Tells the very personal story of the man who changed the face of modern cinema

Special-effects superstar Ray Harryhausen elevated stop-motion animation to an art during the 1950s to 1980s. With material drawn from his incredible archive, his daughter, Vanessa, selects 100 creatures and objects, in chronological order, that meant the most to her as she watched her father make world-famous films that changed the course of cinema.

Ray Harryhausen’s work included the Sinbad films of the 50s and 70s, One Million Years B.C. and Mighty Joe Young, as well as a wider portfolio including children’s fairy tales and commercials. He inspired a generation of film-makers such as Peter Jackson, Aardman Animation, Tim Burton, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, and his influence on blockbuster cinema can be felt to this day. Some of the objects featured in the book, such as Talos from Jason and the Argonauts, are world famous, while others are less well known but hold special personal significance to Vanessa. Many newly restored works that have never previously been seen are included.

This book is published in collaboration with the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation and it will receive a great deal of international publicity. It celebrates the legacy of a filmmaker who changed the face of modern cinema and it is certain to delight and fascinate those who appreciate film, art, science fiction and fantasy.

Shortlisted for Saltire Society Scotland’s National Book Awards, First Book Award 2021. Scotland’s National Book Awards recognise work across Scotland’s literary and publishing community. [The Saltire Society] is delighted to highlight Scotland’s outstanding talent, raise the profile of writers and introduce audiences to exceptional new works.

Yumi Katsura is the greatest fashion designer you’ve never heard of. One of the world’s bestselling luxury wedding-dress designers, she is venerated in her native Japan as a cultural icon and an inspirational business leader. Among her most celebrated pieces is a paper ‘washi mode’ dress housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a vestment worn by Pope John Paul II; and a diamond-laden wedding gown ranked among the most expensive of all time.
These beautifully illustrated pages tell the story of a woman who single-handedly created Japan’s modern wedding industry, turning centuries of tradition on its head. From Katsura’s childhood in the ruins of wartime Tokyo to her stellar international career, her life is an example to anyone who dreams of living for their passion. Written by Cori Coppola – producer of the acclaimed documentary House of Cardin – with co-author Kristin Coppola, this lavish fashion biography is a must-have for critics, connoisseurs and couture fans.

Madras Then: The Story of Madras is the tale of several small villages that grew to become metropolis. In the sixteenth century, when the Dutch raised the price of pepper by 5 shillings, 24 merchants in London formed the East India Company in 1600 to corner the India trade. This event was to change the course of Indian history and to lead to the formation of several Indian cities, including Madras. A city of myth and historical importance, Madras and the region around the city has served as an important administrative, military and economic center for many centuries. With rare archival photographs from museums and libraries from around the world the book showcases a large number of photographs from private collections and tells a story of a city earlier also known as Blacktown. City of the oldest living language in the world, Chennai is different from the other three metros of India. A city also popularly called the cultural center of South India, Chennai is fast becoming home to some of the major global IT and automobile companies as well as India’s foremost center of medical tourism. A city of politics and films, Chennai has made Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha as popular as Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan. From a lazy, sleepy Madras of the early twentieth century, the city is changing rapidly and this photo journey showcases the different facets of this beautiful city on the harbor.

A heart of gold and golden legs. Remco Evenepoel goes full gas. A unique record accomplished in just a few years. Multiple world champion and winner of classics and tours, including the Vuelta. In an epic 2024, he finished third in his first Tour, became double Olympic champion, and world time trial champion. In this book, Filip Osselaer talks to Remco, the love of his life Oumi, parents, friends, coaches and specialists about what drives him. It’s a touching, in-depth story, filled with tension, sadness, joy, drama, happiness, and success. 

