Light Years--The Zumtobel Story 2000-1950

Book Description

Light Years: The Zumtobel story 2000-1950 tells of the fascinating encounters which have shaped the firm, its rise to success, its projects and the company culture. Unearthing a wealth of historical, technical and creative details which all contribute to the development of state-of-the-art lighting systems, this publication presents intriguing artifacts including photographs, sketches, plans, technological and strategic papers. These chronicle the growth of this branch of technology, document the history of the company and attest to the numerous collaborations with renowned architects and designers. Interviews, conversations, and contributions from architects and designers including Ettore Sottsass, Nicholas Grimshaw, Peter Zumthor, Christian Bartenbach round off this captivating volume.

Albert Hadley: The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer

Average customer rating:

Great early written history;poor visual history especially concerning his later projects.
a must

Albert Hadley: The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer
Adam Lewis
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0847827429
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Book Description

Here, in his own words, is the first complete look at the career of Albert Hadley, legendary interior designer. A lavishly illustrated celebration of more than half a century of stunning interiors work, the book explores Hadley's personal and professional influences. It traces the path of a career that brought him into contact with all of the major figures in twentieth-century design: First as a student and then a professor at Parsons School of Design, where he became a close friend of Billy Baldwin and was by turn a student, friend, and colleague of Van Day Truex; to his working with Eleanor Brown at McMillen, Inc.; to his influential partnership, Parish Hadley, with the venerable Sister Parish; to his current work as the head of Albert Hadley, Inc. Exploring Hadley's design philosophy and process in great detail, the book covers the rooms that made design history, from the magnificent Rosedown Plantation to the Kennedy White House to Mrs. Vincent Astor's library. Enriched with dozens of new and archival images, as well as Hadley's acclaimed sketches and a catalogue raisonné listing every major article and book written about Hadley's work, Albert Hadley is the definitive, exclusive look at one of the most brilliant designers this country has ever seen.

Customer Reviews:

Great early written history;poor visual history especially concerning his later projects........2007-05-21

Great written history however the visual presentation of his work is poorly represented.

a must.......2007-01-09

If one is at all interested in interior design and decoration, then this book is a must have. Albert Hadley owns "style" and "good taste". The photos in this book are great and it is a very interesting read. He is such an interesting talent that anyone at all interested in design would love this book.

The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din Attar (Handbook of Oriental Studies/Handbuch Der Orientalistik)

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The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din Attar (Handbook of Oriental Studies/Handbuch Der Orientalistik)
Hellmut Ritter
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Mysticism | Other Practices | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Islamic | World | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 9004120688

Book Description

The Ocean of the Soul is one of the great works of the German Orientalist Hellmut Ritter (1892-1971). It presents a comprehensive analysis of the writings of the mystical Persian poet Farīd al-Dīn `Aṭṭār who is thought to have died at an advanced age in April 1221 when the Mongols destroyed his home city of Nīshāpūr in the north-east of Iran. The book, which resulted from decades of investigation of literary and historical sources, was first published in 1955 and has since remained unsurpassed not only as the definitive study of `Aṭṭār's world of ideas but as an indispensable guide to understanding pre-modern Islamic literature in general.

Quoting at length from `Aṭṭār and other Islamic sources, Ritter sketches an extraordinarily vivid portrait of the Islamic attitude toward life, characteristic developments in pious and ascetic circles, and, in conclusion, various dominant mystical currents of thought and feeling.

Special attention is given to a wide range of views on love, love in all its manifestations, including homosexuality and the commonplace sūfī adoration of good-looking youths. Ritter's approach is throughout based onprecise philological interpretation of primary sources, several of which he has himself made available in critical editions.

Average customer rating:

Nest helped me to appreciate both jails and castles

Displeased

A disappointment

Every Room Tells a Story: Tales from ... Nest Magazine

I recommend this book very highly

Every Room Tells a Story: Tales from the Pages of Nest Magazine
Julie Alvarez , Michael Cunningham , Charles D'Ambrosio , Reverend Peter Gomes , David Plante , Muriel Spark , and Carl Skoggard
Manufacturer: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Interior Design | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Rooms Rooms

ASIN: 1891024280
Release Date: 2001-09-02

Book Description

Description: Every Room Tells a Story offers the most interesting and provocative interiors published to date in the first 12 issues of the widely acclaimed interiors and design magazine, nest. Called, among other things, "Homes and Gardens for the decadent and deranged" (Wallpaper), the special chemistry of nest brings it all under one roof: not only David Mlinaric's interiors for the Rothschild home at Waddesdon Manor, Gabhan O'Keeffe's redecoration of Sao Schlumberger's Paris apartment, a recreation of Louis Comfort Tiffany's lost designs for the White House Blue Room, but also an Inuit igloo, the tents of Tibetan nomads, a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine, and women's prison cells. And because process is as interesting as result, Editor in Chief and Art Director Joseph Holtzman takes readers behind the scenes and shares the way his unique features are hatched and achieve adulthood. The book includes photography and text by more than 50 of the magazine's contributors, as well as examples of specially commissioned design projects: a flipbook by Matt Groening, a flocked wallpaper by Rosemarie Trockel, a chair by Tom Sachs, and a textile by Todd Oldham. Every Room Tells a Story will be a must for all fans of the magazine, and will also introduce its one-of-a-kind sensibility to the uninitiated.

