Average customer rating:
- Wonderful
- Books, Books, Books
- A page turner...
- A Book Lover from Birth
- For real pundits and book lovers
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A Passion for Books: A Book Lover's Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Lore, and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for, and Appreciating Books
Harold Rabinowitz , and
Rob Kaplan
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Books
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| Publishing & Books
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A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books
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Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction
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At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live with and Care for Their Libraries
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Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World
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A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World
ASIN: 0812931122
Release Date: 1999-10-06 |
Book Description
"When I have a little money, I buy books. And if any is left, I buy food and clothing."
--Desiderius Erasmus
Those who share Erasmus's love of those curious bundles of paper bound together between hard or soft covers know exactly how he felt. These are the people who can spend hours browsing through a bookstore, completely oblivious not only to the passage of time but to everything else around them, the people for whom buying books is a necessity, not a luxury.
A Passion for Books is a celebration of that love, a collection of sixty classic and contemporary essays, stories, lists, poems, quotations, and cartoons on the joys of reading, appreciating, and collecting books.
This enriching collection leads off with science-fiction great Ray Bradbury's Foreword, in which he remembers his penniless days pecking out Fahrenheit 451 on a rented typewriter, conjuring up a society so frightened of art that it burns its books. This struggle--financial and creative--led to his lifelong love of all books, which he hopes will cosset him in his grave, "Shakespeare as a pillow, Pope at one elbow, Yeats at the other, and Shaw to warm my toes. Good company for far-travelling."
Booklovers will also find here a selection of writings by a myriad of fellow sufferers from bibliomania. Among these are such contemporary authors as Philip Roth, John Updike, Umberto Eco, Robertson Davies, Nicholas Basbanes, and Anna Quindlen; earlier twentieth-century authors Chris-topher Morley, A. Edward Newton, Holbrook Jackson, A.S.W. Rosenbach, William Dana Orcutt, Robert Benchley, and William Targ; and classic authors such as Michel de Montaigne, Gustave Flaubert, Petrarch, and Anatole France.
Here also are entertaining and humorous lists such as the "Ten Best-Selling Books Rejected by Publishers Twenty Times or More," the great books included in Clifton Fadiman and John Major's New Lifetime Reading Plan, Jonathan Yardley's "Ten Books That Shaped the American Character," "Ten Memorable Books That Never Existed," "Norman Mailer's Ten Favorite American Novels," and Anna Quindlen's "Ten Big Thick Wonderful Books That Could Take You a Whole Summer to Read (but Aren't Beach Books)."
Rounding out the anthology are selections on bookstores, book clubs, and book care, plus book cartoons, and a specially prepared "Bibliobibliography" of books about books.
Whether you consider yourself a bibliomaniac or just someone who likes to read,
A Passion for Books will provide you with a lifetime's worth of entertaining, informative, and pleasurable reading on your favorite subject--the love of books.
A Sampling of the Literary Treasures in A Passion for Books
Umberto Eco's "How to Justify a Private Library," dealing with the question everyone with a sizable library is inevitably asked: "Have you read all these books?"
Anatole Broyard's "Lending Books," in which he notes, "I feel about lending a book the way most fathers feel about their daughters living with a man out of wedlock."
Gustave Flaubert's Bibliomania, the classic tale of a book collector so obsessed with owning a book that he is willing to kill to possess it.
A selection from Nicholas Basbanes's A Gentle Madness, on the innovative arrangements Samuel Pepys made to guarantee that his library would survive "intact" after his demise.
Robert Benchley's "Why Does Nobody Collect Me"--in which he wonders why first editions of books by his friend Ernest Hemingway are valuable while his are not, deadpanning "I am older than Hemingway and have written more books than he has."
George Hamlin Fitch's extraordinarily touching "Comfort Found in Good Old Books," on the solace he found in books after the death of his son.
A selection from Anna Quindlen's How Reading Changed My Life, in which she shares her optimistic view on the role of reading and the future of books in the computer age.
Robertson Davies's "Book Collecting," on the difference between those who collect rare books because they're valuable and those who collect them because they love books, ultimately making it clear which is "the collector who really matters."
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful.......2007-09-12
This book is so much fun to read. This is a must read for anyone who loves books and who, like me, continues to buy books despite not having enough time to read the ones already owned. If you fit that description you will repeatedly see yourself in the quotes, anecdotes, and stories presented within this book.
Books, Books, Books.......2005-11-29
This anthology celebrates the physical book, not the idea of books, or reading books, or writing books. There is something special about shopping for books, whether in a used bookshop, a megastore, or at the library. It is really a different pleasure than the actual reading of the book.
I found this book in my local used bookshop, in the new arrivals section. The paperback cover is a bit curled where someone opened it and left it. Someone marked the lists of great books, indicating which they had read, or perhaps which they hadn't yet read. I didn't mind the marks, in fact I enjoyed comparing notes with this unknown reader.
