Abrams

Embellish everything, from walls and floors to clothes, bed linens, and even cake with this awesome value pack of 25 reusable stencils from Ed Roth, stencil maverick behind the popular Web site stencil1.com. At front we've included inspiring project photo and how-to. At back we've bound in 25 removable, reusable stencils featuring designs ranging from urban-cool boom boxes, power lines and turntables, to naturally fanciful sparrows, branches and deer.

The unprecedented box office success of 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, and the ensuing pop culture phenomenon, took Lucasfilm by surprise. Fans had to wait nearly a year for the first action figures to appear. But as of 1978, an industry unto itself was born, consisting of Star Wars books, trading cards, magazines, video games and merchandise. Thirty five years later, these printed book and magazine covers, trading cards and collector's items continue to expand the limits and celebrate the iconography of the Star Wars galaxy through painting, illustration and graphic design. Now, the third book in the Star Wars Art series, Illustration, collects the very best of these artworks, as curated by George Lucas: more than three decades of book jackets; art from StarWars Insider magazine and role playing guides; limited edition prints; Topps' Star Wars Galaxy trading cards; marketing artwork from LucasArts video games and Lucas Licensing; and one of a kind works generated for collectible merchandise. Featuring previously unpublished, rarely seen, or fan favourite art from John Alvin, Brett Blevins, Rick Buckler Jr., Dave Dorman, Tommy Lee Edwards, Hugh Fleming and many others, Star Wars Art: Illustration celebrates the wide range of styles, influences, and tones that illustrators have brought to bear on a galaxy far, far away ...

»The Smurfs» began as a comic strip in October 1958 in Belgium and quickly gained popularity, launching popular comic books and the classic figurines still sold today, but it wasn't until the NBC eighties cartoon that audiences everywhere fell in love with Papa Smurf and Smurfette. After years of re-runs the Smurfs are hitting the big screen. This summer Sony is releasing a life-action Smurf film starring Neil Patrick Harris and Hank Azaria (Gargamel) and featuring voices from Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, George Lopez, and many more. The upcoming film release has generated new publicity for the series and has introduced a whole new generation to the characters. «The World of Smurfs» will feature extensive character bios of Smurf village residents like Papa Smurf, Smurfette, and Hefty. It will also delve into the history of the smurfs, with a biography of the creator, Peyo, and a look back at the popular Hanna-Barbera produced cartoon series. And of course, no history of the smurfs would be complete without a behind-the-scenes look at their upcoming movie. «The World of Smurfs» will be the ultimate collector's item for both new and old fans. The upcoming Smurfs movie has reignited pop culture's focus on these little blue characters, and there is no other book that chronicles the smurf's history from comic strip to cartoon to live-action movie. Ours will be the first and only book for all the smurf fans.

A pictorial record of the fabrics that clothed the smart women and furnished the stylish interiors of Europe and America during the Jazz Age.

Since its inception 170 years ago, Tiffany & Co. has become synonymous with elegant, stylish design and alluring luxury, creating the world’s most dazzling jewelry and decorative objects. Today, its signature blue box is recognized the world over and can be had (for a price, of course) at more than 150 locations around the globe. In «Tiffany Style», Tiffany’s design director John Loring gathers for the first time in one volume the most renowned and memorable pieces ever produced by the company. In this “best of Tiffany” collection, readers will find a spectacular array of objects, from Louis Comfort Tiffany’s famous lamps and vases to opulent silver tea sets to Andy Warhol’s whimsical Christmas illustrations to Elsa Peretti’s signature heart pendant. Drawing from a rich selection of design sketches and vintage and contemporary photography, all taken from Tiffany’s unparalleled archives, as well as new photography taken especially for this book by Harry Benson, «Tiffany Style» reveals the company’s fascinating history and evolution through its most unforgettable creations.