Customer Reviews:

Nest helped me to appreciate both jails and castles.......2004-07-03

Having been lucky enough to spend one week in a "deep-South" county jail for hitch hiking on expressways (back in the 70's) ... then released with no charge! I loved the Nest article on the cells. I bought Nest for our guests in Chateau-Bois-Briand because of its sophistication and originality. Most of our guests are "road-warriors" and "trouble-shooters" who enjoy reading this kind of books, sipping a Cognac next to the fire-place in a 600-years old castle.
Viewpoints and pictures are so unusual that you never get bored. Nest is a reference. This is why I would advise to buy it, either as a magazine or as a book like this one. You will never throw it away.

Displeased.......2004-01-13

Had Amazon allowed me to preview even a single page from inside the book, I never would have bought it. A curiosity, a novelty, a cultural speciman, it may be. But as far removed from helpful or even interesting as one can get.

A disappointment.......2003-03-06

Poorly designed, nothing more than reprints of selected pages from each issue. If Nest is going to do a book, I want to see a "Nest"-y type book featuring the same wit and creativity that characterizes the magazine, not some self-congratulatory, half-baked reprint. Buy the back issues instead, don't waste your money.

Every Room Tells a Story: Tales from ... Nest Magazine.......2002-06-15

Holtzman is the John Waters of interior design: ironic, iconoclastic, an impresario of the outrageous. His publication is die-cut and drilled (I thought Grant Mudford was going to punch him out for piercing his images when the two met at an LA reception for nest) but never dull. This editor has progressed far beyond conventional notions of good taste, juxtaposing stately homes and prison cells, trailers and Carlo MollinoÕs Turin apartment in a surreal collision of styles. As a minimalist I put down this book with a shudderÑthe riotous excess brought on an attack of claustrophobiaÑbut others may love it. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

I recommend this book very highly.......2002-02-10

Nest has been a true godsend in the otherwise discouraging world of disposable-vehicle-for-consumption magazines. Not only does nest have more visual appeal than the slickest of fashion or design magazines, it also has content: articles ranging from the scholarly to the surreal, but always well-written; photography by the likes of nan goldin and richard barnes. Anyone who is interested in architecture, design, photography, or simply the peculiarities of human behavior- in fact, anyone who is interested in anything at all- would enjoy reading nest.
For those who don't know the magazine, this book is a great introduction to the first twelve issues. And for those who are already fans or even devotees, the book provides wonderful insights into the design and editorial process of the magazine's creators. It also contains material from the first issue, which is impossible to find used.
This book will inform, educate, entertain and astonish you. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Israel at Vanity Fair: Jews and Judaism in the Writings of W.M. Thackeray (Brill's Series in Jewish Studies, Vol 2)

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Israel at Vanity Fair: Jews and Judaism in the Writings of W.M. Thackeray (Brill's Series in Jewish Studies, Vol 2)
Siegbert Salomon Prawer
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

The book seeks, for the first time in any language, to combine Thackeray's many depictions of, and comments on, Jews and Judaism, from Old Testament times to his own present, into a coherent, chronologically ordered narrative. Texts and early versions that have not found their way into the collected editions are considered alongside well-known passages from Barry Lyndon, Vanity Fair, The Newcomes and Rebecca and Rowena. Since Thackeray illustrated many of his own works, graphic illustrations are as carefully chronicled and considered as narrative ones. The writings and drawings examined are set in a fourfold context: Thackeray's own life, psychological make-up, and developing art and opinions; the social history of Britain and its Jews; British and European literary and graphic conventions, traditions, and stereotypes; and the interplay of prejudice or animus with an essential British fair-mindedness that strives to present as truthful a picture as the author's limited perspectives, or satiric and humorous purposes, will allow. The book constitutes a substantial addition to the existing body of studies devoted to the image of Jews and Judaism in the work of influential non-Jewish writers and artists.

