Antique Collectors Club

100 British Chairs depicts a selection of chairs that date from several important periods in the history of British chair design. Presented in a roughly chronological sequence, the emphasis is on early (pre-1745) and late (post-1840) periods. The presentation is also thematic, and this more accurately represents the purpose of the book, which is to illustrate some of the key developments in British chair design in the chosen periods. Design and development before 1740 were largely the work of artists and craftsmen whose names have been lost, so the chairs are mostly unattributed and arranged by type and period. The later chairs are arranged differently, highlighting the work of well-known designers of the Gothic Revival, Arts and Crafts, and other progressive British design schools. Readers wanting more detailed information can find it, together with numerous images, in the full online catalogue: www.crabtreefarmcollections.org. This will be continually developed and updated to include new research. The online catalogue also aims to be a forum for debate and the dissemination of knowledge. In this way, historic British chairs that until now were not available for study and comment can be made accessible.

The history of Rolex is inextricably linked to its founder Hans Wilsdorf, who took the first steps in the world of Swiss watchmaking as he dreamed about a timepiece that could be worn around the wrist. This experimental research led Rolex to achieve its highest goals in both technological innovation and in the use of the finest materials alone. Its models have been photographed on the wrists of political leaders, sports champions, and film and fashion celebrities, transforming each Rolex into a fully-fledged status symbol, a synonym of elegance and precision. Including essays with a historical and technical slant, in-depth descriptions of the most representative pieces and a brief glossary, the pages in this book sparkle with golden hands, diamond-studded dials and patent-leather watchbands, illustrated in period photographs and macro-detail. The volume ends with a chapter dedicated to the most amazing auctions that saw the sale of the Geneva-based company's vintage watches.

The Arts and Crafts Movement produced some remarkable furniture. Its principal designers, though not all, were architects motivated by principles of good design and honest workmanship. The results varied from the sober oak austerity of Voysey and the rural perspectives of the Cotswold School, to the exuberant inlays of Ashbee and even Morris & Co. Written by a recognised authority on the subject, Arts and Crafts Furniture examines the furniture produced by the movement's protagonists: the Guilds, the Cotswold School, the Glasgow designers, Heal, and Liberty. Starting with the seminal office of G.E. Street and ending with the effects on Ambrose Heal and Gordon Russell, the reader is taken on a colourful journey from the origins of the Movement, through its heyday, to its culmination. Indeed, it is a tour that explains how the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement became an enduring part of modern design. In this second edition of the standard work of reference the author has included new information about the movement and pieces, much of which has only recently emerged. More than sixty new illustrations have also been added, a few of them showing rare pieces of special interest, but most of them recording more of the furniture belonging to or influenced by the movement.

In 1954, a sixteen-year-old student at the Bradford College of Art opted to study lithography as part of the National Diploma in Design. His first effort, a small self-portrait printed only in a handful of impressions, marks the beginning of one of the longest and most diverse careers in modern printmaking. By turns traditional and groundbreaking, over six decades David Hockney has created graphic works of great wit, beauty and intellectual complexity. Hockney, Printmaker features over 150 works, from etchings executed at the Royal College of Art in the 1960s, to experiments with printed computer drawings some fifty years later, via portraits, pools, poetry, Xeroxes and investigations into multi-point perspective. Written by Richard Lloyd, head of prints at Christies, with contributions from Hockney's friends and associates, it explores the many achievements of Britain's greatest living practitioner of the graphic arts.

William Bouguereau (1825-1905) was a highly important and influential French academic painter, this is an illustrated biography of his life and works.

Russia's last great Imperial celebration took place at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with the lavish ball of 1913 celebrating 300 years of Romanov rule. The finest gowns, jewels, snuff boxes, porcelain and silver tableware of the Tsarist era were ostentatiously displayed then for the last time. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 brought such flamboyance to an end. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's nouveau riche have been desperate to track down and buy back their lost heritage. Works by jewellers and silversmiths to the Tsars are particularly sought after today as status symbols, with the market for pre-revolutionary decorative arts touching a wide audience — from the curators at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, to the pre-dawn bargain hunters at the Paris flea markets. Russian Decorative Arts offers an introductory guide to porcelain, glass, silver, Tula work and other base metals, orders and decorations, jewellery, objects of virtue, Faberge, lapidary, woodwork and walrus ivory. Each topic is covered in an illustrated chapter introducing the techniques, its specific Russian characteristics and an overview of the principle makers.

