NEW from ACC Art Books – Limited Edition: Sukita: EternityClick here to order

Australia’s wine history dates back almost 250 years, to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. The first commercial wine region, the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, was created a mere 40 years later, and by as early as the 1850s small amounts of wine were being exported to the UK. In the modern era, Australian wine became known for fortified wine styles modeled on Port and Sherry. These were the main wine styles consumed for several decades, but by the mid-1990s nearly all grapes were going into table wine and Australia was the sixth largest global exporter of wine. Vibrant, varietally expressive and affordable wines introduced new generations of drinkers to the joys of wine. The popularity of Australian wine has ebbed and flowed over the years but experimentation, innovation and the illumination of newer regions has created a quiet revolution, challenging preconceptions of what is possible.

In The Wines of Australia, sommelier Mark Davidson tastes his way round this new Australian wine world. European immigration was an important factor in the development of wine but it also had a dramatic and negative impact on the indigenous peoples, an issue that Davidson addresses in a chapter on history and culture, explaining how the wine industry is taking steps to involve First Nations peoples in grape growing and winemaking. The growing environment, including the critical question of climate change, is tackled, and today’s most important grape varieties, along with those that can take Australian wine into the future, are profiled. This is followed by a chapter explaining why the country is home to some of the oldest vines in the world. Every region is clearly delineated, its key producers introduced and their wines assessed. The Wines of Australia captures the character of one of the most exciting wine-producing countries on the planet.

Gertrude Vernon, or Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, was an English woman who married a Scot. The American artist John Singer Sargent excelled as a painter in Europe. His portrait of Lady Agnew was painted in London but has found its definitive home in Edinburgh. All these contexts converge in a supremely beautiful painting which is one the icons of the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Created in the 1890s, it proved to be a seminal work in the lives of the artist and his subject and has enjoyed a rich afterlife, inspiring artistic and written responses. This book offers a fascinating biography of this most accomplished, evocative and admired of portraits, placing it in the context of Sargent’s career and how he worked, discussing the life of the sitter and unveiling the picture’s rich critical history.

Santa Maria Assunta in Cremona, among the great Romanesque cathedrals of the Po Valley in northern Italy, is not only one of the most renowned for its artwork, but also one in which the slow stratification of time is most evident. The names of the greatest masters, in the first person or in the medieval sense of workshop, follow one another in quick succession: Wiligelmo, Antelami, the excellent Marco Romano, the Campionesi, enrich the façade with grandiose and superb sculptures, aristocratic and earthy. In the interior, the cycle of frescoes in the main nave with the Stories from the Life of the Virgin and Christ shows, as nowhere else, the symptoms of the pressing renewal taking place in early 16th century Italian painting, from the faultless classicism of Boccaccio Boccaccino to the eccentric Altobello Melone and Gianfrancesco Bembo, the Brescian Romanino and the Friulian Pordenone, who is given the grand finale with the resounding Crucifixion on the counter façade. Alongside these two poles, the façade and the nave, there are masterpieces from all centuries: paintings, sculptures, and goldsmithing, including frescoes and canvases by the Campi, the greatest exponents of the 16th-century Cremonese school of painting.

What do movable dolls’ eyes have to do with a Catholic church? Where could you meet Plain Bob Maximus and Surprise Major? Why does just one person know where Oliver Cromwell’s head is buried? And where is a dog a very large cat?

The answers to all these questions lie in Cambridge, which combines the magnificence of a medieval university with the dynamism of a high-technology hub. Tens of thousands of visitors flock to Cambridge every year to see the colleges, go punting on the river, and shop. But there is much more to Cambridge than its university and Silicon Fen. Over the centuries, town and gown together have transformed this city, which was an inland port until the 17th century. Eccentricity is something of a Cambridge tradition, and the town seems to delight in taking its visitors by surprise, whether that’s with a huge metal time-eating grasshopper, May Balls held in June, sculptures that dive into the ground feet first, or a museum that makes a feature of broken pottery. You will find these and many more curiosities in this book.