Stories in Stone: Conserving Mosaics of Roman Africa

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Stories in Stone: Conserving Mosaics of Roman Africa

Manufacturer: Getty Trust Publications: Getty Conservation Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Ancient & Classical | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Ceramics | Other Media | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Tunisia | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0892368039

Book Description

Between the second and the sixth centuries of the common era, elaborate mosaics were designed and created to pave the floors of town homes and rural estates of the Roman settlements in North Africa. These stunning mosaics were especially widespread in the colony of Africa Proconsularis,
modern-day Tunisia, and covered a wide range of subject matter: from scenes of daily life and classical mythology, to abstract floral and geometric designs of rare vibrancy and complexity. A distinctive African style emerged, whose influence would extend throughout the Mediterranean basin and
beyond.
This catalogue is being published to coincide with an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa from October 26, 2006, to April 30, 2007--the first major exhibition in the United States solely devoted to ancient mosaics. The twenty-seven mosaics in the exhibition come from
Tunisia's leading museums, including the Bardo Museum in Tunis, the Sousse Museum and the El Jem Museum.
Stories in Stone is structured around four principal themes--Nature, Theater and Spectacle, Myths and Gods, and Technique--and includes extensive material on mosaic conservation. In addition to color plates of all objects in the exhibit, this catalogue includes nine richly illustrated essays that
illuminate the historical background of mosaic art, trace the development of principal themes, and examine the conservation of mosaics both in the museum setting and in situ. Contributors include Taher Ghalia, director of the Bardo Museum; Mongi Ennaifer, minister of cultural affairs, Tunisia;
Thomas Roby, senior project specialist, Getty Conservation Institute; and Jerry Podany, head of antiquities conservation, J. Paul Getty Museum.

Williamsburg Christmas: The Story of Decoration in the Colonial Capital

Average customer rating:

A Colonial Christmas
Have yourself a Williamsburg Christmas
Christmas in Williamsburg is beautiful
Great Christmas Book for Decoration Ideas

Williamsburg Christmas: The Story of Decoration in the Colonial Capital
Libbey Hodges Oliver , and Mary Miley Theobald
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Seasonal | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0810945517

Customer Reviews:

A Colonial Christmas.......2002-10-26

With the loss of Colonial Homes magazine, Christmas ideas with a American colonial theme are becoming rare. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation along with Libby Hodges Oliver and Mary Miley Theobald have created not only a historical account of early American celebrations, but a beautifully designed and photographed book. Decorating starts outside with simple wreaths and pine roping to more elaborate fruited creations. Inside the greenery continues along with ideas on table decorations,the Christmas feast and best way to spoil Christmas guests. Chapters cover candles to Christmas trees along with colonial revival and twenty first century interpretations. This book will be a welcome inspiration for anyone looking for Christmas ideas and traditions.

Have yourself a Williamsburg Christmas.......1999-12-28

Informative (and occasionally surprising!) text accompanied by exquisite photographs of the holiday decorating style known as Colonial Williamsburg.

The text is coordinated effectively with the photographs to which it refers, making this a helpful guide for those interested in recreating or adapting the patterns for their own decorations. Lists of fruits and greenery that are or are not historically valid as well as diagrams for constructing bases for fan-style and pyramid decorations are both practical and helpful. For those preferring merely to look rather than do, it's still a lovely holiday visit to Williamsburg.

Christmas in Williamsburg is beautiful.......1999-12-21

With its lively, readable text and beautiful photography, Williamsburg Christmas is a must have book for anyone who enjoys Colonial history and Williamsburg. It makes you want to make that visit to Williamsburg during the Christmas holidays.

Great Christmas Book for Decoration Ideas.......1999-12-04

You don't have to like Williamsburg to like this book. Decorations can be used in contemporary homes, colonial or traditional homes. Good thoughts on how traditions such as the first Christmas tree began. I am giving the book to family and friends. It makes a great Christmas present.

There's a Bed in the Piano: The Inside Story of the American Home

Average customer rating:

Material Culture Tour-de-Force
A fun way of learning American social history

There's a Bed in the Piano: The Inside Story of the American Home
Myrna Kaye
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Architecture | Arts & Photography | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

Art History | Arts & Photography | Bargain Books | Stores | Books
ASIN: B0006Q1UJS

Customer Reviews:

Material Culture Tour-de-Force.......2002-03-28

Sometimes suffering from a forced theory or analogy, the book is nevertheless strongly recommended. It contains many insights into the American mindset as seen through objects. The black and white illustrations are well-chosen for their ability to inform. The author's grasp of modern scholarship is impressive, and many other authors are cited. Throughout, the author keeps up her commitment to debunking myths by including what she has dubbed the "fawbit", a "fictional account without basis in truth" (x). An example of a fawbit from the room use chapter is the assertion that a small, downstairs room in an 18th century house was the "borning room". Kaye reminds us that scholarship has never turned up a period inventory that included a "borning room"; more likely, it was a sleeping chamber for a servant. Kaye moves easily through styles and time periods, providing remarkable examples and details while keeping the big picture in sight.