The Louvre, originally the palace of King Philip II of France, reinvented itself as an art museum in 1793. Since then, it has grown in scope and renown and is today the most visited art museum in the world. «Louvre: 400 Masterpieces», an accessible book-object in a brand new format, is a unique survey of not only the collections — filled with such iconic works as the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa — but to the history and artistry of the institution itself. With a foreword by the institution's director, Henry Loyrette, the book is organized according to the museum's eight departments: Near Eastern Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Islamic Art, Sculptures, Decorative Arts, Paintings, Prints and Drawings. Each chapter is prefaced with a brief text describing the history of the department and its acquisitions over the centuries. The ninth and final chapter tells the history of this royal — once imperial — palace as seen through its architecture.With its appealing square shape, 450 reproductions, never-before-see archival plans and documents and lively essays, «Louvre: 400 Masterpieces» is the perfect book for museum visitors, art lovers and Francophiles.

This is the first catalogue raisonne of Frans Post (1612-1680) published in over 30 years. Post is the first trained artist from the Old World to paint landscapes of the Americas. He lived seven years in Brazil (1637-1644) where he painted seven canvases that are highly regarded today and were the subject of an exhibition at the Musee du Louvre in Paris in 2005. Back in Holland he painted another 148 works that have been sought by collectors and museums in the past decades. The book shows all the 155 paintings known to this day, 57 drawings and 35 prints that form his oeuvre. The authors have been joined by four renowned international experts to establish the 'corpus' of authentic works.

After a relationship and marriage, what's next? Why, children of course. And who better to offer us some much needed advice than the very authors who brought us STC's highly successful Cattitude and the forthcoming Catrimony. Caternal Instincts contains mothering advice from diva mother felines to females complete with adorable black and white photographs of cats and their kittens and a clever ribbon-adorned cover. With tidbits such as: Make clear there is only one queen ruling the kingdom, Buy stain resistant everything and Negotiate about broccoli, not about love, how could a mother fail?

The ladies are back and this time with a trilogy of feline fun. Christine Montaquila and Kim Levin's best selling 'feline guides' are now available as a boxed set, including Cattitude: The Feline Guide to being Fabulous, Catrimony: The Feline guide to Ruling the Relationship and Caternal Instincts: The Feline Guide to Mastering Motherhood . All three feature the unique black-and-white documentary-style photography and clever captions that have kept cat lovers wanting more.In Cattitude , the felines give women the low-down on living large at any stage of life, offering advice like 'Accept your body. Augment your ego', and 'Realise a tiara is a state of mind'. In Catrimony , they conquer the milestone of marriage with witty suggestions to 'Hide the videotape' and 'Devise a holiday evacuation plan', and finally, in Caternal Instincts, the ladies get the real about the challenges of parenting, encouraging every mom to 'Buy stain resistant everything', and 'Accept the fact that you'll never pee alone again'. Perfect for birthdays, weddings christenings or any gift giving occasion, the Cattitude Boxed Set is for cat lovers, photography buffs and everyone in between.

Almost from the beginning of art, humans have portrayed cats. The animal originally domesticated for the humble purpose of catching mice was already a goddess in ancient Egypt and a beloved household pet in ancient Rome. Throughout history, cats have been a beautiful vessel for symbolic meanings, ranging from dark unruly sensuality to perfect domestic tranquillity. In this book, cats inhabit 170 art masterpieces. Sometimes they are the stars of the work and sometimes they are working their magic from the corners of rooms (in which case both the whole work and a detail showing the cat are both illustrated). Here are paintings by Van Eyck, Raphael, Leonardo, Bruegel, Rembrandt, Chardin, Gainsborough, Manet, Renoir, Bonnard, Gauguin, Matisse, Balthus, Picasso, Warhol and many other famous artists. Stefano Zuffi's charming text tells us what it all means. The cats, meanwhile, are beautiful, seductive and mysterious.

Russian Textiles showcases the gorgeous cotton textiles that were created and manufactured in Russia and exported to Central Asia from 1850 to 1950. The Muslims in these Central Asian countries — Uzbeks, Tadjiks, Farsi, Turkomans, etc. — incorporated the brightly patterned fabrics into their clothing, particularly the linings of their robes and household items. An introductory essay describes the fascinating history of this influence of Middle Eastern and Western aesthetic styles and is illustrated with vintage photography from the turn of the 20th century as well as images of the robes and other articles that were lined and embellished with the beautiful cloth. More than 150 fantastic patterns from a variety of periods and styles, from late Victorian to Art Nouveau to Art Deco, are featured, making Russian Textiles a book every fashion, interior and product designer, craftsperson and artist will want in their inspiration library.

