to the world of Orientalism and as such some of the most renowned experts in this field have contributed to this book in order to mark its importance in the art world. Lavishly illustrated, Masterpieces of Orientalist Art: The Shafik Gabr Collection also includes essays by distinguished Orientalist scholars.

The new era of globalisation has brought with it a stunning new breed of palaces — modern-day residences built by connoisseurs whose exceptional taste and patronage are propelling art and architecture forward into the next great epoch. For more than 40 years, Geoffrey Bradfield has been creating exceptional residences around the world and in 'A 21st Century Palace' Bradfield documents one such modern-day palace in Mexico City. Thoroughly contemporary, yet drawing on traditions of craftsmanship and excellence, Bradfield has created a truly modern palace of precious materials and outstanding art. Geoffrey Bradfield is known for his sophisticated and daring handling of art and the collection in A 21st Century Palace is, quite simply, dazzling. Every room contains museum-worthy masterpieces, from Art Deco creations by Ruhlmann, Leleu and Bugatti to paintings and sculpture by Picasso, Warhol, Calder, Degas, Lautrec, Lichtenstein and Frida Kahlo.