On 27 April 1867, a month before the opening of the sensational World’s Fair in Paris, Claude Monet officially requested permission to paint views of the city from the balcony of the Louvre. His painting sessions resulted in three paintings: a view of the church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, a view of the tightly landscaped greenery of the Jardin l’Infante, and a depiction of the bustle on the Seine around the Quai du Louvre. This book masterfully brings those three works together, while reflecting on the development of the Impressionist cityscape during a turbulent period in the history of Paris. Artists such as Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot and Caillebotte each approached the depiction of Paris in their own unique way, portraying all kinds of facets of this city in transition.

The papers in this volume were presented at the 7th International Architectural Finishes Research Conference held virtually in Tel Aviv in 2021. They provide ample evidence of the importance of research into contemporary and historic finishes in expanding our comprehension of the built environment. The case studies cover a wide geographical area and examine various finishes including mural paintings in a Roman palace, a late 19th-century US penitentiary and a fire-damaged English church; tiles in 18th-century Portuguese interiors; the properties of latex paint; a linoleum-covered table; internal and external finishes of the houses of a Ukrainian settlement in Canada; building façades in Gdansk; and the preservation of graffiti.

Capturing the juxtaposition between its vibrant beach culture and towering urban landscape, Rob Ball’s photographs of this famous Spanish seaside town consider the promise of the perfect package holiday – and whether it has changed since it’s conception in the fifties. From sunlit palm trees to shimmering neon lights, from pastel-colored high rises to bright pink beach towels, from the greys and browns of backstreets to the pinks and reds of sunburn, this is a visual ode to all the colors of Benidorm and a testament to its irrepressible energy.

111 Places in New Orleans That You Must Not Miss is your ultimate guide to uncovering the Crescent City’s most unique and hidden gems. Beyond the jazz clubs and Mardi Gras parades, this book reveals the city’s soulful layers—where history, music, cuisine, and mysticism collide. Discover the roots of jazz, the birthplace of America’s first cocktail, and the vibrant mix of Creole and Cajun cultures.

Explore secret spots like a chapel adorned with cast-off prosthetics, the oldest African-American Catholic church in the U.S., and a bridge hosting Voodoo ceremonies. Indulge in local flavors with praline bacon, pork belly po’boys, and Bananas Foster sno-balls. Find eccentric treasures like a chartreuse beehive wig or a hand-painted sign reminding you to “Be Nice or Leave.”

From dive bars to haunted landmarks, 111 Places in New Orleans invites you to experience the city’s quirky, mystical, and unforgettable spirit—one hidden place at a time.

Always New: The Posters of Jules Chéret highlights ​the role that French artist Jules Chéret (1836–1932) played in transforming the ​illustrated poster into a form of ephemeral art that embraced the public’s interest in novelty and rapid change during the 19th century. Recognized as the father of the poster, Chéret was ​one of the first artist​s to bring colorful, large-scale advertisements to the streets of Paris. ​People strolling down the boulevards were captivated not only by Chéret’s vibrant images, but also by how frequently new designs appeared. Chéret’s printmaking innovations allowed him to produce astonishing numbers of posters rapidly and inexpensively enough to publicize the latest pleasures the city had to offer. Drawing from the largest collection of Chéret posters in the ​United States, the book features ​over 100 works that span the artist’s career and includes both his most celebrated and lesser-known images. Always New brings Chéret into focus as a master of his medium, an artist who celebrated the ephemeral nature of posters and shaped the way they were created and experienced.