In the story of English architecture, and the history of Cambridge University in particular, Downing College occupies a very special place. Founded in 1800 through the will of the third Sir George Downing, Baronet, it was the first new college to be built in Cambridge for more than 200 years; the first major scheme in the neo-Classical Greek Revival style; and the first instance of the spacious campus plan in collegiate architecture, acting as the precursor to Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia and the American campus universities that were to follow. For the last 215 years the College has been fully committed to the defining style of its original buildings for all subsequent additions to its spacious site in the center of Cambridge, and the story of its architecture is traced from the earliest plans and ideas through to the college of today.

Joseph Losey’s award-winning movie The Go-Between was filmed entirely on location in Norfolk in 1970. The film charts the tragic story of a young boy’s loss of innocence during a hot summer and stars Julie Christie and Alan Bates as a pair of lovers crossing class boundaries in late Victorian England. The production brought together the playwright Harold Pinter, who adapted L.P. Hartley’s elegant novel for the screen, the acclaimed director Joseph Losey and a cast of international stars for ten weeks’ filming in and around Melton Constable Hall in north Norfolk – a time of happy creativity, some tension and a good deal of comedy. But the idyllic summer only came about after years of bitter battling over the rights of the book, and it was to be followed by yet more intrigue and high drama, which culminated in the film’s triumph at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Palme d’Or.

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs has maintained close ties with Christofle since the second half of the 19th century. It is celebrating the goldsmith’s creations and expertise with the largest exhibition ever dedicated to this factory, which has a rich history spanning almost two hundred years.

Since its foundation in the 1830s, this lineage of silversmiths, created by Charles Christofle and continued by Henri Bouilhet , has transformed the lines and decorations of silver to adapt them to everyday life. In collaboration with the greatest designers such as Luc Lanel, Gio Ponti, Andrée Putman and Karl Lagerfeld, Christofle is an artistic laboratory that revolutionizes traditional goldsmithing by renewing its uses and adorning it with unprecedented colors and decorations.

The rich iconography of the exhibition catalog invites us to discover some of the most remarkable pieces. In doing so, it transports us into the splendor of great restaurants and palaces such as the Ritz, and legendary trains, liners and planes, such as the Orient-Express, the Normandie and the Concorde. Moreover, it brings us into places of political power, all equipped by Christofle, ambassador in France and abroad of the art of living and luxury “à la française”.

Through thirteen thematic essays divided into four chapters, this book traces the extraordinary destiny of the House of Christofle. Sixty-one notes cover the history of the decorative arts through goldsmithing, from historicism to Japonism, from Art Nouveau to Art Deco, from 1950s design to the most contemporary.

In a world where Photoshop creates the stereotype of perfect and flawless images, Steve Dean Mendes decided to row against the tide and do just the opposite as a photographer. By deciding not to retouch his images and to not use makeup for his models, only using natural light in the studio, Steve Dean Mendes created a safe environment for his protagonists, initiating a process of removing all masks. In this series he worked predominantly with women and attempted, through art, to facilitate the experience for self-discovery and acceptance.

His aim? To capture raw and unaltered emotions and to present a story of love, joy, but also of pain, suffering and abandonment. Inspired by the great Flemish Old masters and the Pre-Raphaelite movement, Steve Dean Mendes wanted to show the real human beings behind these protagonists, with all their natural fragility and beauty of their soul.

Text in English and Dutch.

“Moonwatch Only is certainly one of the best books ever written about a single watch model.” – William Massena – Timezone.com “It is an indescribable reference work and a true must-have for every Speedmaster collector.” – Forbes “This book sets a new standard. Not only for books on the Omega Speedmaster, but for watch books in general. I’ve never seen anything like it, and believe me when I tell you that I could fill an impressive sized wall with books on watches. Authors of other books or publishers should take a look at Moonwatch Only as well to see how it should be done.” – Robert Jan Broer – FratelloWatches “The OMEGA Speedmaster Professional – the Moonwatch – has done things that no other timepiece has done and it’s been worn in places that only a few human beings have been.” – Captain Eugene Cernan, ‘Last man on the moon’ There are very few timepieces in the world that deserve a definitive and comprehensive book such as this one. The OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch is one of them. Initially designed for automobile racing teams and engineers, the Omega Speedmaster embarked on a very different trajectory when NASA chose it to accompany astronauts heading for the Moon in 1965. Its involvement in the space adventure has propelled the Moonwatch to the top of the list of celebrated timepieces. After years of research and observation, the authors present a complete panorama of the Moonwatch in a systematic work that is both technical and attractive, making it the inescapable reference book for this legendary watch. This third edition has been enriched with numerous new features including a 16-page gallery of astronauts and their Speedmaster, QR codes to extend your exploration and a detailed story of a vintage Speedmaster.