In addition to the lists and the cartoons, and the biblio-bibliography (not a misprint), I enjoyed many of the articles and essays, especially the more recent ones. A favorite was Harold Rabinowitz's (one of the editors) story of the day his friend didn't win the Pulitzer Prize.
I agree with another reviewer who wished that a few women had been included among the contributors here, there is an atmosphere of gentlemen's club here. And I'm afraid I really don't understand the compulsion to collect books. I love to read, but once I've read a book, out it goes. Of course, there are a few exceptions: if I am sure I'll want to read it again (unfortunately, most of those are library books), or if I want it for reference. Most books are not hard to find and I don't see any reason to keep a book for years on the offchance I'll read it again. If I eventually do decide to reread it, I can easily find another copy.
With that in mind, having enjoyed A Passion for Books, I will take it back to the used bookshop and trade it in for credit.
A page turner..........2003-05-16
Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan have compiled a wonderful collection of stories, essays and poems that anyone with a passion for books is sure to find wonderful.
Ray Bradbury, in his foreword, helps to explain this passion...
Including contributions from current and previous writers who have explained their passions for books, this collection is witty and intelligent, and perhaps a bit over-the-top for those who do not share a similar passion.
Umberto Eco explains both how to organise a public library, and how to justify a private one. On the former, suggestions such as exceeding complex call numbers, mysterious locations of books and periodicals, and the attitude of librarians to patrons...These would seem enough in themselves to justify a private library, but Eco has yet a further purpose. A private library ensures that one can discern in visitors if they have a sufficient feel and appreciation of books...Further comment showed astonishment, in that my reviews (several hundred strong by that point) didn't include many 'cheap' books, but where all 'high priced hard backs' -- I do confess that a larger proportion of my income goes toward book-buying, but then I consider, I will keep these books all my life...Even the cost of a volume (and thankfully, most of my books are only half that amount), amortised over time, becomes a very good deal indeed; far less expense in time and petrol than running to the library to then be disappointed because the volume isn't there.
However, one of the sticky issues of having a private library becomes lending privileges. Christopher Morley wrote a wonderful thanksgiving to one of his returned books...
Rabinowitz and Kaplan include such treasures as an Ode by Petrarch, entitled My Friends, which takes some careful reading to tell that it is an ode to books, and not to people. The editors include various top-ten lists (Norman Mailer's ten favourite American novels, W. Somerset Maugham's ten greatest novels -- these two lists share one book in common, namely Herman Melville's Moby Dick) and various top-one hundred lists. Various essays on the history of book writing and book production are included to give a sense of substance to the mystery that is the love of books.
For any bibliophile, this book is a necessity.
A Book Lover from Birth.......2003-03-05
Although I do not consider myself obsessed with books, I have loved reading since I figured out how. Even when I was in elementary school, I frequently got in trouble for reading during class. Thankfully, with age this hasn't changed. I prefer reading to every other pasttime, and I just don't get people who don't like to read.
I purchased this book sight unseen completely on the basis of its title; I was not let down. I think that the authors/editors did an excellent job of compiling essays, articles, and lists, about the greatest pasttime a person could have; unfortunately, it will never take the place of night baseball. I found several of the articles highly amusing, especially the one story about a man willing to kill for one particular volume. I also found quite a few good reading recommendations through this book. A PASSION FOR BOOKS should not be read straight through like an average novel; it is meant to be absorbed little by little so that the same passion starts to sink in.
You must remember that the title is A PASSION FOR BOOKS, not A PASSION FOR READING. This book is all about books -- good ones, bad ones, weird ones -- and the people who adore them. It extols the virtues of books.
For real pundits and book lovers.......2002-09-13
I could not put this book down, I treasure the stories and content. The way I got to look into others live that also love books made me feel a part of a family that had this special content to contend with. I recommend it as light reading, bedside, to children, to read front to back non-stop or any other possible way. Any way it is read does not matter cause its there to be read and that is what makes it all that much more wonderful. It fuel my passion to read more that ever. I am a happier person for having this in my collection, for having read it and for having giving it to others to read.
