Bring the runway, the big screen, and the strangest corners of the world to the coffee table this season. We’ve gathered beautifully packaged illustrated gift books for fans of all stripes—from the fashionista to the globetrotter.
This year, give the gift of...
Good Style
Barneys New York
Christopher Bollen. Rizzoli.
ISBN 978-0-8478-4852-2
The debut book from the luxury retailer, which spells out the 93-year-old store’s influence on New York fashion and culture through 300 pages of classic advertisements, campaigns, events, and window displays. The book is edited by author and Interview Magazine editor-at-large Christopher Bollen, with an introduction by Vanity Fair contributing editor David Kamp.
The Fashion of Film
Amber Jane Butchart. Mitchell Beazley.
ISBN 978-1-78472-176-3
Fashion historian Amber Butchart surveys the last hundred years of big screen style, and how it has influenced the runway and consumer fashion—from how Audrey Hepburn shaped the work of Givenchy, to where we see Prada in Wes Anderson. Butchart lays out how crime film, musicals, art house cinema, and historical epics have all left traces on fashion through the years.
Stoppers: Photographs from My Life at Vogue
Phyllis Posnick. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-4197-2244-8
Posnick, who has been the executive fashion editor of Vogue for nearly 30 years, collects this book of fashion photo spreads. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour provides the foreword. The book offers a peek into the production process at the ultimate fashion magazine, and features work from an impressive roster of photographers, including Anton Corbijn, Patrick Demarchelier, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, and Irving Penn.
Wanderlust
Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders
Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton. Workman. ISBN 978-0-7611-6908-6
Time to rewrite your bucket list. This guide to the world’s strangest and most fascinating places and sights takes you to the glowworm caves in New Zealand, Spain’s Baby Jumping Festival, and the bone museums in Italy. Based on the website of the same name, the book uses photographs, charts, maps, and detailed description to showcase 700 marvels of the world.
Wild, Beautiful Places: Picture-Perfect Journeys Around the Globe
National Geographic.
ISBN 978-1-4262-1740-1
National Geographic photographers share some of their favorite shots from the world’s most wild and remote places. Vintage photographs pulled from the National Geographic archives offer a peek into the way the Earth’s most exotic locales looked many years ago.
A Day at the Movies
The Art of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Leah Gallo. Quirk.
ISBN 978-1-59474-943-8
A visual tour of Tim Burton’s film adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Chock-full of interviews, behind-the-scenes photography, and exclusive interviews, the book also includes introductions by director Burton and Peculiar Children series author Ransom Riggs.
The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop
Richard M. Isackes and Karen L. Maness. Regan Arts.
ISBN 978-1-941393-08-6
A history of the painstakingly rendered backdrops of Hollywood’s golden age—creating worlds for such classics as The Wizard of Oz, North by Northwest, Cleopatra, and The Sound of Music. Take a peek into the creation of painted backings, which acted as the very earliest tools of special effects for the major motion picture studios.
Robin Williams: A Singular Portrait, 1986–2002
Arthur Grace. Counterpoint. ISBN 978-1-61902-727-5
After meeting Robin Williams at a comedy club in 1986, photographer Arthur Grace and the late actor formed a close friendship. A selection of 150 photos tells the story of their relationship, showing, as the publisher says, “the real Robin Williams—the manic and happy, the pensive and weary, the engaged and disengaged.”
Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph McQuarrie. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-4197-1793-2
The definitive two-volume slipcase of Ralph McQuarrie’s complete artwork for the Star Wars films. McQuarrie, designer of Darth Vader, C-3PO, and R2-D2, worked hand-in-hand with George Lucas to create the singular aesthetic of the saga.
Young Frankenstein: A Mel Brooks Book: The Story of the Making of the Film
Mel Brooks. Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 978-0-316-31547-0
The legendary screenwriter, director, and comedian goes behind the scenes of the classic comedy with hundreds of photos, original interviews, and commentary. Among the many anecdotes is Brooks’s recollection of the late Gene Wilder’s performance in the film: “It all started with Gene Wilder, who was Dr. Frankenstein.”
A Little Perspective
Diane Arbus: In the Beginning
Jeff L. Rosenheim. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
ISBN 978-1-58839-595-5
A study of more than 100 of the provocative artist’s early photographs, taken between 1956 and 1962, half of which have never been published before. An exhibit of the same name premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in July.
In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs
Grace Bonney. Artisan.
ISBN 978-1-57965-597-6
Profiles of more than 100 influential and successful women. In addition to hundreds of original photographs of women where they work, the book includes practical advice for making your own way.
Provocateur: Photographs
Tyler Shields. Glitterati.
ISBN 978-1-943876-29-7
Dubbed “Hollywood’s Favorite Photographer,” Shields is known for his feather-ruffling, boundary-pushing
photography. This collection of his most compelling work includes a preface by actor Nathan Fillion and a foreword by fellow photographer Andrea Blanch.
Sante D’Orazio: Polaroids
Sante D’Orazio. Chronicle.
ISBN 978-1-4521-5849-5
D’Orazio, whose photographs helped shape the aesthetic of 1990s glamour, exhibits the casual warm-ups for his official shoots in this collection of Polaroids. Subjects include Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie, Kate Moss, Keith Richards, and Julia Roberts.
Time Travel
Big History
DK. ISBN 978-1-4654-5443-0
Visual time lines and CGI reconstructions dive deeply into the major events that have changed planet Earth and our lives on it, from the Big Bang to virtual reality.
Manly Health and Training
Walt Whitman. Regan Arts. ISBN 978-1-682-50-75-8
Rise early, take cold baths, exercise, build muscles, eat moderately but mostly meat, and cheer up instead of giving in to the “blues”—these are just a few recommendations from Whitman’s long-lost health manifesto for men, written in 1858 and unearthed 150 years later.
West Point History of World War II, Vol. 2
The United States Military Academy. Simon & Schuster.
ISBN 978-1-4767-8277-5
Since 1847, West Point has schooled its cadets on the history of warfare through the The West Point History of Warfare. Through a partnership with West Point graduates, this text has been completely rewritten. This volume picks up where the first left off, halfway through WWII.
The Art of Correspondence
Dear Data
Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-61689-532-7
The story of how artists Lupi, an Italian living in New York, and Posavec, an American living in London, forged a friendship via mail is told via handwritten postcards, each mapping out the data of their lives in charts and graphs, all exchanged over the course of a year.
Letters of Note, Vol. 2: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience
Shaun Usher. Chronicle. ISBN 978-1-4521 -5383-4
A follow-up to 2014’s Letters of Note, this companion book shares 125 letters, with authors ranging from the famous—Ursula K. Le Guin, Kurt Vonnegut, Aldous Huxley—to the not so famous.
High Culture
Going Once: 250 Years of Culture, Taste, and Collecting at Christie’s
Christie’s Staff. Phaidon.
ISBN 978-0-7148-7202-5
From the personal possessions of Picasso to those of Marilyn Monroe, the items sold at the world’s most famous auction house, founded in 1766, reflect our culture at large. Going Once showcases 250 pieces, including vintage cars, clothing, jewelry, and fine art.
Intimate Geometries: The Art and Life of Louise Bourgeois
Robert Storr. Monacelli.
ISBN 978-1-58093-363-6
More than a thousand illustrations and writings from Bourgeois’s close personal friend, art critic Storr, illuminate the late work and life of the artist.
