An Entertaining Life

An Entertaining Life Designing Town and Country By: Paolo Moschino, Philip Vergeylen Foreword by Bunny Williams Join two of the world’s most celebrated designers, Paolo Moschino and...

Pierre Paulin Life and Work By: Nadine Descendre Photography by Benjamin Chelly The French avant‑garde designer and architect Pierre Paulin (1927–2009), outfitted private quarters i...

Country Life Homes of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley By: William Abranowicz and Zander Abranowicz A celebrated photographer focuses his lens on distinctive period and contemporary residences amid the natural beauty of New York’s Catskill Mountains and Hudson River Valley The majestic panoramas, lush vegetation, and bucolic vibe of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River Valley in upstate New York have long proved irresistible for city dwellers seeking respite from urban life and inveterate country lovers alike. Their homes, whether hundreds of years old or brand new, all resonate with their natural surroundings, as each of the 20 houses that photographer William Abranowicz captured for this volume attests. They range from the historic houses of Thomas...

Life at the Top New York’s Most Exceptional Apartment Buildings By: Kirk Henckels and Anne Walker Photographs by Michel Arnaud There’s a parlor game that sophisticated New Yorkers have been playing since the Gilded Age: What are New York’s best apartment buildings? Before the turn of the (last) century, the Dakota and the Osborne were obvious answers; by the 1920s the list had grown to include McKim, Mead & White’s 998 Fifth, and the ultra-soigné 820 Fifth Avenue. The Roaring Twenties witnessed the construction of some of the most luxurious apartment buildings ever designed: 740 Park Avenue, the Art Deco–inspired River House, and Rosario Candela’s extraordinary 778 and 720 Park Avenue. Now, nearly 130 years after the Dakota’s cornerstone was laid, the New York skyline features numerous new palatial residential buildings, including Robert A. M. Stern’s 15 Central Park West, Richard Meier’s glass-walled Perry Street towers, and 432 Park Avenue, New York’s tallest residential building. Kirk Henckels and Anne Walker, real estate and architectural insiders, chronicle the fortunes and features of fifteen outstanding apartment houses, bringing them to life with evocative vintage photos of exterior and interior architectural details, as well photographs of chic New Yorkers at home in their elegant abodes by the likes of Beaton, Horst, and Aarons. Accompanied by Michel Arnaud’s expressive photographs and newly commissioned architectural plans, Henckels and Walker tour some of the most beautiful apartments in these buildings as they look today, designed by the talented hands of Robert Couturier, Michael S. Smith, Thomas Jayne, Katie Ridder, Markham Roberts...

Tuscan Countess The Life and Extraordinary Times of Matilda of Canossa By: Michèle K. Spike This is a fast-paced and colorful exploration of the life of Matilda of Canossa (c. 1046–1115), the woman who loved a pope and was loved by him, successfully defied the Holy Roman Emperor, and changed the map of Europe. A new kind of history, this biography also carries the flavor of present-day Italy. Matilda of Canossa, the “Great Countess,” was a remarkable woman. Her personal power was so extraordinary that even centuries after her death she became the first woman to be interred in St. Peter’s Basilica. She is best remembered for her role in the conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman emperor, the climax of which took place at her castle of Canossa. This unique biography is also a journal of the author’s travels through contemporary Tuscany as she explores the palaces where Matilda held court, the blood-stained plains on which her soldiers battled, the churches and cathedrals she endowed, and the fortified aeries where she sought refuge. Readers will be swept along on this engrossing journey retracing the steps of a courageous and brilliant woman. Michèle K. Spike is a lawyer and historian who has lived in Florence since 1989. She has collaborated with her husband, John Spike, on numerous books on...

Moscow and St. Petersburg 1900–1920 Art, Life, and Culture of the Russian Silver Age By: John E. Bowlt The twilight of Imperial Russia witnessed a sudden renaissance of the visual, literary, and performing arts, alongside the more exuberant pomp and circumstance of the court and high society. Here was a Silver Age, as it is known in Russia. Much of this new energy was indebted to the movement known as Symbolism, which fell on fertile soil in Mother Russia. Seeking to transcend the conventional barriers of bourgeois civility, the Russian Symbolists lived and created on the edge, which often earned them the sobriquet of Decadent or Degenerate. But, as Sergei Diaghilev declared, theirs was not a moral or artistic decline, but a voyage of inner discovery and a refurbishing of a national culture. Some of the individuals and institutions associated with the Russian Silver Age are well known—Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, the painting and decoration of Alexandre Benois, Leon Bakst, and Mikhail Vrubel...

An invitation into the endlessly inspiring and unique celebrations of the iconic tastemaker and hostess, this elegant entertaining book reveals how to bring beauty, style, and joy in...

8 of 10 volumes (2-7 and 9-10) Chambers's Miscellany of Instructive & Entertaining Tracts New and Revised Edition, printed 1872 by W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh. Uniformly bound in hal...

Journey: The Life and Times of an American Architect by Alan Wanzenberg, Signed and inscribed Stated Pointed Leaf Press 2013. 1st Ed hardcover no dust jacket as published. With a preface by prominent philanthropist, art collector, curator, and Wanzenberg's friend, Beth Rudin DeWoody. Featuring stunning, never-before-published images of Wanzenberg's projects by world-renowned photographer William Abranowicz. This is the first-ever monograph to chronicle the trajectory, work, inspirations, and motivations of esteemed New York architect and interior designer Alan Wanzenberg. For Wanzenberg, designing is nothing short of an intellectual process. With sensitivity to place and a deep understanding of design history, Journey showcases his original takes on archetypical styles, including American Arts & Crafts, Shaker, French Art Deco, and American Farmhouse. The result is always a seamlessly developed, beautifully understated home that is a perfect amalgamation of the client's taste and the project's context. Become inspired by the integral influences and experiences that comprise Wanzenberg's journey, all of which have led him to become the distinctive, high-profile, and well-accomplished designer that he is today. Esteemed New York architect and interior designer Alan Wanzenberg shares his intimate story and brilliantly crafted projects...

Author John-Paul Stonard, Foreword by The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Photographs by Victoria Hely-Hutchinson This stunning volume provide...

An original life ring from the America’s Cup yacht ‘Shamrock’, Royal Ulster Yacht Club, the circular ring painted in gilt outlined in green ‘Shamrock V, R.U.Y.C.’, on a white ground,...

Edited by Martina Mondadori and Stephan Janson, Contributions by Claude Arnaud and Hamish Bowles and Amy Fine Collins The world’s leading authorities on fashion and design celebrate the 60th anniversary of YSL’s first runway presentation with a lexicon that includes many images from the designer’s extraordinary archives. Yves Saint Laurent (1936–2008) is credited with reviving French haute couture in the 1960s, with making ready-to-wear reputable, and with using non-European cultural references. In addition to the kaleidoscope of images in this book, a coterie of tastemakers have supplied listings that encompass YSL’s style inspirations (C is for Costumes, as exem-plified by the Russian theme of the famed autumn-winter 1976–77 collection; T is for Tuxedo, which the designer initially referenced with his 1965 “Le Smoking”) and important facets of his life (J is for Jardin...