Customer Reviews:
Magnificent!.......2007-05-17
What a beautiful book; filled with glorious bags of the past, historical information and current values. There are hundreds of bags, created using techniqes such as beading, embroidery, tapestry, netting, crochet, knitting, tambour, loom, petit point and various stitchery. Gorgeous bags are displayed - eye-smacking delicious- that I have not seen in other collectible publications; a real plus for collectors. There is a chapter dedicated to restoration of vintage bags, with instructions for repair and cleaning, plus photos; tips when purchasing bags; and choosing the right purse frames. At the back of the book, page 256, I was delighted to see the two contemporary bags by Katerina Musetti, an artist and established opera singler; the bags are exquisite. It is obvious this book is a culmination of Paula and Lori's purse obsession, historical studies and labor. I highly recommend this inspiring book for collectors, as well as, bag enthusiasts; a book not to be missed. Review by Lydia F. Borin, The Beadwrangler
Passion for Purses.......2007-05-12
'Passion for Purses' is a beautiful, quality reference book for all purse lovers & collectors; from novice to the serious collector. The book has special emphasis on very early antique purses by one of the most knowledgeable persons around today. Contains previously unseen purses from private collections that have never before been published. Hundreds of pictures on quality paper, excellent information on the many catagories of purses that are included. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for purses. Great book for study or pleasure.A Passion for Purses, 1600-2005
Purse book to die for.......2007-05-09
For those of us mere mortals who can love from afar and have a "Passion for Purses" and.. the collectors among us, WOW. This book is a consumate collection of the incredible history and workmanship of this much needed and desired personal item. The descriptions and photographs of each purse made me feel as though I was almost visiting them in person. The depth and breadth of the collections plus the amazing amount of detail & photos given on the handpicked items for this book made me feel as though I got a real education and my money's worth for sure. I still cannot figure out how these authors gained so much knowledge and still have lives other than their immersion in purses...do they, I ask? This book was written by people who LOVE what they do. I have read and reread this book too many times already. My husband actually was impressed. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable as I was an antique dealer for years, but I have seen things in this book that I never even knew existed. A "Passion for Purses" - my compliments. This is the first book I have ever bothered to review but - it is just that FABULOUS.
Average customer rating:
- Strictly amateur
- And you thought you like to buy books!!!!
- An exciting intellectual adventure
- The master of "books on books".
- We are not alone!
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A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books
Nicholas A. Basbanes
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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A Passion for Books : A Book Lover's Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Love and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for, and Appreciating Books
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Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World
ASIN: 0805036539 |
Amazon.com
What a delightful book about books and people who love books! As a second generation bibliophile, a possible bibliomane who had several people move out of my house a year ago because they erroneously believed that my books were taking over the household, and a devout employee of "Earth's Biggest Bookstore," I can vouch that Basbanes accurately describes the glorious role of book collectors as archivists of human knowledge, and -- in continual counterpoint -- sometimes pathologically obsessed book junkies.
Book Description
National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
Customer Reviews:
Strictly amateur.......2007-09-08
The only people impressed by Basbanes' books are those who don't really know very much about books, book collecting, libraries, or the antiquarian trade. This volume in particular is plagued with sloppy scholarship, conjecture, gossip, and unsubstantiated anecdote. He can't even get the names of major libraries right. It's certainly a fun read, but it shouldn't be taken seriously.
And you thought you like to buy books!!!!.......2007-06-27
An amazing collection of folks who just couldn't put down a good book. Extremely well written, highly entertaining. A "must read" for anyone who ever finds themselves with an abundance of books (or knows someone with the same affliction). Alas, Mr. Basbanes offers no cure, but since you can't possibly measure up to the characters he profiles, you will feel better about your own collection.
An exciting intellectual adventure.......2007-06-18
Spanning the long period from ancient times, when books were hand-copied, to the modern day, "A Gentle Madness" takes us on a strange and exciting journey through the world of rare book collectors. Our society owes a lot to book collectors. Determination, time, and money have enabled them to seek out and preserve rare books, manuscripts, documents, and letters of profound cultural and historical importance. Many of the most noted collectors have ultimately given their world-class libraries to colleges and universities, where the fruits of their labor have benefited generations of scholars and researchers. This book demonstrates, in a colorful manner, how book collectors are driven to seek out new acquisitions for their libraries. For some, it is a consuming passion. For a few, it is a dangerous obsession that forces them to sacrifice the basic amenities of life, or even break the law. Nicholas Basbanes not only introduces readers to book collectors throughout history, but also to the books themselves, and to the methods employed to obtain rare books. While anyone interested in history and scholarship will thoroughly enjoy this book, book collectors will have a very difficult time putting it down, except maybe to run down to the local antiquarian book store and spend some money!
The master of "books on books"........2007-01-23
This volume is indespensible, it is a gem, it is a work of profound scholarship assuring the bibliomaniac he/she is not alone. Basbanes gives the reader a volume jam-packed with investigative work, insight and compassion towards the mind of the bibliophile.
Providing a historical account of the formation of the great libraries, in particular those of the US, he analyses the motives of the "collector"; what it is that drives the desire to possess a book that knowingly will not be read. The chapters are case-histories of individuals (like me and probably like you) with the obsessive need to possess printed books, pamphlets and ephemera.
Rather than us being simply mad, Basbanes stresses the importance of the bibliophile collector to the development of national libraries and collections and for saving valuable material that would otherwise, in another context, have been regarded as worthless.