“Travelling from your couch, it is possible with the book. You will get an overview of different types of cottage accommodations, from small weekend houses to lavishly decorated summer villas and modern cottages.” — Elle Decoration Belgium

The Design of Retreat explores different types of outdoor retreats designed by and owned by leading names in the interior design world. From contemporary cabins, modern cottages and minimal vacation homes to sumptuously decorated summer villas with a flair for drama. In The Design of Retreat, they stand side by side with seaside Italian palazzos and tropical hideaways in the Mexican jungle. The wonderfully colorful homes, playful weekend cottages, innovative farmhouses and historic mansions will take you around the world. Relax and get away.

‘This is me, Hee-haw. I’m going to tell you a story. Not just any old story – a Christmas story. You’re going to see the most beautiful paintings and drawings in the world too. You’ll probably be surprised to see how many pictures I’m in. Hundreds – no, thousands! And that’s because I, Hee-haw, play a very important part in this story. As you will see.’ Martine Gosselink, director of the Mauritshuis museum, tells the Christmas story through the eyes of Hee-haw the donkey, drawn by Thé Tjong-Khing. ‘How come? Because I was always there!’

… “What sets Stills apart from your standard rock photo book is the captions, written by Robert Smith himself.” — WhyNow

The Cure “Stills” follows the changing faces of one of the leading British rock bands during the post-punk and new-wave movements of the late ’70s and ’80s. As the band has continued over a period of nearly 50 years, front man and only constant member Robert Smith has maintained the band’s popularity throughout the changing musical eras, while staying true to their individualistic style and quirkiness.
Instrumental in the creation of the varying incarnations of The Cure is photographer Paul Cox, who first encountered the group on Top of the Pops in 1980. Having established a creative, productive and trusting relationship with the band, Cox’s resulting work is The Cure in all their glory. Including over 200 color and 75 black-and-white images, with accompanying captions selected and written by Cox and Smith, this book is a celebration of a seminal band through the lens of a skilled photographer. 

Whilst many books have been published about war, the role of the prisoner of war has been largely ignored or paid scant attention. This book, along with the author’s other title – A History of Napoleonic and American Prisoners of War 1756-1816: Hulk, Depot and Parole – aims to correct this imbalance, and is the result of his quest over thirty years into this almost-forgotten field of history.
Illustrated here is an extensive selection of items from museums around the world and the author’s own collection – one of the largest private collections of prisoner of war artefacts in existence – revealing the incredible skills of these imprisoned craftsmen. The items – delicate, intricate and highly detailed – include boxes, toys and automata made from bone, straw or paper, as well as paintings by artists whose work is now much in demand. The creation of these pieces seems even more remarkable when the conditions under which they would have been made and the extreme limitations the prisoners would have endured in terms of access to materials and resources are considered.
This book records in great detail the fascinating accounts of the lives and occupations of the prisoners of war, and the prison markets in which they were permitted to sell their wares. It also tells of the comings and goings of the highly interesting variety of characters who lived and worked alongside the prisoners, or were paroled prisoners themselves, and who would travel for many miles to trade with these, quite literally, captive audiences.
Providing an excellent insight into general life at the time, much information, such as the laws, and the trading and working conditions of both the prisoners and their non-prisoner acquaintances is given as background to the former’s stories.
A detailed account of the historical background to the wars that saw these men become prisoners can be found in the author’s, A History of Napoleonic & American Prisoners of War 1756-1816: Hulk, Depot & Parole.
Unlikely to be challenged as the standard work on the subject, British Artists 1880-1940 includes entries for a staggering 41,000 British artists who exhibited at forty-nine of the major exhibition centres and commercial galleries throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland between the years 1880-1940. While there are many books on specific artists, schools and movements, until the publication of this book there has been no basic work of reference covering the vast mass of artists who painted during the period and whose work can be found in most British homes.
Artists are listed with their birth and death dates (or, if these are not known, the years they were known to exhibit) and with their address. Further information includes the medium in which the artist worked, membership of societies and associations, as well as the exhibitions and galleries where their work was shown.
…a wealth of information that has never been published before…‘ – Antique Monthly