Sources of yellow natural dyes provide a leitmotif running through the papers contained in this volume. Sawwort is the source of a yellow dye that played an important part in textile dyeing in 15th-century Europe and was traded by the Florentine dye company of Francescodi Giuliano Salviati. It is less well known than weld, also traded by the Salviati company and used all over Europe as well as in Iran for dyeing Persian carpets. Some sources of yellow dye also have a pharmaceutical role: such as chamomile, present among the named boxes of ‘simples’ housed at the Spezieria di Santa Maria della Scala, Rome.

Not every paper presented at the 35th and 36th meetings of Dyes in History and Archaeology held in Pisa (2016) and Hampton Court (2017) focused on yellow dyes, however. Other topics discussed and presented in this book include the fascinating story of Cornelis Drebbel, the scarlet cochineal dye he discovered and its subsequent history; a Victorian carpet manufacturer who used the lichen dye cudbear; and non-destructive methods of examination of Japanese textiles.

Growing Up Jewish in India offers an historical account of the primary Jewish communities of India, their synagogues, and unique Indian Jewish customs. It offers an investigation both within Jewish India and beyond its borders, tracing how Jews arrived in the vast subcontinent at different times from different places and have both inhabited dispersed locations within the larger Indian world, and ultimately created their own diaspora within the larger Jewish diaspora by relocating to other countries, particularly Israel and the United States.

The text and its rich complement of over 150 images explore how Indian Jews retained their unique characteristics as Jews, became well-integrated into the larger society of India as Indians, and have continued to offer a synthesis of cultural qualities wherever they reside. Among the outcomes of these developments is the unique art of Siona Benjamin, who grew up in the Bene Israel community of Mumbai and then moved to the US, and whose art reflects Indian and Jewish influences as well as concepts like Tikkun olam (Hebrew for ‘repairing the world’).

In combining discussions of the Indian Jewish communities with Benjamin’s own story and an analysis of her artistic output – and in introducing these narratives within the larger story of Jews across eastern Asia – this volume offers a unique verbal and visual portrait of a significant slice of Indian and Jewish culture and tradition. It would be of interest to Jews and non-Jews, Indian and non-Indian alike, as well as to history enthusiasts and the general reader interested in art and culture.

This sumptuous book invites you to follow the course of the Nile and Egyptian history on board a floating historical monument, the Steam Ship Sudan. At 100 years old, and made of wood and copper, it is the last steamship still cruising in Upper Egypt and the only survivor of a flotilla established by Sir Thomas Cook at the beginning of the 20th century.

Illustrious personalities from British and American high society travelled on board this prestigious ship – archaeologists, diplomats, actors… and writers, including Agatha Christie who drew inspiration from it for Death on the Nile.

Jason Chen, the owner of this collection, is a man with a passion for life, of which much time is devoted to collecting snuff bottles, although he runs a thriving business. His collection houses over 2,000 bottles, with a select portion shown in these two volumes. Volume I illustrates bottles from varying materials, while the second, slimmer volume shows part of Jason’s collection of miniature snuff bottles. While the whole collection is a work of art in itself, Jason, like other passionate collectors, has a story for every bottle, often the story of acquisition. He is a collector who enjoys both the thrill of the chase and the pleasure of ownership. When other collectors think of Jason Chen and his collection, they often speak of his love of great agate bottles.