Inevitably money increasingly appears as the dominant factor that allowed an individual to amass a "great" collection; the need for the "gentle madness" of obsession playing second fiddle to the need for a very big bank check. But this emphasis on wealth is balanced by a rivetting chapter on the convicted bibliokleptomaniac, Blumenthal. In this final case history Basbanes takes a man convicted as the "greatest" book thief of the 21st century and provides a compassionate analysis that leads the reader (or at least it lead me) to question whether the jury were correct to convict him as being someone of sound mind. The dividing line between this "gentle madness" and insanity is a very fine one indeed.
The book is brilliant.
We are not alone!.......2005-12-04
Yes, dear friends, there are other bibliophiles out there and this book takes you to their libraries. A great volume for your "books on books" shelf (those of you who've read Ex Libris whill know what I'm talking about), a great book for reading and rereading. Its witty, charming, humourous and outright fun. I can't recommend it more, go get it as fast as you can!
Book Description
World-class cars are the objects of desire for a special breed of automobile enthusiast, collectors who are as passionate about their cars as others may be about paintings, stamps, or watches. In this thrilling tour of 11 of the greatest private automobile collections in the world, readers are given access to an amazing realm that is rarely open to the public. Wheels: A Passion for Collecting Cars celebrates these incredible collections along with the fanatical car lovers who have amassed them.
Included in this intriguing volume are profiles of each car-obsessed collector: one houses more than 100 postwar "bubble" cars from Europe and Japan in his Georgia barn, while another has made room at his Napa Valley winery for his stellar collection of sports cars. Captured in gorgeous photographs taken in the exceptional environments their owners have created for them, these rare custom models, elegant 1930s town cars, sexy postwar European exotics, and fabulously finned cruisers will appeal to classic-car connoisseurs around the world. AUTHOR BIO: Stuart Leuthner has more than 35 years of experience in advertising, graphic design, and publishing. He is the author of The Railroaders, Iron Men, and High Honor and currently the creative director of Watch and Clock Review and CHRONOS. William Taylor is a photographer based in Colorado.
Customer Reviews:
Wheels: A passion for collecting cars.......2006-08-31
Excellent book with great accounts of real car collectors. This book arrived as promised with the quality promised. A great entertaining reading from real people in the collector hobby. A must read for any car enthusiast.
a car books with a difference.......2005-03-13
Instead of simply presenting a parade of pretty cars, the author gives the reader a look into the collector's mind. The layout and photography are also exceptional. A must for anybody who appreciates wonderful objects.
must have.......2005-02-22
Leuthner is on top of his game with this new book. The Group of collectors that he has brought together,show us some of the finest automobiles ever built. Quality automobiles such as these should be shared with the world, this book is a must have for any one that appreciates the very finest that life has to offer-
It doesn't get any better.......2005-02-17
This is one of the finest automobile-related books I've ever seen. Not only are there great photos of some of the greatest cars in the world, but author Leuthner got to know each of the 11 car collectors on a personal basis. The result is an in-depth look at the men and their machines. Millions of dollars were layed out for these vintage masterpieces, and WHEELS gives them the respect they deserve. Very nice read, even though it's a coffee table type of book. That's rare.
Book Description
Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright was an avid and important collector and dealer of Asian art. His personal collection included thousands of Japanese color woodblock prints, and it was his discerning eye that helped build the foremost private holdings in the United States, which in turn became the cornerstones of the important collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This lavish bookówhich accompanies an exhibition at Japan Society Gallery in New Yorkóexamines Wright's passion for Japanese art and illuminates the profound impact it had on his personal and professional life.
Author Julia Meech has devoted years to researching this aspect of Wright's life and work. Her fascinating studyówhich spans Wright's entire career and is lavishly illustrated with color reproductions of works of art and scores of archival photographsóadds a rich new chapter to the body of scholarship on the great American architect.
Customer Reviews:
Another passion..........2003-05-18
To anyone familiar with Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural designs, the fact that love of Japanese art, design and print work should come as no surprise. The book 'Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art of Japan: The Artist's Other Passion' by Julia Melch gives clear details of the influence of the Japanese on his thinking and creativity, both in narrative and in glorious photography and print.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright was born in Wisconsin shortly after the American Civil War. He studied in the late nineteenth century with noted architect Louis Sullivan, with whom he had continuing and occasionally strained relationship. Wright is probably best known in America for the design of the Guggenheim Museum of Art In New York City; more generally, though, he is known for a particular style of low-built prairie-style houses and institutional buildings, that utilised open-space planning, and often had an element of interaction with elements such as water (in fact, a perennial complaint of Wright buildings is that they leak!). Wright was an innovator in incorporating engineering principles into the design of his buildings to provide sturdiness and creative forms of support and room design. In Japan, Wright was well-known for his design of the Imperial Hotel in Japan, as well as other buildings, including private residences of many prominent Japanese citizens. His work in Japan did not extend much beyond the early 1920s, however, and even the Imperial Hotel was demolished in 1968. Wright himself passed away in 1959 at the age of 91.