Britain has been blessed with many fine poets; Simon Drew isn’t one of them. It is tempting to call this a book of doggerel, but maybe that’s aiming a little high. This book makes a Co-op receipt seem intellectual. However, there are many collectors of Drew’s work (some of them locked up) who will welcome a collection of all the best verses. This book will be left lying around the best homes with the aim of impressing odd people and passing hyenas. A selection of Simon’s work can be found at: simondrew.co.uk

Simon Drew’s first book published by ACC was A Book of Bestial Nonsense, setting a high standard for the pursuit of nonsensical intellectualism and poppycock.
Many years later, Fowl Fleas and Fancy Fauna, Simon’s latest book, concentrates on the Animal Kingdom again, following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin in seeking to offer a unifying theory on our existence: humankind has developed an acute sense of the ludicrous and Simon is an expert in ridiculous behavior. So will this book be compared to the Origin of Species? We leave the readers to make up their own minds – if, indeed, they are still in possession of their wits after reading this book.
Either way any library would be a poorer place without this book and it is expected that the Nobel committee will be in contact soon.

The Golden Age of English Glass features 150 objects from the collection of John H. Bryan, ranging in date from c.1650-1809. These enable a full and detailed discussion of the history of English glassmaking during its critical period of innovation (c.1650-1675) and its world triumph (c.1700-1775), including discussions of crystal table glass, ‘black’ glass bottles, window glass, mirrors and lighting (glass candle­sticks and chandeliers). In spite of the fact that these pieces are among the most important examples of English glass known (the collection includes, for instance, twenty-five drinking glasses made between about 1690 and 1720, when English table glass is widely regarded as being among the most refined and perfect expression of the glass­makers’ art anywhere in the world), few have ever been published. The scholarly text brings together the latest information in a dynamic area of research. Essays accompanying catalogue discussions of individual glasses place them in their wider historical and technical settings. The book is illustrated with some 215 colour photographs of the objects in the collection (including groups and details), some seventy-five comparative objects from other collections and fifty-five period prints, paintings, drawings and other documents that convey the historic context of their use and also document processes of manufacture and decoration. Also available:
British Glass 1800-1914 ISBN 9781851491414 20th Century British Glass ISBN 9781851495870

Simon Drew has produced this book in much the same way he played golf. In the dim distant past he would attempt to drive a ball straight down the fairway only to see it fly off at a tangent in a direction the ball had chosen all on its own. Now he finds his drawings behave in a similar manner; whatever the intention, you never know what the end result will be. This book will poke fun at almost anyone who loves golf and a few who don’t. Most of the verses and word plays are by Simon Drew though a couple of well-known quotations were too good to ignore. It includes the Ballad of the Lost Ball, which turns golf into pantomime: something that happens to most golfers sooner or later. Simon Drew’s Birthday Book ISBN: 9781905377619 £9.50 Gin’ll Fix It ISBN: 9781905377558 £7.50 Simon Drew’s Inappropriate Address Book ISBN: 9781905377039 £9.95 Spot the Book Title ISBN: 9781851493562 £7.50 …And So I face the Vinyl Curtain ISBN: 9781905377015 £7.50 A Collection of the Most Pointless Verses of Simon Drew ISBN: 9781905377077 £7.50 A is for Aardvark ISBN: 9781851496549 £7.50 Dogsbodies ISBN: 9781851492718 £7.50 Shepherd Spy ISBN: 9781905377169 £7.50 Simon Drew’s Book of Ludicrous Limericks ISBN: 9781905377367 £7.50 The Plot Thickens ISBN: 9781905377299 £7.50 The Quotations of Oscar Wilde ISBN: 9781851494774 £7.50 The Very Worst of Simon Drew ISBN: 9781851493319 £8.50

