4 Art and Architecture


74022 THE BOOK OF MIRACLES by Till-Holger Borchert and Joshua Waterman


The Book of Miracles that first surfaced a few years ago and is one of the most spectacular new discoveries in the field of Renaissance art. The nearly complete surviving illustrated manuscript which was created in the Swabian Imperial Free City of Augsburg around 1550, is composed of 169 pages with large-format illustrations in gouache and watercolour depicting wondrous and often eerie celestial phenomena, constellations, conflagrations and floods as well as other catastrophes and occurrences. It deals with events ranging from the creation of the world and incidents drawn from the Old Testament, ancient tradition and medieval chronicles to those that took place in the immediate present of the book’s author. With the illustrations of the visionary Book of Revelation, it even includes the future end of the world. The surprisingly modern looking, sometimes hallucinatory illustrations and the cursory descriptions of the Book of Miracles strikingly convey a unique view of the concerns and anxieties of the 16th century, of apocalyptic thinking and eschatological expectation. The present facsimile volume reproduces the Book of Miracles in its entirety for the first time and thus makes one of the most important works of the German Renaissance finally available to art lovers and scholars. The introduction puts the codex in its cultural and historical context, and an extensive description of the manuscript and its miniatures, as well as a complete transcript of the text, accompany the facsimile in an appendix. With booklet in a clamshell box, 12.6" x 8.5", 560 pages. Text in English, French and German. New from Taschen. ONLY £100


74659 HOW TO LOOK AT A PAINTING by Francoise Barbe-Gall


This book takes 36 famous paintings, reproduces them in full colour, including close-ups, and analyses what makes each one a landmark artistic event. Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” captures a moment in time that we know is only going to last a second. Rogier van der Weyden’s “Descent from the Cross” is a theatrical event full of emotion, while Grunewald’s pockmarked Crucifixion shocks in order to evoke compassion. Salvador Dali’s melting clocks in “Persistence of Memory” creates a world of familiar objects which are still beyond our power to control them, while Munch’s “The Scream” is about our inability to control ourselves. Hopper’s “Nighthawks” takes us into the world of film noir from which there is no escape. Other artists discussed include da Vinci, Bacon, Velázquez, Giotto, Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso and Rothko. 312pp, softback, colour. £17.99 NOW £8


74711 LOST PHOTOGRAPHS OF


CAPTAIN SCOTT by David M. Wilson A humbling testament to the men whose graves still lie unmarked in the vastness of what was known as the Great Alone - Captain Robert Falcon Scott RN and his four intrepid fellow explorers. Until now, the legend of Scott’s fatal expedition has been based upon his diaries and those of his companions, the sketches of his friend Edward Wilson and the celebrated photographs of Herbert Ponting, the expedition’s professional photographer. What has not been recognised is that, during the final fateful months of that polar journey, the principal visual record intended to be left to posterity was provided by Scott himself through his own photography. Scott achieved a series of iconic images remarkable for their technical mastery as well as for their poignancy. Here they are in all their deeply moving grandeur: breathtaking panoramas of the continent, superb depictions of mountains and formations of ice and snow, action photographs of the explorers and their animals on the polar trail. At first, these pictures were fought over, then neglected and finally lost for more than half a century. Now, for the first time, they are resurrected, catalogued and publicly shown. 191 emotive pages 29cm x 26cm with photographs in b/w, often double page spreads, notes and list of members of the Terra Nova Expedition 1910-13. Small remainder mark.


£30 NOW £9 74572 ROBERT ADAM: The Search for a


Modern Classicism by Richard John


In this polemical and beautifully illustrated book, Professor John examines the work of Robert Adam, now director of the largest traditional architectural firm in Europe, ADAM Architecture. In the early 1970s, Adam was granted a scholarship at the British School in Rome and, although it was then unfashionable, turned to traditional design. In the 1980s, he became one of the spokesmen for the emerging body of traditional designers in the UK and abroad. He continued to draw from the entire classical tradition, spanning a time-scale from ancient Greece to the 1930s. From 2000 onwards, Adam was instrumental in the establishment of the Traditional Architecture Group, The International Network for Traditional Building, the Council for European Urbanism and the Academy of Urbanism, which have firmly established traditional architecture as part of the UK scene. He trusts that it will develop further, to take a more prominent place in the improvement of the built environment and as a major challenge to the orthodoxy of modernism. If the superb buildings pictured in this volume are anything to go by, then the hopes of the Prince of Wales - expressed in his foreword to the book - that a ‘creative and truly living tradition in architecture’ will become ‘the spirit of the age and the heritage of tomorrow’ will surely be realised. 28 x 28 x 2.5cm, 256 pages with colour photos, drawings and plans.