Wright and the Art of Japan
This book was produced for the Japan Society Gallery of New York by Julia Melch. It traces early affinities and influences of Japanese art on Wright and his work, continuing interest including Wright's almost voracious collecting habits, and the final selling and distribution of his collection late in Wright's life.
'When Wright died at the age of almost ninety-two, he owed money to several Asian art dealers in New York, and there were six thousand Japanese colour woodblock prints in his personal collection, not to mention some three hundred Chinese and Japanese ceramics, bronzes, sculptures, textiles, stencils, and carpets, and about twenty Japanese and Chinese folding screens.'
Some of this collection remains as part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, but much had to be sold to pay debts, including tax bills.
Japanese art probably first came into Wright's sphere of creative influences with the World's Fair of 1893 in Chicago. Louis Sullivan had many books of Japanese design and art in his offices when Wright first joined the firm of Adler and Sullivan. This probably represents the earliest introduction. However, Japanese art was becoming widely available in American and Europe by this time, and Japanese principles were beginning to be introduced in novel ways to various buildings. Wright's first trip to Japan came in 1905, the first of many.
Wright became well-known in Japan, and entered a period he sometimes referred to as his 'Oriental Symphony'. During the time of his work on the Imperial Hotel, he gave an interview which showed his standing and mis-understanding in the Japanese architectural community:
Wright was not only a collector, but was himself a dealer of some standing. Particularly in Oak Park and the Chicago area, his designs for buildings would often include artistic recommendations that he would provide as dealer.
This lead to a major scandal, which Melch recounts in some (sometimes juicy) detail, including Wright's egocentric way of viewing the world and attempt to 'get away' with various controversial practices of manufacture and transfer of art work.
'Wright was an immodest foreigner operating outside the guidelines of the closed community of Tokyo print dealers. He flaunted his money and exuded the thinly veiled bravado of the ace dealer. Prices were escalating, the stakes were high, and h is jealous rivals were no doubt pleased to take him out of the game. Revamping was a new technique, totally unexpected. Greed and anticipation of huge profits had made him careless.'
Wright left Japan in 1922, before completion of the Imperial Hotel. He never returned. In fact, he had few international dealings in art or architecture after this period. He longed for greater international acclaim and exposure, but save a few unfinished projects in Hungary and Baghdad, he had few foreign assignments, and none of note.
Disposing of the collection, both before his death and by his widow after his death, is a tale in-and-of itself recounted in the book. Trading with friends and other art dealers, auctioning off pieces individually and as collections, and giving gifts away reduced the collection somewhat, but Wright continued to add pieces throughout his life.
Julia Melch
The author, Julia Melch, has had a career devoted to Asian art. Educated at Smith College and Harvard University, she has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art organising exhibitions of Asian art. She is currently a senior consultant to Christie's, the famous auction house, specialising in Japanese art works.
This book is produced by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., which has a strong reputation, well deserved, for producing outstanding volumes of art. The colours are vibrant and attractive; the pages are firm and well-suited to the art represented. This is a reference volume, a great coffee-table book, and an interesting narrative read. Giving a perspective on both Frank Lloyd Wright and Japanese art of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through the lens of each other is a unique perspective, well executed.
The Passion of Frank Lloyd Wright.......2001-04-15
It's almost unimaginable that anyone could find something new to say about this protean figure of the 20th Century. And, in fact, another author, Kevin Nute, has also written in recent years about the architect's lifelong fascination with things Japanese. Yet where Nute concentrates on the Orientalist ideas and design concepts that Wright so readily and brilliantly adapted in his own work, Julia Meech turns her attention to a different--and darker--side of the architect's personality: his passion for Japanese prints and art collecting. As she tells it, this obsession (his print purchases often exceeded the money that he took in on architectural commissions) not only drove Wright into bankruptcy, but ensnared him in a debilitating scandal over the resale of "revamped" artworks to several of his wealthy patrons.
Wright, the driven, self-absorbed genius, is everywhere apparent in this fascinating, well-researched saga. But so is the conflicted man behind the famous persona. (This isn't to say that he emerges as a particularly sympathetic figure: Meech relates, for instance, how Wright helped organize a memorial exhibition following the untimely death of his Japanese mentor, the young and talented printmaker Hashiguchi Goyo. She adds, however, that no evidence exists to show that Wright ever owned one of Goyo's prints--a bit ironic given the high regard in which Goyo's work is held today.)
Equal to Meech's riveting account, I would have to say that this is one of the most beautifully-designed catalogs (it accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the Japan Society Gallery in New York City) that I have ever encountered. It is both lavish and tasteful, if that's possible, with gorgeous color plates and scads of rare photographs of the architect and his cronies, his places of refuge (including hotel suites and other temporary dwellings chock-a-block full of art treasures), and persons and places relevant to the story. For Frank Lloyd Wright fans already burdened by a surfeit of wonderful books, make room on your shelf for a fine new acquisition.