Few collectors have dedicated themselves to forming a collection of miniature snuff bottles in the way that Jason has. For the most part, although collectors have affection for the smallest of the small, Jason has applied himself to hunting down and acquiring these minute treasures.

Text in English and Chinese.

In the dark days of 1940, at the onset of the Battle of Britain Churchill’s ‘Few’, the brave fighter pilots who battled over the skies of Southern England, found a haven in the White Hart Inn in Brasted, where they could escape the traumas of war for a few hours.

The landlords Kath and Teddy Preston were there to share in the hopes and fears, the elation and sorrow of the men who lived their lives on the edge daily.

Inn of the Few is a tale of those precarious days, an insight into life at the White Hart and its famous visitors. The book includes fascinating anecdotes and archive photographs and documents of a momentous time in history, in which local lives gained national significance.

The photo-tear-off-calendar is already set to appear for the 11th time and will delight us again every day in 2024 with an instant photo and its own little story. 365 times, the calendar shows the almost intimate snapshots of well-known photographers and newcomers, professionals and individuals.

On the front of each calendar page there is an analog instant-photo in original size, finished with high-quality lacquer finish creating a true polaroid feeling. On the back is a little text to the emergence of a picture and information about the photographer and the film used.

Therefore the PHOTODARIUM (formerly POLADARIUM) is a treasure and an eyecatcher for any desk, window sill, cake buffet, parcel shelf, shop windows, bed stand … and of course the perfect christmas gift for lovers of analog photography!

The photo-tear-off-calendar is already set to appear for the 10th time and will delight us again every day in 2023 with an instant photo and its own little story. 365 times, the calendar shows the almost intimate snapshots of well-known photographers and newcomers, professionals and individuals.

On the front of each calendar page there is an analog instant-photo in original size, finished with high-quality lacquer finish creating a true polaroid feeling. On the back is a little text to the emergence of a picture and information about the photographer and the film used.

Therefore the PHOTODARIUM (formerly POLADARIUM) is a treasure and an eyecatcher for desk, window sill, cake buffet, parcel shelf, shop windows, bed stand … and of course the perfect christmas gift for lovers of analog photography!

Archist is a playful interpretation of the expressive language and aesthetics of some of the world’s most popular artists. For example, Babina tried to imagine what a house designed by Dalí or a museum conceived by Miró would look like. The illustrations represent an imaginary and imagined world of shapes. Federico Babina finds great pleasure in imagining architecture designed and constructed through the interpretation of an artist’s language. The book shows that there is a symbiotic relationship and implicit partnership between architecture and art. A sculpture is like micro-architecture, a facade can become like a painted canvas and a building can look like it was shaped by a skilled sculptor. The posters in the book manage to catch the essence of the oeuvre of the artists in question. As a consequence, the posters are much more than mere decoration; they become a playful piece of art history.

This book is about a single, extraordinary painting: Otis Kaye’s Déjà Vu? The painting tells the story of the stock market crash of 1929 and the years until 1937 by using a wide variety of financial documents such as bills, stock certificates, ticker tape and coins to show the ups and downs of the Dow Jones Industrial Average – the DJIA. The title of the painting is a pun and a question that asks the viewer: “déjà vu” – have we seen this before? Otis Kaye is considered the last of the great trompe l’oeil painters, recognized primarily for his pictures of American currency. This publication was written to coincide with the exhibition Art and illusion. Masterpieces, of tromp l’oeil from antiquity to the present day (Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, 16 October 2009/ 24 January 2010).