This book reveals the designer's taste for the theatrical. Tony Duquette took de Wolf's no-holds-barred style in his manefsto. He crafted rooms that were beguiling, grandiose and pure Hollywood... opulent and overstated with gilded lilies, leopard patters, rock crystal, tented ceilings and endless rococo paintings.Tony Duquette designed sparkling jewels, spectacular stage sets, extravagant costumes, and interiors for pleasure pavilions inspired by dreams. He loved richness, drama, ornament, individuality and eccentricity. He considered 18th Century France the apogee of design and civilisation and recreated a Sun King's ransom of painting and festoons for his own interior spaces.'I always decorate as if I were working in that period rather than merely re-creating it'. Duquette designed with authentic fabrics and colours, painting and decorative objects. Each space was a pastiche of Duquette's passions: Chinoiserie, gold-leafed trays, Louis XV chairs, clusters of pillow made from Balinese fabrics and Japanese brocades. He is known for embellishing, draping and layering. His signature over-the-top style includes decorating with shells and faux coral, rearranging tabourets and porcelain, applied faux-malachite and vignettes set up to a crescendo of clashing colours.

This charming, all new book follows the domestic adventures of a cat — really, any cat — in episodic illustrations that celebrate the sweetly universal quirks that endear our feline friends to cat-lovers everywhere. Not a graphic novel (no story arc, just cute, funny, charming cat episodes.) He's only present in the illustrations the form of feet, arms, etc. to increase universal appeal (this is your cat, or any cat.) It includes an illustrated introduction.

For musicians and entertainers, there is no more desireable showcase than the Rolling Stone cover, where for the past thirty-eight years a talented photographer, illustrator or designer has been given the opportunity to create a new legend or give a fresh spin to a familiar face. Every cover from 1967 to 2006, ending with the 1000th cover (appearing on newstands in May 2006) will be added to the smaller chunky format of this new edition. A new introduction by Jann Wenner, new quotes from photographers and musicians, as well as relevant excerpts from the magazine will also be featured. As with the first edition, the covers will be presented chronologically.

In the five years during which Warhol worked intensively as a filmmaker, he produced 472 portrait films called Screen Tests . In this book, author Callie Angell catalogues, illustrates, and describes the 189 people who were captured by Warhol's lens, discussing their relationships with him. These people include superstars, artists, musicians and important figures from the 1960s counterculture.

When Napoleon conquered Egypt in 1799, he overthrew the last of the sultans who had ruled the country for centuries. When his army withdrew in 1801, Mohammed Ali, a ruthless and yet forward-looking soldier of fortune from the Balkans, seized power. Despite nominally representing the Ottoman Empire they ruled independently and so created modern Egypt. They brought unheard of prosperity, that was not only marked in their cultivation of the land, and building of railways cities and the Suez Canal, but also in the new found wealth of the Egyptian people who built opulant palaces and country estates. Added to this splendid grand hotels to accommodate Western tourists were built, and these buildings remain a testament to Egypt's modern golden age. Lavishly illustrated with 170 colour photographs taken specially for this book, Egyptian Palaces and Villas will fascinate and delight anyone interested in the Middle East and its history.

Every aspect of the Stones' story is covered, including the band's private lives, drug busts, performances, recording sessions, public appearances, photo sessions and more. The photographs, both black-and-white and full colour, are arranged chronologically; many of these images have rarely or never been seen before. Each caption, by The Beatles: 365 Days' author Simon Wells, provides details about the photo along with other pertinent information that will further enlighten the reader about the people and events pictured. Many captions will also contain a relevant quote from one of the Stones or one of their close friends, such as Ian Stewart, Andrew Loog Oldham, Marianne Faithful, or Anita Pallenberg, as well as from published articles, journalists, etc.