Book Description
The lure of the hunt, the thrill of the chase, that peerless moment of discovery when dream and ideal meet in a single object—this is the collector's world. To the collector, the world is her oyster, full of hidden pearls ready to be plucked and shown to greatest advantage among the other spoils of her obsession.
ELLE DECOR is pleased to bring you an unprecedented glimpse of some of the world's most intriguing collections. But not just any collections: in these pages you'll find opulent assemblages distinguished by their rarity, eclecticism and, most of all, by the style and flair with which they've been incorporated into the home setting. Art and antiques experts, designers and couturiers, world travelers, artists and entrepreneurs have generously opened their doors to give us a rare view of the collector's world. Nowhere will you find the collector's passion more gloriously illustrated; all the inspiration you need to start gathering those objects of desire for your own home.
Features, among others:
Gianni Versace's Contemporary Art Collection; Pierre Bergé's Curios Cabinet; Roger Prigent Chic Knick-Knacks; the Taschens' Library/Apartment; Tina Chow's apartment; Bill Blass' apartment; artist Arman's apartment...
Customer Reviews:
A passion beyond colecting........2005-07-21
The author takes us for a visit to collectors homes, and allows us to have a look at their private assembly of objects, paintings and sculptures they are passionate about. We can view the art in its context, we can see the juxtaposition of objects and furniture as these are being used by its owners, without pretending, revealing more than just the art. We get a glimps at the interior design and decor layered just as life puts them together. Only real collectors can possibly understand the mania they are infected with, not being able to resist amassing
the fetishes of their desire.
Book Description
Collecting is about passion, about tracking down the perfect object to enhance your lifeand then continuing the search for the next and better prize. We are born collectors. A PASSION FOR COLLECTING explores the adventure of the hunt, and looks at the ways in which collectibles as diverse as antique maps, ceramics, model cars, and ethnic art can be displayed to the best effect. The book covers a variety of approaches, offering guidance on whether to group favorite pieces or showcase them separately, on choosing background colors and creating interesting compositions. With beautiful photographs of interiors that make wonderful decorative use of collections, A PASSION FOR COLLECTING reveals the secrets for display that can make an incredible visual impact on the dcor of any collectors home.
Customer Reviews:
interesting.......2004-08-23
Perhaps I'm too much of an American, but the preponderance of human(?) skulls, animal skeletons, and taxidermied animals freaked me out. Still I have to give the author points for not just including the usual collected suspects. There are small knitted sweaters, used paint palettes, and brightly colored Tin Tin posters. Some of the interiors look quite ugly to me (turquoise paint with gilded trim), but entertaining nonetheless.
I hated the organization of the book or rather the lack thereof. The same collections can appear in three different chapters. The repetition made me nuts. The redundancy really annoyed me.
Great photos, poorly arranged collections.......2002-11-28
If you've ever wanted to start collecting anything, as a hobby or as an investment or for any other reason, and you weren't sure of just what to collect, the amazing number of color photographs of collections from around the world will surely whet your appetite.
The author of this book has broken down the subject of collecting into 9 loose categories of collectors: The Antiquarians (descendants of Renaissance and 18th century collectors), The Explorers (those interested in ethnic and curious pieces from all over the world), The Perfectionists (those who only want the best in its field), The Naturalists (those who collect natural objects of minerals, flora or fauna), The Utilitarians (who collect practical things), The Inheritors (those who receive existing collections from other people), The Enthusiasts (those who collect anything that pleases them), The Decorators (those who collect for the purpose of decorating) and The Miniaturists (those who are fascinated with things that are tiny).
Just browsing through this book and looking at the great collections people have put together is a breathtaking experience and shows how wide the variety and how personal the tastes. There's plenty of descriptive explanation that goes with each of the nine categories and the photographs are grouped accordingly to make it easy to skip to the styles that most interest you.
My only major problem with the book is that, while the photographs are absolutely beautiful, and the collections are phenomenal, the photos makes one think that these collections are well arranged and displayed. The majority are not! The displaying of these collections often appears to have been thrown together without much regard to how to display them in such a way so they will attract attention and enhance the room as well.
It's one thing to create a great collection. It's quite another thing to feel compelled to display every single piece all at the same time. When you get into that, it's just overkill and the collection ceases to be that interesting and becomes a burden to try to absorb. Better to put out a few pieces here and a few there and store the rest and exchange what's out for what's stored periodically, rather than put everything out at the same time. Doing so is more a matter of the ego of the collector and less of a desire to enhance the collection with an attractive display.
I recognize that a sizeable portion of these collections are from all over the world and displayed in homes where their owners reside, still there are display concepts that should be universally used if you really want other people to appreciate your collection. In this case, less would definitely be more!