I Used to be in Pictures is a collection of unpublished correspondence between English born brothers, Austin and Howard Mutti-Mewse and some of the most celebrated and iconic film stars from the silent and 'golden' era of film-making. The brothers' foray into this glamorous world began with a simple fan letter to Lillian Gish, followed by another to Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. This gave rise to a wealth of letter writing. Yet, the most interesting part of this story is that these letters were written retrospectively, as raised on a diet of black and white movies, Austin and Howard's unique relationships with these screen legends developed long after the height of their celebrity, a quarter of a century after the cameras had stopped rolling, at a time when they were able to reflect back on lives lived in the spotlight. During the nineties, the brothers were entertained by stars, including Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart and Elizabeth Taylor who, thrilled at this late recognition, invited them into their homes in Hollywood, Palm Springs, Malibu, Glendale and Santa Barbara; to reminisce over afternoon tea. Accompanied by many intimate and candid photographs of screen icons both at the height of their stardom and in later years, this is a collection for anyone looking for an insider glimpse into arguably Hollywood's finest hour; a time when stars were made in black and white, when all that glittered was the sequins and the gold, a time of magic and some amazing memories. In this book Howard and Austin have captured it all... beautifully.

Nurtured by the aesthetic-social critique undertaken by the British Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau contrasted the heaviness of mechanical production with the ingenious elegance of forms inspired by pure and alluring lines, based on plant forms. Enlivened by nostalgic fin de siecle decadence, the movement's unique style was built upon the transposition of industrial materials and techniques into the pristine elegance of the vernacular handicraft tradition. The wealth of images in this book illustrate the artists' approach, and the objects themselves, as well as the birth and evolution of Art Nouveau in the countries that contributed most to the success of this new aesthetic — France, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, United States, etc.

Mercedes-Benz has been making design history for over 120 years. No other brand has launched as many dream machines; many of them have become style icons. Superb photographs of exemplary motor cars provide a visual tour through the annals of automotive design — a tour that reveals the huge contribution of great stylists and designers.

»The history of the corset proves that women have attached great importance to outward appearance and this since more than 2000 years. The corset was not a fashion item for the masses. The first flourishing period for the corset dates back to the Elizabethan and Spanish fashion between the 16th and 17th Century. The strict form of the corset went hand in hand with the fashion of the hoop skirt which was made in hard metal and accentuated female slenderness. The slender the loins, the more beautiful a woman». In 'Fashion Icons', Leen Demeester explores fashion trends throughout the centuries. She traces the origins of items of clothing such as the corset, the bra, the dress, the mini-skirt, trousers, accessories and high heels. These 'icons' show a distinct parallel between the history of women's appearance and the history of female emancipation. Top designers confirm that the image of a woman (and her place in society) still depends on her appearance and especially on the clothes she wears.

An apple is an apple...Or not? Kris Goegebeur shows that there is more to fruit than one would think. Whoever believes that there are only sweet apples, sour apples and apples to make apple sauce with, will be proven terribly wrong. And not only when it comes to apples; Pears, cherries, walnuts, plums and many more kinds of fruit are presented in their most versatile and seductive ways. All of them are ready to be picked and turned into a wonderful pastry. But 'Fruity Pastry' does more than provide recipes and (background) information about fruit. Food pairing specialist Bernard Lahousse approaches fruit in a scientific way and gives a thorough analysis of every extract and essence possible. This combination of expertise and science is what makes this book more than any other cookery book. It enters the unknown depths of fruit and opens a world of tastes and possibilities that will make your mouth water.

The first volume in the series on Twentieth-Century Decorative and Applied Arts is dedicated to what is known in Italy as 'Stile Liberty', or Liberty style. Flowers, ribbons, garlands, dragonflies, butterflies and graceful young women dancing, followed by a host of curvilinear, sinuous and spiralling forms: this was Liberty, the new style that at the dawn of the twentieth century, by creating a rupture with traditional artistic forms, spread throughout Europe. Although the movement was short-lived, the First International Exposition of Modern Decorative Arts held in Turin in 1902 showed that it numbered excellent interpreters in every single field. Chini's ceramic works, furniture designed by Quarti and Basile, Mazzucotelli's wrought iron objects, glass-work by Buffa and Cambellotti: pieces that are now much sought after by private collectors and museums.