£40 NOW £15


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73906 AUDUBON’S MASTERPIECES: 150 Prints from The Birds of America


by John James Audubon Early in the 1800s, John James Audubon conceived the vast project of painting all the birds in North America. His pioneering work, entitled Birds of America, has become an undisputed classic. Superb value for money here is a selection of 150 from the 499 colour plates, each with an


anatomically unsurpassed colour rendition of the bird species of North America, many now rare, some possibly extinct. They include the spectacular American Flamingo, red-bellied Woodpecker, red and black shouldered Marsh-blackbird, and White-winged Crossbill, the colourful painted Bunting and Bachman’s Swamp- Warbler, the American Redstart with its iridescent blue plumed back, hovering above a honeycomb on a branch. All of the birds are depicted in situ, whether nesting, on a rock side, on mistletoe and any number of trees and shrubs, on land, or in flight. His owls in the early plates 28 to 39 are particularly special, including the very famous pair of snowy owls, plate 28. Today Audubon’s name is synonymous with wildlife preservation and he is recognised as one of the greatest artists of his time. The 150 prints in this book show the very best examples of his artistry and are taken from the first Royal Octavo edition. The son of a French naval officer and a Creole woman, Audubon was born in Haiti in 1785, educated in France and moved to his family’s estate near Philadelphia in 1803. It was there that his love of birds and desire to draw them became an all- consuming passion. 300 glossy pages, 26 x 21cm in life-like colour, great value and with an introduction by David Reinhardt. ONLY £11


74903 PUBLIC ART SINCE 1950 by Lynn Pearson


Following the 1951 Festival of Britain, post-war public art encompassed a wide range of intriguing, curious and colourful artworks in urban and rural locations throughout Britain. Abstract or historical murals were often integrated with new buildings. In the 1990s and early 21st century, public art became a tourist attraction. Our guide offers nearly 200 of the most interesting and accessible works in the UK, Channel Islands and Scotland. A Shire paperback, 80pp, colour illus. £5.99 NOW £2.75


74693 ART OF ROMANCE: Mills and Boon and Harlequin Cover Designs


by Joanna Bowring and Margaret O’Brien Mills and Boon has epitomised romance for over 100 years and the Harlequin imprint, always slightly more daring, is now over 60. These hugely successful publishing ventures followed the simple principle of giving the readers what they wanted: a virginal young woman was swept off her feet by a masterful man who might be a sheikh or a doctor, but always a figure of authority and frequently from a higher social class than the heroine. The story always ends with wedding bells and a lifelong romantic commitment. This fascinating book features well over 200 covers, each printed in full colour. Jack London was one of the earliest authors, with covers featuring rugged adventurous males, but by the 1920s the woman was the centre of the story. W.A.A.F. into Wife and Utility Wedding have obvious war themes, and the female heroes increasingly have jobs, with titles such as The English Tutor, Nightclub Hostess and Nurse Warding Takes Charge. Towards the end of the 20th century the girl on the cover is wearing fewer clothes and the embrace is more passionate. 288pp, softback, 20 x 24cm, colour illustrations. $25 NOW £7


74881 HIERONYMUS BOSCH COMPLETE WORKS


by Stefan Fischer


In the midst of the realist-leaning artistic climate of the Late Gothic and Early Renaissance, Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516) was more than an anomaly. Bosch’s paintings are populated with grotesque scenes of fantastical creatures succumbing to all manner of human desire, fantasy and angst. One of his greatest inventions was to take the figural and scenic representations known as drolleries, which use the monstrous and the grotesque to illustrate sin and evil, and to transfer them from the marginalia of illuminated manuscripts into large-format panel paintings. Alongside traditional hybrids of man and beast, such as centaurs and mythological creatures such as unicorns, devils, dragons, and griffins, we also encounter countless mixed creatures freely invented by the artist. Many subsidiary scenes illustrate proverbs and figures of speech in common use in Bosch’s day. In his Temptation of St Anthony triptych, for example, the artist shows a messenger devil wearing ice skates, evoking the popular expression that the world was “skating on ice”. Bosch, whose real name was Jheronimus van Aken, was widely copied and imitated. Today only 20 paintings and eight drawings are confidently assigned to Bosch’s oeuvre. Featuring brand new photography of recently restored paintings, this exhaustive book covers the artist’s complete works. Copious details and a huge fold- out spread, over 110cm (43") long, of The Garden of Earthly Delights. 11.4" x 15.6", 300 pages, decorated carry-handled slipcase. ONLY £100