Book Description
From rare books, valuable sculpture and paintings, the relics of saints, and porcelain and other precious items, through stamps, textiles, military ribbons, and shells, to baseball cards, teddy bears, and mugs, an amazing variety of objects have engaged and even obsessed collectors through the ages. With this captivating book the psychoanalyst Werner Muensterberger provides the first extensive psychological examination of the emotional sources of the never-ending longing for yet another collectible. Muensterberger's roster of driven acquisition-hunters includes the dedicated, the serious, and the infatuated, whose chronic restlessness can be curbed--and then merely temporarily--only by purchasing, discovering, receiving, or even stealing a new "find." In an easy, conversational style, the author discusses the eccentricities of heads of state, literary figures, artists, and psychoanalytic patients, all possessed by a need for magic relief from despair and helplessness--and for the self-healing implied in the phrase "I can't live without it!" The sketches here are diverse indeed: Walter Benjamin, Mario Praz, Catherine the Great, Poggio Bracciolini, Brunelleschi, and Jean de Berry, among others. The central part of the work explores in detail the personal circumstances and life history of three individuals: a contemporary collector, Martin G; the celebrated British book and manuscript collector Sir Thomas Phillipps, who wanted one copy of every book in the world; and the great French novelist Honor de Balzac, a compulsive collector of bric-a-brac who expressed his empathy for the acquisitive passions of his collector protagonist in Cousin Pons. In addition, Muensterberger takes the reader on a charming tour of collecting in the Renaissance and looks at collecting during the Golden Age of Holland, in the seventeenth century. Throughout, we enjoy the author's elegant variations on a complicated theme, stated, much too simply, by John Steinbeck: "I guess the truth is that I simply like junk."
Customer Reviews:
PSYCHO BABBLE .......2005-05-07
I was offended from the first page of this book written by a psychiatrist, whose theory trivializes the emotional, aesthetic and intellectual (not to mention fun) qualities of collecting by reducing the pursuit to "compulsive action molded by irrational impulses." The author interprets the acquisition of objects "as a powerful help in keeping anxiety or uncertainty under control." This anxiety is ostensibly caused by "underlying factors" such as "war, a parent's suicide, prolonged illness, physical handicaps, death of a sibling, or SIMPLY NOT-GOOD-ENOUGH early care."
With this tunnel-vision approach, Muensterberger proceeds to relate anecdotes of famous collectors' lives and interpret them as compulsive and unconscious behaviors to alleviate neuroses. The text is padded with details about the rich and famous: Balzac was a collector of "bric a brac," a hobby described as deriving from childhood suffering. The collecting habits of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II are similarly reduced to "anal-obsessive character traits." Getty, Duveen and a plethora of historical fugues litter the text. This book is a classic example of psychoanalytic gibberish, probably originating from the author's doctoral thesis, based on the number of footnotes.
Ultimately, there is no argument here related to collecting that could not equally apply to any human behavior. Thus, there is no argument at all. As any educated person knows, it is all to easy to take an erroneous theory and find lots of examples to support it. As a former curator at a top ten museum, I think I am more familiar with collectors than the author. As a collector myself, I know that collecting is a happy, positive and enriching experience.
Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel
Usual boring psychological trite with no real insight.......2000-11-04
I thought it would be fun to see some interesting insights into why I collect books and like collecting in general. Nope. His insights are dry and old and no different than what drives any body to do anything. We all seek happiness because we are unhappy and there is always an underlying stress or anxiety about this. So why do some people collect? Or eat too much, or ski, or sky dive, or on an on and on. EVERYONE does SOMETHING to seek because they feel insecure and not sustained in the Universe. So collecting is not in the least unique. It's the same reason Mr. Muensterberger wrote this book - he is seeking in his own way. It's as simple as that. I will be returning this boring book.
Psychology collectors may fear!.......1999-01-31
The case studies are quite entertaining. The analysis of the drive to collect as a way to undo inner anxiety, stress and childhood trauma seems dubious, but who can say? Collectors may scoff at the analysis, or they may enjoy it....
Amazon.com
Like 84, Charing Cross Road, Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern's charming bibliocentric memoir is as much about relationships as it is about books. Charing Cross chronicled the decades-long epistolary friendship between American book lover Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, the equally devoted British bookseller in the London shop from whom she bought many of her treasures. Rostenberg and Stern's book once again proves how a passion for great literature can make for fast friends. And in their case, these two octogenarians occupy the same geographical space, sharing both their professional and private lives.
