The Monacelli Press, a division of Random House that specializes in art and design books, has been reacquired by its publisher and founder, Gianfranco Monacelli. RH bought Monacelli in 2008 and although the house will be returning to its independent roots, it not be severing all ties with RH; Monacelli will continue to use RH as its distributor. The specifics of the sale were not disclosed.
Monacelli, which was founded in 1994, has a library of about 325 titles on topics ranging from architecture to the fine arts to photography. At RH, Monacelli was part of the Crown Publishing Group and, during its time within the publisher's corporate structure, more than doubled its sales while publishing 85 titles. While Monacelli looks for a new office space, its staff will continue to work out of Random House's midtown office.