74422 VAN GOGH: The Master Draughtsman by Sjraar van Heugten with Marije Vellekoop and Roelie Zwikker


Van Gogh started drawing in 1880, at the age of 27, determined to embark upon an artistic career. Unlike artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Pablo Picasso who were already gifted draughtsmen in their youth, Van Gogh had to master the techniques of drawing the hard way - through trial and error. This lavish survey of his works on paper brings together around 100 of the finest and most important drawings of his entire oeuvre. While living in Arles in 1888 he created some extraordinary sketches of the Provençal landscape in reed pen and later, at Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, he experimented with rhythm and colour. Examples of those works are reproduced here. This magnificent volume is organised chronologically, and records the artist’s work during the early years, his townscapes, portraits of popular characters, the superb drawings of rural life, his paintings in pen and colour. 192 pages 30cm x 24.5cm, 170 colour illus. £24.95 NOW £11


74433 ANTONY GORMLEY by Martin Caiger-Smith


Antony Gormley’s sculptural presence is something of a phenomenon. You can come across his sculptures on a Lancashire beach, in a Norwegian fjord or on the salt-pan wastes of Western Australia, as well as the British Museum, a cathedral crypt, a civic square or a contemporary art gallery. His materials range from the pebbles of the seashore and the mud of the desert to the metals of the forge and the steel mill, and his means vary from advanced computer imaging to the press of a hand in soft clay. His controversial Angel of the North has become a recognised benchmark for public projects. This book traces the development of his art as a series of distinct themes and ideas, analysing six key works in depth. 128 paperback pages 27cm x 21 cm, 100 colour illus. £14.99 NOW £5


74951 DESCRIPTION DE L’EGYPTE: Napoleon’s Expedition and the


Rediscovery of Ancient Egypt by Franco Serino When Napoleon set out to conquer Egypt in 1798, he had set up the Institut de l’Egypte, an academy for studying antiquities. He had brought with him over 150 scholars whose job it was to record the culture and art of the nation. Their discoveries included unearthing the Rosetta Stone and their findings were published in four volumes, of which this large format compendium offers a selection. Artists such as Dominique Vivant Denon drew landscapes, battles, ceremonies, mosques, and above all, ancient ruins. Among the historic reproductions in this book are the Temple at Dendera, with cartouches of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Claudius and Caligula. In another print the monumental head of the Sphinx emerges from the sand, and a study of the tomb of Peheri, an 18th dynasty functionary, includes an artist sketching and a local man smoking a long pipe. Some of the most spectacular engravings are imaginary reconstructions of ruined monuments while a beautiful reconstruction of the Hypostyle Hall at Esna includes zodiacal and astrological motifs and texts. 128pp, lavishly illustrated in colour and b/w engravings. £19.95 NOW £9


75012 MONUMENTS OF EGYPT AND NUBIA by Ippolito Rosellini, edited by Franco Serini


The first international scientific mission to Egypt was launched by Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, led by two Egyptologists who were close friends, the Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion and the Italian Ippolito Rosellini. The new expedition had the enormous advantage that, following the Napoleonic discovery of the Rosetta Stone, Champollion had deciphered the hieroglyphic language and a much more systematic study was possible as a result. The mission worked in shifts copying and drawing the reliefs and inscriptions in soaring temperatures, and frequently they were able to make new archaeological discoveries, sometimes even purchasing their finds. Rosellini’s Monuments of Egypt and Nubia was subsequently published using data from the expedition, and this beautifully illustrated book reproduces a selection of Rosellini’s prints together with views and scenes recorded by other artists. The plan and elevation of the Garden of Amun found in a Theban nobleman’s tomb is now destroyed, but Rosellini’s print shows papyrus plants and ducks swimming in ornamental pools. Another Theban tomb painting shows women musicians and dancers from the front. The tomb of Ramesses III shows blind harpists with shaven heads and beautifully decorated harps, while the same emperor’s temple at Medinet Habu has a naval battle scene in which sea marauders attempt to conquer the well-armed Egyptians. 128pp, illus in colour, 36 x 26cm. £34.95 NOW £10


75051 ALASTAIR: Drawings and Illustrations


by Baron Hans Henning Voigt Art historians, bibliophiles, collectors and students of drawing and book illustration will treasure this affordable retrospective of hard-to-find works. It showcases the striking, mainly b/w chefs d’oeuvres of a leader of the Decadent Movement, Baron Hans Henning Voigt (1887-1969). Better known under his pseudonym of Alastair, the artist created works that are frequently compared to those of Aubrey Beardsley, Harry Clarke and Edward Gorey. His highly ornate and distinctively ominous style blossomed with a series of erotic illustrations for the publisher and literary renegade Harry Crosby. The shadowy, sinuous images include characters from Salome and L’Anniversaire de L’Infante by Oscar Wilde, Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe and Manon Lescaut by L’Abbé Prévost, as well as scenes from La Tosca and The Magic Flute. Circa 152 pages in b/w with splashes of vivid colour. £18.99 NOW £6


HISTORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1


incorporates a great range of environments and land forms. There are 120 ethnic groups speaking many languages and following disparate religions and cultural traditions. Out of the ashes of the Cold War, a new super power has emerged. From the collapse of the Soviet Union to the rise of the oligarchs, the presidency of Vladimir Putin and the shifting balance of power between the world’s superpowers, the Britannica Guide offers a comprehensive account of this complex and fascinating nation since 1917. It gives a panoramic overview of everyday life and the rich culture of Russia including portraits of the great writers, artists and thinkers who have shaped the country. Mary Dejevsky, the political commentator, in her wide ranging introduction looks at the recent past and possible future for Russia as it regains its status in the new world order. 334pp in paperback, photos. $13.95 NOW £5


75232 RUSSIA: A 1,000 Year Chronicle of the Wild


East by Martin Sixsmith Covering politics, music, literature and art, the book explores the myths Russians have created from their history, and explains the nation’s seemingly split personality. Combining in-depth research with his own personal experiences, the author tells the full and fascinating story, from Russia’s founding in the


waning years of the 10th century to its resurgence of wealth and power in the early years of the 21st. Skilfully tracing the conundrums of the country to their roots in its troubled past, BBC correspondent Sixsmith shows how Russia’s complex identity has been forged over 1,000 years, and how it can help us to understand its often baffling behaviour at home and abroad. Russia is a nation of cultural refinement and artistic originality that governs its people with an iron fist. Despite its recent embrace of capitalism, an ingrained eagerness to sacrifice the individual for the collectivist cause still persists among ordinary citizens. 20 years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as autocracy once again takes hold of Russian politics, this enlightening volume explores the influences that have divided the country for centuries. A vast 611 well-informed and readable pages with 37 archive photos in b/w, 32 photos in colour, 7 maps, time-line. $37.95 NOW £7


75668 HISTORY OF PEDLARS IN EUROPE


by Laurence Fontaine What was a pedlar? Shakespeare’s Autolycus is a complete rogue, but in medieval France a pedlar was initially a tradesman who would travel round selling pictures and books. The word came to denote a trickster who would deal in any shoddy merchandise and who was regarded with extreme suspicion by


the respectable members of the town’s guilds. In the 19th century when the trade was dying out, the pedlar underwent a radical transformation: instead of having an ambiguous and subversive role he became a national hero, embodying the honesty of the countryside against the corruption of the city. Meanwhile, in France, the pedlar came to symbolise two diametrically opposed concepts: he could be the personification of evil, but also a Christ-figure. The book is ambitious in its scope and seeks to place the pedlar in a cultural and economic context. The ritual exchanges surrounding the act of selling were also cultural encounters, bringing new products such as tobacco or books and disseminating new fashions. Mobility did not necessarily mean rootlessness and the author demonstrates a complex pattern of community membership. Some interesting conclusions emerge, for instance the greater readiness of the merchant classes to embrace new products compared with the conservative gentry, evidenced by their ownership of porcelain, crockery, paintings and spectacles. 280pp, paperback. £18.99 NOW £5


75681 TRIALS OF THE DIASPORA:


A History of Anti-Semitism in England


by Anthony Julius


Famous for being Princess Diana’s divorce lawyer, Anthony Julius has experienced anti-Semitism in his own life and in this brilliantly researched book, acclaimed by Jewish commentators, he unpacks English anti-Semitism in all its


manifestations. Following the medieval Expulsion of Jews and their 17th century Readmission, the process of emancipation was slow, though the author notes that many restrictions on Jews applied to other non- Protestants. A common attitude of earlier centuries was summed up in the Church of England’s prayer for “Jews, Turks, infidels and heretics”. The marginalisation of Jews in public life was finally challenged by such events as the election of Lionel Rothschild to parliament in 1847, though Queen Victoria refused him a peerage on grounds of religion. Among literary people there was a belief that acceptance was the way forward, symbolised by the heroine of Scott’s Ivanhoe, but the 19th and 20th centuries also produced a body of conspiracy writings such as the forged Protocols of Zion, in which alleged Jewish plots were associated with the rise of Bolshevism. Julius analyses attitudes in key works of literature, including Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice and the 20th century writings of Eliot and Chesterton. The book covers the full range of 20th century anti- Semitism from the Balfour Declaration and the Palestinian Mandate to the exclusion of Jews from golf clubs and the bullying of Jewish boys at public schools. 811pp, very extensive notes. £25 NOW £8


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