In their introduction, Rostenberg and Stern write: "Several readers inferred ... that our relationship was a Lesbian one. This was a misconception. The 'deep, deep love' that existed and exists between us ... has no bearing upon sex." With that out of the way early on, the two recount the stories of their lives in alternating sections. And oh, what lives they've had! From identifying some of Louisa May Alcott's previously anonymous early writings to traveling the world in search of rare volumes and pamphlets, they have done and seen it all. Successful antiquarian book dealers Rostenberg and Stern undoubtedly are, but as this memoir makes clear, their greatest accomplishment just might be that rarer commodity of friendship that lasts a lifetime. --Alix Wilber
Book Description
Louisa May Alcott once wrote that she had taken her pen for a bridegroom. Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern, friends and business partners for fifty years, have in many ways taken up their pens and passion for literature in much the same way. The "Holmes & Watson" of the rare book business, Rostenberg and Stern unlocked the hidden secret of Louisa May Alcott's life when they discovered her pseudonym, A.M. Barnard, along with her anonymously published "blood and thunder" stories on subjects like transvestitism, hashish smoking, and feminism.
Old Books, Rare Friends describes their mutual passion for books and literary sleuthing as they take us on their earliest European book buying jaunts. Using what they call ""Finger-spitzengefuhl,"" the art of evaluating antiquarian books by handling, experience, and instinct, they treat us to some of their greatest discoveries amid the mildewed basements of London's booksellers after the Blitz. We experience the thrill of finding one of the earliest known books printed in America between 1617-1619 by the Pilgrim Press and learn about the influential role of publisher-printers from the 15th century.
Like a precious gem, Old Books, Rare Friends is a book to treasure about the companionship of two rare friends and their shared passion for old books.
Customer Reviews:
Old Books, Rare Friends Satisfies Booklovers.......2006-02-18
For those of us who lust after books about books, as well as the history of successful booksellers, this book is one of the best. "Old Books, Rare Friends" details the struggles and triumps of two of the most famous women in bookselling during the twentieth century. They include lots of stories about tracking those elusive hidden gems overlooked by other more successful book dealers. They also describe each woman's scholarly adventures, successes and failures. I read this when it was first published, but wanted to own it so I could re-read it from time to time. If you love books you can't go wrong with Madeleine and Leona's story.
'Finger-Spitzengefühl'.......2005-10-26
Sometimes I will fall in love with an author's life as perceived through her books, and read all of her works for other glimpses into her private paradise. Authors such as Will and Ariel Durant, Edwin Way Teale, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sacks have shared their curiosity, astonishment, and joy with me. These authors are endlessly inquisitive. Each new discovery in their world, whether it is a fern, a skull, or an anecdote about a long-dead king is greeted with joy and eagerly shared with the reader.
Now in the dusty corner of bibliomania, I have found two more authors who are willing to share their joy of discovery with me. They even have a name for it: 'Finger-Spitzengefühl'--"the electrifying alertness to what is unusual or important in an early printed book. When 'Finger-Spitzengefühl' is coupled with serendipity, the gates of paradise open for the dealer in old and rare [books]."
Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern share their "thrill of the chase and the joy of the find," as well as a seven-decade-long partnership in life--"the partnership of 'Faithful Friends' who share 'a deep, deep love.'"
I have to admit I had trouble getting into this book. I read some of the earlier pages six or seven times because I kept falling asleep and losing my place. However, once the authors were out of childhood recollections and into the chase--first of all for the works that Louisa May Alcott had published under a pseudonym--then I was hooked.
These authors have illuminated many once-obscure corners of history through their curiosity and devotion. They deplore collectors who pursue rare books as an investment, much as I would deplore a physician who is in practice 'only for the money.' Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern have devoted their lives to the search for the old and rare, and their love, curiosity, and wisdom show through on almost every page of this book.
Old Books, Rare Friends are marvelous........2000-05-22
Given to me as a birthday present on a misty Northwest beach,the whimsical allure of these charmingly self-possessed women residingin one of the toughest cities in the world, drew me into its first pages even as the rest of my party sat around on logs, barbecuing fine local viands & feeding the camp dogs. From their student years, surviving the Depression & WWII; to studying & getting published through the exciting times of starting a company & their book-hunting jaunts to musty basements in faraway places this is a lively, lovely duet by two voices weaving a deeply evocative memoir...
Loving books and each other.......1999-08-22
For everyone loving books, history and detectives this book is a great pleasure to read. With great enthusiasm Leona & Madeleine write about their lives and the books which they bought and sold. It makes one jealous of times when rare books could still be found under piles of dust instead of being sold for fortunes. So stop reading the reviews and start reading this book now.
Unusual and delightful lives.......1998-10-26
Those who love books and the history of the written word have benefitted from these devoted "literary sleuths" who not only devoted themselves to located lost treasures, but who pioneered the rights of women in academe. A story of how devotede friends could pool their talents to rescue lost arts and discover the literary secrets of groundbreaking authors. A suprisingly exciting read.
Books:
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- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (Signet Classics)
- Anatomy for the Artist
- Anatomy for the Artist
- Apologia pro Vita Sua (Penguin Classics)
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- Beads of the World: A Collector's Guide With Price Reference
- Botanical Illustration Course: With the Eden Project
- Botanical Illustration Course: With the Eden Project
- Botanical Illustration Course: With the Eden Project
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