Over the years since its inception in 1875 as the Oriental Emporium, Liberty's has both been at the forefront of fashion and the decorative arts and has sat comfortably riding on its waves. Its history is at the heart of its image to the outside world. In the fifties, Liberty's tried to subvert this image, but subsequently embraced it wholeheartedly in the following decade. Liberty's beginnings are well-known and most historians of the decorative arts will agree that the company had a significant impact on design in the early twentieth century. However, through the years Liberty & Co. took many forms.History, far from being irrelevant nostalgia, offers us a chance to learn from our mistakes and, indeed, successes. Perhaps now, as, emerging from a difficult recent period, this grand company looks confidently to the future, it is a good time to look back to the Liberty of the fifties and sixties: a less well-recognised moment in Liberty's history, but perhaps no less significant. The 1950s were a frugal time and any retailer who wholeheartedly promoted modern design was taking a risk. In truth, Liberty & Co. probably played it safe, running its modern products alongside the more traditional ones, so as not to scare away longstanding customers. It is perhaps for this reason that Liberty & Co. is not so prominent in people's memories as a 'modern' store in the 1950s. In a way this was a period that prepared the business for its flowering in the 1960s. Almost overnight, the emporium of traditional style found itself not just at one of the best spots in London, but at the very epicentre of the world of fashion: Carnaby Street in the sixties.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing has set new standards. It is best in class and increases the standing of the Mercedes — AMG brand, thanks to its charisma. Two years after the commercial launching of the contemporary legend, the roadster is added to the fascination SLS AMG cosmos. With the coupe, roadster, GT3, an e-cell, AMG has succeeded in creating a quartet of dream machines. The genes of Mercedes — AMG are in every variant.

An authentic Provençal cooking class, from an authentic Provence cook. Twelve cooking classes, using twelve fresh products, creating menus with asparagus, cuttlefish, octopus & squid, purple artichoke, mussels, spices, zucchini, tomatoes, sardines, potatoes, cooking in foil, stuffings, and a menu for a special occasion Reine Sammut takes us into her kitchen and her living space, introduces us to her favourite products and suppliers. For each recipe she shows us the main steps, the tips and techniques.

In a multitude of exciting photos and numerous enlightening essays, 'Seglen Exclusiv: The World of Superyachts' unites the passion for sailing with fascination for design, sports and technology. This opulent volume takes the reader from the outside all the way into the very hearts of unique sailing yachts, tells the history of yachting, presents descriptions of most coveted yachting hotspots around the globe and introduces prestigious racing yachts and regattas. Peter Sandmeyer dedicates an essay to man's eternal longing for freedom at sea and muses about dedicated sailors and their constant valiant struggle with nature.

At the end of 2011, the exhibition 'FoMu: the collection' opened. It presented an outstanding selection of works from the collections of the FotoMuseum Antwerp (FoMu) and, after years of relative invisibility, a wealth of objects finally gain the place in the museum that they deserve. An entire wing of the museum building is devoted to an impressive ensemble of masterpieces, interspersed with unknown gems. To reinforce this statement, FoMu has produced this publication, with corresponding text and images, to document this wonderful anthology.

Shafik Gabr started his collection of Orientalist art in 1993 by acquiring a painting by Ludwig Deutsch entitled Egyptian Priest Entering a Temple. His collection is today amongst the very few in the world to count such a large number of works by the famed Austrian artist as well as some of the finest examples of the greatest masters of Orientalism such as Jean-Léon Gérôme, Frederick Arthur Bridgman, Gustav Bauernfeind and many others. Important for both scholars and art lovers, the Shafik Gabr Collection impresses us with its richness and variety. It includes masterpieces by some of the major nineteenth and twentieth century Orientalists found in private hands today and demonstrates the owner's appreciation of differences as well as similarities in European visions of the versatile and diverse Orient. The selection of paintings in this collection illustrates the owner's evolving taste, his relationship with the world of Orientalism and his interest in its European expression. This Orientalist collection is a harmonious 'kaleidoscope' of genres, presenting the Orient through a variety of forms, styles and techniques, and revealing to the European viewer the mysterious East with its bright colours, its exotic and leisurely lifestyle. Over the years, it has become one of the most complete and magnificent tributes dedicated to the world of Orientalism and as such some of the most renowned experts in this field have contributed to this book in order to mark its importance in the art world. Lavishly illustrated, Masterpieces of Orientalist Art: The Shafik Gabr Collection also includes essays by distinguished Orientalist scholars.