It was in 1914 that Mary Phelps Jacob set women free — from the prison of the corset. With a little help from her lady's maid, this ingenious New York socialite stitched together two handkerchiefs and a long pink ribbon to fashion the world's first-ever brassiere. (Jacob later sold her patent for $1,500 — to a company that went on to make $15 million off her invention.) The rest, as they say, is history — a history that's amply, titillatingly documented by designer Cheree Berry in Hoorah for the Bra. The twenties' flat-chested flappers, the fifties' bullet-bosomed bombshells, the eye-gouging cones of Madonna's Blonde Ambition-tour bustier: this provocative pop-up book reveals it all. The straps and the cups. The underwire and the padding. The elastic and the Lycra. The demure pink satin and the racy midnight lace. Hoorah for the Bra tells a tale that doesn't sag and presents a cast of characters — mail-order moguls, sweater-clad movie stars, brassiere-torching women's-libbers — who never let you down. Sure to be a bust-out hit, the book's the perfect gift for any Wonderbra dreamer or Frederick's of Hollywood vamp.

Like Graffiti World, Freight Train Graffiti is the definitive history of a vibrant art form. Until now there was almost no written insight into this vast subculture, which inspires fascination across America and around the world. As dazzling as the art it celebrates, the book is packed with 1,000 full-color illustrations and features in-depth interviews with more than 125 train artists and writers. Hundreds of never-before-seen photographs span the style's evolution, while the authoritative text from an all-star team of authors provides unprecedented perspective, including the first-ever written history of monikers, the precursors of graffiti, developed by hobos and rail workers to communicate en route. Bound to surprise graffiti artists, graphic designers, and urban culture buffs alike, this book will inspire anyone who has ever been interested in graffiti.

The Jazz Image: Masters of Jazz Photography has been carefully culled by Lee Tanner, the leading authority on jazz photography and photographers, and covers more than four decades of performers. If music is an international language, then jazz is the unofficial American ambassador to the world. These incredible images are both historical documents and cultural artifacts, as they are simultaneously records of a period and works of art unto themselves. The photos Tanner has selected are iconic, candid, explosive and intimate — together the book gives readers a unique look at jazz, photography and America, from 1935-65.

An examination of the American art collection assembled by Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III, during the 1960s and 1970s. It focuses on 140 works donated to the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco in the years since 1979. The introductory essay examines the context of the Rockefellers' collecting.

No photographer had a more serious and deeply felt response to the political and cultural impact of the 1960s and early 1970s than Richard Avedon, whose iconic portraits of key figures of the era influenced the course of photography in the decades that followed. In four monumental photographic murals (reproduced in large gatefolds) and many related portraits, he portrayed Andy Warhol's gender-bending Factory, with Viva and Candy Darling; Abbie Hoffman and the radical agitators of the Chicago Seven; Allen Ginsberg's family, friends, and fellow artists; and the U.S. Mission Council in Saigon alongside searing portraits of victims of the Vietnam War. The photographs are accompanied by images of archival material, including Avedon's diaries, correspondence, and contact prints. Major essays explore Avedon's penetrating incursions into the history and spirit of these tumultuous years.

Lee Alexander McQueen (1969-2010), whose design combined visionary aesthetics, emotional power, and extraordinary craft, was known for staging provocative shows that were as much performances as venues to display his couture creations. Charged with energy, informed by history and culture, and filled with fresh concepts, McQueen's shows have become legends not only of fashion but also of art. Anne Deniau was the only photographer allowed backstage by McQueen for 13 years, beginning in September 1997 and ending with the final show in March 2010. She captured McQueen working with his close circle of collaborators — including designer Sarah Burton, milliner Philip Treacy, jewelry designer Shaun Leane, and model Kate Moss — to create his meticulously produced spectacles. Her book offers an inspiring homage, through the art of photography, to the work of a great artist.

In Life and Love of Cats, Lewis Blackwell provides a unique perspective on one of our closest companions. Starting with the earliest records of domestic cats 9,000 years ago in Africa and the Mediterranean, Blackwell celebrates and explores the joy of cats in our lives, searching for the essence of our connection with them. Supporting the text is his presentation of a unique range of images shot by leading animal photographers from around the world. Through stunning photographs we are taken on a feline journey: from the homes of middle America, to the alleys and lanes of France, to the plains of Africa; from rare hybrid domestic cross breeds like the Savannah, to the exquisite specimens on show at the glittering Supreme Cat Show, to shelter cats lovingly rescued by volunteers; from graceful and haughty pure breeds such as the Persian and the Abyssinian, to adored domestic companions of all shapes, colours and sizes. Blackwell weaves stories around these photographs, tales that track the close relationship between cats and humankind.