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Spectacular Specimens. Albertus Seba’s unrivalled catalogue of animals, insects and plants

Art meets science in this beautiful catalogue of botanical illustration. Drawn from the archives of the National Library of Vienna, these exquisite color reproductions range from 6th-century manuscripts to 19th-century masterpieces and celebrate both the skill of botanical artists and the abundance of natural flora.

In pursuit of both knowledge and delight, the craft of botanical illustration has always required not only meticulous draftsmanship but also a rigorous scientific understanding. This new edition of a TASCHEN classic celebrates the botanical tradition and talents with a selection of outstanding works from the National Library of Vienna, including many new images.

From Byzantine manuscripts right through to 19th-century masterpieces, through peonies, callas, and chrysanthemums, these exquisite reproductions dazzle in their accuracy and their aesthetics. Whether in gently furled leaves, precisely textured fruits, or the sheer beauty and variety of colors, we celebrate an art form as tender as it is precise, and ever more resonant amid our growing awareness of our ecological surroundings and the preciousness of natural flora.

The author:

H. Walter Lack is a Professor at the Free University of Berlin and former Director of the Botanical Gardens and Botanical Museum in Berlin-Dahlem. A leading expert in the history of botany, his research focuses on the global transfer of useful and ornamental plants from a cultural-historical perspective. He is the author of TASCHEN’s Garden of Eden and The Book of Palms.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!

Do you ever find yourself wondering, "Has she had work done?" Do you flip through supermarket tabloids to see who's the latest star to have gone under the knife? Do you secretly adore before and after photos? Well, let's face it, who doesn't? Aesthetic surgery has become a global phenomenon. In places like Hollywood, the mystery isn't who's had work done, but who hasn't. Those who have been to the world's best surgeons can get away with lying about it, while others have the evidence written all over their faces. From liposuction to lip implants, this book explores all the ins and outs of body sculpting via photos, illustrations, essays, and interviews.

Topics include:
* Beauty and Beauty Surgery
* Beauty in Art
* The Astonishing History of Aesthetic Surgery
* Ethnicity and Aesthetic Surgery
* Plastic Surgery in the Movies
* The Michelangelo of the Scalpel: Ivo Pitanguy
* The World`s most famous aesthetic surgeo
* Methods and Techniques
* Jokes and Caricatures

TASCHEN's 25th anniversary - Special edition!

Albertus Seba`s Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is one of the 18th century`s greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time. Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665–1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection — from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon. Seba`s scenic illustrations, often mixing plants and animals in a single plate, were unusual even for the time. Many of the stranger and more peculiar creatures from Seba`s collection, some of which are now extinct, were as curious to those in Seba`s day as they are to us now.

This reproduction is taken from a rare, hand-coloured original. The introduction offers background information about the fascinating tradition of the cabinet of curiosities to which Seba`s curiosities belonged.

An art book for food lovers. Mouthwatering illustrations of 19th-century French garden vegetables

The French company Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie arose in the 18th century from the collaboration between Philippe Victoire de Vilmorin — a grain and plant merchant and connoisseur — and his father-in-law, Pierre Andrieux, Botanist to the King. The Vilmorins, though only producers and merchants on the Paris market, contributed enormously to the botanical and agronomic knowledge of their time. Their first catalog, comprising all kinds of seeds for kitchen-garden vegetables — including legumes, salad plants, flower seeds and bulbs — appeared in 1766. It was followed by a series of Publications périodiques in which the quality of the botanical and horticultural information was equaled only by the illustrations. By the mid-19th century, the firm had become the most important seed company in the world — active in production, trade, and scientific advances, thanks largely to Louis de Vilmorin’s crucial research into selection and heredity in the 1850s.