A fun way of learning American social history.......1999-01-09

If you're interested in antiques, American furniture, or architecture, I'm sure this book is full of indispensable information. I'm not interested in any of them, and I loved the book.

It's just plain fun! It reads like a collection of short stories. You can't wait to see what happens next in the evolution of the chest of drawers or the porch -- because you don't learn only about the chest or the porch, but about the people who designed and used them. And you learn answers to all those questions you've always wondered about and never known whom to ask.

The pictures not only make it a great gift and perfect coffee table book, but tell you what something looks like exactly when you're trying to imagine it.

Book Description

Axel Vervoordt began his career as an art and antiques dealer in the late 1960s, when he meticulously renovated a narrow street with sixteen of the oldest houses in Antwerp. In 1986, his company moved to a castle near Antwerp. Axel Vervoordt's company grew rapidly in this castle and he became a major collector and decorator. The foundation of Vervoordt's style is his commitment to making the past a relevant part of today's design. By juxtaposing different works of art, gathered throughout space and time, a spontaneous dialogue between them is revealed, creating a new dimension for the future. Axel Vervoordt transcends the roles of decorator and collector. He understands the power of objects to conjure up an entirely new atmosphere and knows exactly where to place them to transform the space. This gorgeous book will be an inspiration to anyone interested in a home that is elegant and personal without being ostentatious or superfluous.

Customer Reviews:

A true classic .......2007-10-08

This book is a true classic and a MUST for anyone interested in antiques or interior design. We were very fortunate to first be introduced to Vervoordt at the 1984 Paris Biennale des Antiquaires where his booth, displaying Ming porcelain lost in 1645 in the South China Sea and recently recovered, was the sensation of the Salon. All of that massed blue-and-white in a large booth at the center of the Grand Palais drew lots of attention to the 37-year old Vervoordt and his subsequent success allowed him to restore a magnificent Belgian chateau over the next four years for use as both home and gallery. Much of this book is photographed in his home/gallery chateau.

This book provides a superb overview of his aesthetic, one which can incorporate a huge Anish Kapoor sculpture (perhaps circa 1995) with ancient stone Thai carvings, gorgeous Renaissance bronzes and wonderful European furniture. Think Rose Tarlow on steroids. The photography is excellent, almost all color, many full-page, and the scale of the book is appropriately large.

If the eclecticism of a Cy Twombly (a contemporary abstract painter) displayed in a warm wood interior appropriate for 17th C. Amsterdam sounds intriguing, he may be on your wave length. The array of tasteful objects beautifully presented is a key feature of the book. His collection (all of which is always for sale) will no doubt include some superb items which you have really never looked at before; when you read about the object, you may reconsider. His enthusiasm is contagious.

Those primarily interested in interior design may find his new book "Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors" more interesting because it shows some twenty homes he has done for clients. But if you only want one book on Vervoordt and if you can afford this out-of-print text, I'd go with the Meredith Etherington-Smith volume.

A Book of Beauty and One Man's Vision of Style.......2005-12-19

Axel Vervoordt is an artist in his own right. A designer and collector of art from all periods of history, he presents here the work of his life's vision - creating spaces where all of the arts from all cultures and timeframes meld into subtle, elegant, harmonious and extraordinarily beautiful spaces.

Vervoordt's keen eye for excellence demonstrates how architectural features of a building/living space are enhanced by a combination of art objects, drawings, paintings, murals, artifacts and bits of nature. The results are page after stunning page of thoughtful, quiet splendor. Mixed with commentary from Vervoordt (with written statements by Meredith Etherington-Smith) and exceptional photography by Laziz Hamani this book goes far beyond the borders of volumes about design. This is a bold and inspiring homage to Style. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

Inspirational and Wonderful!.......2003-02-06

Five stars are not enough! I have savored every word of this gorgeous book. The philosophy of this remarkable man is truly inspiring--his work is very personal, and seeing it and reading about it are a privilege. Anyone interested in interior design, antiques, or art would benefit from owning a copy of this outstanding, intelligent work.

Nice Guys Finish First.......2002-12-01

Every once in a great while a person enters this world who truly makes a difference. Axel is such a person - generous, brilliant, cultured and admired. He works very hard and has endless passion for life and for the joys of his life. This book is a glimpse into what Axel does, into what he lives for. As you read this book and marvel at what heights of artistry, inspiration, then continue on to Axel's web site, at axel-vervoordt.com. You might even be moved to travel to s'Gravenwezel, northeast of Antwerpen, and visit the world he is building there since the mid 60's. It's a wonderful book about a wonderful person.

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