The finest books produced during the quarter century prior to the outbreak of the Great War were almost invariably printed by the private presses, but post-war, with the development of new technology, the accolade of excellence passed into the hands of a small number of commercial firms, with the Curwen Press very much to the fore. Like those earlier printers, Harold Curwen was inspired by the Morrisian ideal, but he did not adhere to the tenet that ‘hand made’ was necessarily better than ‘machine made’, which led him to become one of the pioneering figures in the technical revolution that transformed the printing industry. Harold Curwen joined the family firm in 1908 and by 1916 had instigated a general replanning of the works and, aided by the wartime staff shortage, felt able to push ahead with the installation of modern machinery. He was in the forefront of the development of offset lithography, which ensured that the Curwen Press would be in the vanguard of fine color printing throughout the next decade. Harold also pioneered, as far as England was concerned, the pochoir technique of hand-stencilling. 1922 was the beginning of the Curwen Press’s golden decade, during which it produced The Woodcutter’s Dog, the English language edition of Julius Meier-Graefe’s two volume biography of Van Gogh for the Medici Society, the exhibition catalogue of books and manuscripts for The First Edition Club, Goldoni’s Four Comedies and the delightful little pocket engagement book, The Four Seasons, illustrated by Albert Rutherston. Rutherston was later to illustrate Thomas Hardy’s Yuletide in a Younger World, the first of the Ariel Poems for Faber & Gwyer which were to become a feature of the collaboration between the two firms. In addition there was the ‘Safety First’ Calendar, adorned with Lovat Fraser’s cautionary illustrations. Following restructuring in 1933 the Curwen Press had a further forty years of distinguished work ahead both in the printing of books, particularly those illustrated by Barnett Freedman, as well as jobbing work, including some of the finest posters for the London Underground by Bawden, Wadsworth, John Banting, Betty Swanwick, Barnett Freedman and others. Also avaliable: Claud Lovat Fraser ISBN: 9781851496631 GPO ISBN: 9781851495962 Peter Blake ISBN: 9781851496181 FHK Henrion ISBN: 9781851496327 David Gentleman ISBN: 9781851495955 David Mellor ISBN: 9781851496037 E.McKnight Kauffer ISBN: 9781851495207 Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious ISBN: 9781851495009 El Lissitzky ISBN: 9781851496198 Festival of Britain 1951 ISBN: 9781851495337 Jan Le Witt and George Him ISBN: 9781851495665 Paul Nash and John Nash ISBN: 9781851495191 Rodchenko ISBN: 9781851495917 Abram Games ISBN: 9781851496778

Welcome back to the wonderful world of Simon Drew! A combination of artist and wordsmith, Simon combines these talents with an inventive and quirky sense of humor in his range of books, this being his twenty-seventh. Gifted with a keen sense of fun and a lively imagination, Simon Drew interprets conventional words and phrases, situations and circumstances in pictures and prose, turning his attention this time to the alphabet.