At the height of its international renown, the company published its splendid Album Vilmorin. Les Plantes potagères (The Vegetable Garden, 1850–1895) featuring 46 magnificent color plates. The Vilmorins employed some 15 painters to create this work of agro-botanic iconography; most had trained as artist-naturalists at the Jardin des Plantes, the former Royal Gardens, including Elisa Champin, who painted a large number of the finest plates. These illustrations — reproduced here with exquisite care and accuracy — transcend mere artistic interest, beautiful as they are; they are also a valuable resource for anyone researching cultivarietal evolution, and old varieties of fruits and vegetables.

The author:

Werner Dressendörfer is a pharmaceutical historian and academic librarian. He taught at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, where he was an honorary professor. His particular spheres of interest are the history of the Early Modern herbal, the cultural history of useful and medicinal plants, and plant symbolism in art. He has published extensively on pharmaceutical and botanical history.

An Alice in Wonderland card game with artwork based on Sir John Tenniel's original illustrations for the books. This game can be played by several people. The 48 cards make up 16 sets of 3 cards each. The cards in each set have different pictures on them, but the same numbers so you know they belong together. The player who assembles the most sets wins. A reprint of "Alice in Wonderland" card game published by Thomas De la Rue & Co. Ltd in 1898 from The State Hermitage Museum Collection.

The divine sky. History's most beautiful celestial atlas

This collection of celestial maps by Dutch-German mathematician and cosmographer Andreas Cellarius (c. 1596 – 1665) brings back to life a masterpiece from the Golden Age of celestial cartography. First published in 1660 in the Harmonia Macrocosmica, the complete 29 double-folio maps and dozens of unusual details reproduced here depict the world systems of Claudius Ptolemy, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Tycho Brahe, the motions of the sun, the moon, and the planets, and the delineation of the constellations in various views. Cellarius’s atlas, superbly embellished with richly decorated borders depicting cherubs, astronomers, and astronomical instruments, features some of the most spectacular illustration in the history of astronomy.

This reprint includes a copiously illustrated introduction by Robert van Gent, one of the leading Cellarius experts, summarizing the history of celestial cartography from antiquity to late 17th/early 18th century and illuminating the life and work of Andreas Cellarius. Van Gent also discusses the historical and cultural context and significance of the atlas and provides detailed descriptions of the astronomical and iconographical content of the plates, allowing modern readers to fully appreciate the masterwork of Andreas Cellarius and his publisher, Johannes Janssonius.

The book’s detailed appendix includes a list of constellation figures with short descriptions of their origin and mythology, a list of star names found on the plates, a glossary of technical words, and a bibliography. Cellarius’s exquisite renditions of the constellations will excite the astronomer in anyone.

This is the perfect guidebook for all artlovers who visit or live in London, and an essential reference book for anyone interested in the history of art.

Its unique approach draws on the cream of London’s museums and galleries to create an easily navigable, narrative history of art and allows you to locate your favourite artist or style of art in any museum and follow it throughout the museums of London.

Do you like the pre-Raphaelites? This book will show you where to find their works in London, from great masterpieces in world-famous institutions to hidden gems housed in galleries off the beaten track. From Burne-Jones’s stained glass in Holy Trinity Church in Sloane Street, move on to Millais’s ‘Ophelia’ in Tate Britain; jump on the tube to visit the fine selection of pre-Raphaelite paintings at the William Morris Gallery.

The Art Guide also features concise histories and critical analyses of many important artists as well as key movements, showing you where to see, for example, Francis Bacon’s iconic works and pinpointing his London haunts.

• ‘Short tour’ and ‘also see’ sections allow you to trace your favourite period or style throughout the museums and galleries of London
• ‘Artist in focus’ sections present a full tour of London’s holdings of iconic artists
• Extensive reference sections and city maps enable you to use the book as an illustrated guide to every one of London’s museums and galleries
• Individual chapters guide the reader through a thematic, narrative history of art
• Expert commentary throughout on the movements and artists

Advice, strong opinions, and personal revelations by the world's greatest artists - exclusively researched for this new book

Featuring the most inspirational and insightful collection of quotes by artists through the ages and across the globe, this exquisite keepsake is the ideal book for artists, collectors, and armchair enthusiasts. As painters, sculptors, photographers, and other visual artists see and experience the world through a unique lens, Art Is the Highest Form of Hope & Other Quotes by Artists shows that their life lessons, private revelations, and frank, often irreverent, opinions can guide us all.