The delights of an 18th-century love story; the glitter of 16th-century gold; noble portraits of swift steeds; the civilizations in the Eastern islands of the Great South Sea, and the opulence of Venetian Orientalism. Transhistorical dialogs begin with Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk’s piece about Dayanita Singh’s photography and commentary on a recent Paris auction. A legendary book about the Nibelungen from the early 20th century is echoed in the fables and myths in Vittorio Zecchin’s painting cycle, The Thousand and One Nights, from the same period. Another dialog unfolds between the 16th and 18th centuries, with a look at a rare manuscript recounting adventures and colonization of Eastern lands in the 1500s, Antonio Filipe Pimentel’s article on the cenotaphs of the Escorial, Andrew Graham-Dixon’s penetrating examination of George Stubbs, horse portraitist in England in the 1700s, and Benedetta Craveri’s elegant depiction of an art-inspired love story in pre-Revolutionary France.

“Any number of stories seem to pour forth from the work, which has a unique decorativeness and is very finely and exquisitely drawn. The frame decoration is beautiful and enjoyable, making it seem as though you are looking at a tapestry. In the personification of wood and use of colour, one senses not only the following of tradition but also the artist’s individuality.” The Jury for the Grand Jury Prize at the 15th Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations, 2006
Jugnu Rani, a tiny firefly, ponders over her insignificance and witnesses the gradual distancing between trees and humankind. She observes the disciplined life of ants and the hard work of the bees, and feels that her existence is useless. But Suraj Dada, the Sun, reminds her that every creature has a place and purpose in the universe. One day, when the forest is in danger, Jugnu Rani discovers the light within her and find her purpose. Soon no one is afraid of the dark anymore. The Firefly is finally happy. The illustrations are drawn in the Mithila (also Madhubani) style of painting from northeastern India. Giving equal weight in its drawings to people, animals, and plants, the illustrations convey the values of the Mithila region. The unique decorativeness is beautiful and enjoyable.

‘Anu Kumar’s prose is very evocative and full of excellent images. She has a great gift for physical description and is indeed a writer to watch.’ – Pankaj Mishra, author of An End to Suffering:The Buddha in the World
The violence that explodes in Aditi’s life one sultry afternoon in a town where nothing ever happens, has unexpected and spiralling consequences. Letters for Paul is the story of Aditi’s attempts to understand events in her life that seemingly have no answers. Her search for an answer to this is complicated with the other mysteries she is confronted with. Events that occurred long back in the past, others that have no answers and some that people refuse to answer. Her efforts to understand her changing world, to make sense of the violence hidden in everyday monotony, leave Aditi sometimes convinced of her own powerlessness. She persists with her search, however, conjuring up her own events or writing letters that remain unanswered – all to establish her own presence. Matters end in disgrace but Aditi does find success, of a kind.

Lightning was created in 1975, during a very controversial period in India’s history, to be the backdrop of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Emergency speech. Given the short time frame that M.F. Husain had to complete the work, it was titled Lightning, because it came about in a flash. The masterpiece was made up of twelve massive panels with ten wild, white horses charging through an open space. The significance of the painting is heightened not only by its sheer size or the brilliant rendering of its subject by the artist but also the time it was executed and the ideologies it stands for. The painting included depictions of family planning, farmers and their families, and a builder with an axe in hand. The work portrayed the political climate of the time in India post-separation. This book was conceived in honor of Husain, and various anecdotal stories and interviews on the painting form a part of this book. The selected authors invited to write on Lightning address the painting as well as its creator from various angles. It is an attempt to create a whole story around this masterpiece; every brush stroke and every inch of the canvas has a story, secretly tucked away in the midst of the powerfully rendered horses, that is left for the beholder to decipher. Published in association with TamarindArt, New York, and Asia Society Museum, New York. Contents: Foreword; Journey of Lightning, its Creator and the Progressive Movement; A Personal Commentary; Biography; The Advent of a Masterpiece; The Roar of Crores; East Meets East in Husain’s Horses; Like Thunder and Lightning; A Narrative of the Nation; Husain’s Journey; Troublesome Entanglements: Art and the Asian Nation; In Conversation with M.F. Husain; The Unveiling of Lightning in New York; M.F. Husain; Selected Exhibitions.