Jacqueline Groag was probably the most influential textile designer in Britain in the post Second World War era. Although originally Czech, she studied textile and pattern design in Austria in the 1920s. During the late twenties and early thirties she designed textiles for the Wiener Werkstatte in Vienna and subsequently designed and produced unique hand printed lengths of fabrics for many of the leading Parisian fashion houses, including Chanel, Lanvin, Worth, Schiaparelli and Paul Poiret. She was awarded a gold medal for textile design at the Milan Triennale in 1933 and another gold medal for printed textiles at the Paris World Fair in 1937. Jacqueline was not only a serious and highly respected contender in the field of textile and pattern design but, with her husband, the Modernist architect Jacques Groag, was also deeply immersed in the intellectual life of Vienna.
In 1938 the sophisticated world of Jacques and Jacqueline was brutally shattered when the Anschluss, the political unification of Austria and Germany, occurred and the German army entered Vienna. Faced with the actuality of the Nazi terror the Groags, who were Jewish, fled to Czechoslovakia and their home city of Prague. After a brief respite they were once more forced to flee in 1939, this time to London. On their arrival in England they were welcomed and championed by leading members of the British design fraternity, amongst whom were Sir Gordon Russell, the doyen of British architects Sir Charles Reilly and Jack Pritchard, founder of the modernist design company, Isokon. From 1940 until her death in 1986, Jacqueline had a long and successful career. Much of the Contemporary style of the textiles and wallpapers shown at the 1951 Festival of Britain were heavily indebted to her influential designs of the 1940s. Many examples of her work were featured prominently at the Festival and from then on she became a major influence on pattern design internationally. She developed a large client group in the United States during the fifties and sixties, amongst whom were Associated American Artists, Hallmark Cards and American Greetings Ohio.
In the later 1950s and throughout the 1960s she became increasingly involved with Sir Misha Black and the Design Research Unit (D.R.U.), working on the interiors for boats and planes and trains, particularly the design of textiles and plastic laminates for BOAC and British Rail. One of her last commissions from Misha Black, in the mid-seventies was a distinctive moquette for London Transport, for seating on both buses and tube trains. Her work and influence did not just extend to the large corporations and exclusive couturiers but was familiar to the general public through stores and companies such as John Lewis, Liberty of London, David Whitehead, Edinburgh Weavers, Sandersons, Warerite and Formica. Her remarkable achievement finally received public recognition in 1984 when, at the age of 81, she was made an R.D.I. – a Royal Designer for Industry – the ultimate accolade for any designer in Britain.

A peculiar can be defined as something that ‘has eccentric or individual variations to the general or predicted pattern’. And, as it turns out, London is overflowing with them. This pocket-sized book will accompany you around the capital, guiding you from the tent-shaped tomb designed for Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton by his widow, Isabel Arundel Gordon; to what may be the last surviving porter’s rest in London; to a stone niche by a long-demolished foundling hospital where almost 15, 000 infants were discarded over the course of the 18th century. Sometimes heroic, sometimes tragic, often amusing and always unexpected, these so-called ‘peculiars’ bring color to the fabric of London. Whether you are a lifelong resident or a visitor passing through, London Peculiars is guaranteed to lead you on an adventure. Also in the series: Art London ISBN 9781788840385 Vinyl London ISBN 9781788840156

In this fascinating volume, china-ware expert Geoffrey Godden shows how collectable and decorative New Hall Porcelain is. The factory produced over three thousand patterns which served to enhance a long series of attractive yet very functional forms. They were welcomed for their excellence over a period of over fifty years, from 1782 to 1835.
The success of these pleasing Staffordshire porcelains in the marketplace helped to turn the Staffordshire Potteries, then famed only for its earthenwares, into a porcelain-producing center of world importance. The New Hall firm in England were market-leaders in their own time, their shapes and styles widely copied by their several imitators.

New Hall Porcelains presents historical facts in a novel, helpful manner, supporting with a broad selection of clear illustrations. Geoffrey Godden is able to illustrate how diverse and attractive these Staffordshire ‘Real China’ porcelains can be, placing New Hall in its rightful position in the study of British porcelains and their history.
Victor Chinnery’s scholarly work covers the history and development of furniture in oak and kindred timbers in the British Isles and New England, from the Middle Ages through to 1800. The subject is broken down into a logical sequence of aspects and each section is generously illustrated. The furniture shown ranges from the finest examples of the period, to the sort of sturdy and workmanlike pieces which modern collectors will find affordable.
The study of oak furniture is a remarkably rich and varied subject, which reflects at several levels the social and domestic life of many generations of our ancestors. Victor Chinnery has explored and clarified many important topics, whilst fully realizing that scholarship in this field is still very much in its infancy.
One of the most profound influences on the appearance of furniture in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was the system of rigid demarcations operated by the different furniture making trades, and in which the work of the joiners was the most important. The author explains the techniques and materials of the different trades, as well as other considerations of vital interest to the modern collector and curator.
The furniture of Connecticut and Massachusetts in the seventeenth century is presented as an extension of the range of styles to be found in other English provinces at the same date.