The new era of globalisation has brought with it a stunning new breed of palaces — modern-day residences built by connoisseurs whose exceptional taste and patronage are propelling art and architecture forward into the next great epoch. For more than 40 years, Geoffrey Bradfield has been creating exceptional residences around the world and in 'A 21st Century Palace' Bradfield documents one such modern-day palace in Mexico City. Thoroughly contemporary, yet drawing on traditions of craftsmanship and excellence, Bradfield has created a truly modern palace of precious materials and outstanding art. Geoffrey Bradfield is known for his sophisticated and daring handling of art and the collection in A 21st Century Palace is, quite simply, dazzling. Every room contains museum-worthy masterpieces, from Art Deco creations by Ruhlmann, Leleu and Bugatti to paintings and sculpture by Picasso, Warhol, Calder, Degas, Lautrec, Lichtenstein and Frida Kahlo.

Furthermore, through their daring inventions, Russian artists of the first thirty years of the 20th century transformed, profoundly and permanently, our perception of stage design — and hence of the theatre. They belonged to an extraordinarily creative generation of impresarios, dancers, actors, patrons, and critics who inspired or at least made a major contribution to the international renaissance of the art of the stage, and in particular areas, e.g. the teaching and performing of ballet, their influence is still present today. However, in spite of the many published commentaries on the Russian theatre, in spite of the autobiographies and biographies of its leading representatives, and in spite of the scholarly appreciations of its various components (ballet, drama, opera), the subject of stage design in Russia has yet to be explored in all its manifestations. Each work presented here is documented as fully as possible, and includes curatorial data, provenance index, and references to relevant published sources, exhibitions; and variants such as copies and preliminary drawings. The catalogue raisonne addresses the issues of attribution, identification of stage production, and date of execution and adduces evidence in the form of bibliographical, archival, and photographic data, expert opinion, and circumstantial evidence in order to support assumptions and conclusions. 'The Encyclopedia of Russian Stage Design 1880-1930' has been published to accompany 'Masterpieces of Russian Stage Design 1880-1930'.

This, the newest title in the highly acclaimed Design Series focuses on the work of John Piper (1903 — 1992). Piper remains something of an enigma: an antiquarian who was among the pioneers of non-representational art in Britain; an abstract painter who drew his inspiration from the paintings of Turner and mediaeval stained glass; and a romantic with a penchant for geometric design. Despite, in formal terms, coming to art late, Piper became one of the most diverse designers of his generation. Up until the 1951 Festival of Britain, his work had been almost entirely graphic. Indeed much of his design — particularly for the theatre, murals, mosaics, textiles and tapestries — was to remain graphics based. However, Piper was also to enter into rewarding partnerships with Patrick Reyntiens, David Wasley and Joseph Nuttgens designing stained glass; with Geoffrey Eastop in ceramics; and, most explosively of all, with Ron Lancaster and John Deeker, for some of the greatest pyrotechnic displays that Britain has witnessed since the 18th century. Commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee in 1940, Piper's two paintings of the ruins of Coventry's St Michael's Cathedral, along with his St Mary-le-Port, Bristol are among the most iconic images of World War II. However, mediaeval stained glass was perhaps Piper's most enduring passion; the slabs of glass, the leading and the richness of colour of these windows, were to provide a fundamental source of inspiration not only for his paintings and designs for stained glass, both figurative and abstract, but also for work in other media.

This book tells the story of James Pulham & Son, the eminent family of Victorian and Edwardian landscape artists who specialised in the construction of picturesque rock gardens, ferneries, follies and grottoes. The book covers more than four generations of the family business that was also responsible for the manufacture of extremely high-quality terracotta garden ornaments including fountains, vases, sundials and bulastrading. The rock gardens, for which the firm are mainly remembered today, were built with 'artifical' rocks — formed from heaps of old bricks and rubble, coated with cement, and sculpted to simulate the colour and texture of natural stone. The author's interest in James Pulham & Son stems from the fact that no fewer than five of his ancestors worked for the company as 'rock builders'. Features many incredibly famous locations, including Buckingham Palace, Sandringham, Heatherden Hall, Waddesdon Manor, Battersea Park, Friar Park and RHS Garden Wisley.

Despite working in different media, Francis Bacon and Henry Moore were exhibited together from end of the Second World War into the 1960s when Marlborough Fine Art represented both. Carefully chosen to highlight the important influences and experiences which they shared, the works included here bring a fresh perspective to Bacon and Moore, exploring themes in their work such as 'the Biomorphic/Picassoesque form', 'the human head', and 'the Classical figure'.

Presents the stories and designs of the leading contemporary jewellery designers working across the globe today.