This unique and carefully curated book, packed with totally original research, is a go-to resource for revealing thoughts and personal advice on subjects as diverse as beauty, colour, light, sex, chance, discipline, money troubles, originality, fear of failure, danger of success, the creative process, and more – all messages transmitted from the artistic trenches.

Maps of England, Ireland, and Scotland from Joan Blaeu’s exquisite world atlas of 1665 The Atlas Maior, the cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque period, was brought out between 1662 and 1665 by the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu, one of Holland’s leading cartographers. Originally appearing in Latin, the atlas comprised 594 maps in 11 volumes, which depicted the whole of the world as known to early modern Europe. It was the largest and most expensive book published during the 17th century. For more than 100 years it remained the definitive atlas of the world, and today is among the most sought-after and valuable antiquarian rarities. This reprinted edition in six volumes is based on the hand-colored, gold-heightened copy in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, thus ensuring the best possible detail and quality. Alongside Joan Blaeu’s original commentaries on the individual maps, a new text by Peter van der Krogt explains the historical and cultural associations and introduces the reader to the fascinating world of early modern cartography. This two-volume set features all 58 maps of England and 55 maps of Scotland and Ireland and the text is in English, French, and German.

The Atlas Maior, the cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque period, was brought out between 1662 and 1665 by the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu, one of Holland’s leading cartographers. Originally appearing in Latin, the atlas comprised 594 maps in 11 volumes, which depicted the whole of the world as known to early modern Europe. It was the largest and most expensive book published during the 17th century. For more than 100 years it remained the definitive atlas of the world, and today is among the most sought-after and valuable antiquarian rarities. This reprinted edition in six volumes is based on the hand-colored, gold-heightened copy in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, thus ensuring the best possible detail and quality. Alongside Joan Blaeu’s original commentaries on the individual maps, a new text by Peter van der Krogt explains the historical and cultural associations and introduces the reader to the fascinating world of early modern cartography.
This volume features all 28 maps of Spain and Portugal, 13 maps of Africa and 23 maps of America and the text is in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

Maps of Holland and Belgium from Joan Blaeu's exquisite world atlas of 1665

The Atlas Maior, the cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque period, was brought out between 1662 and 1665 by the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu, one of Holland’s leading cartographers. Originally appearing in Latin, the atlas comprised 594 maps in 11 volumes, which depicted the whole of the world as known to early modern Europe. It was the largest and most expensive book published during the 17th century. For more than 100 years it remained the definitive atlas of the world, and today is among the most sought-after and valuable antiquarian rarities. This reprinted edition in six volumes is based on the hand-colored, gold-heightened copy in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, thus ensuring the best possible detail and quality. Alongside Joan Blaeu’s original commentaries on the individual maps, a new text by Peter van der Krogt explains the historical and cultural associations and introduces the reader to the fascinating world of early modern cartography.
This volume includes all 63 maps of Belgium and The Netherlands and the text is in Dutch, French, and English.

Maps of Italy from Joan Blaeu’s exquisite world atlas of 1665 The Atlas Maior, the cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque period, was brought out between 1662 and 1665 by the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu, one of Holland’s leading cartographers. Originally appearing in Latin, the atlas comprised 594 maps in 11 volumes, which depicted the whole of the world as known to early modern Europe. It was the largest and most expensive book published during the 17th century. For more than 100 years it remained the definitive atlas of the world, and today is among the most sought-after and valuable antiquarian rarities. This reprinted edition in six volumes is based on the hand-colored, gold-heightened copy in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, thus ensuring the best possible detail and quality. Alongside Joan Blaeu’s original commentaries on the individual maps, a new text by Peter van der Krogt explains the historical and cultural associations and introduces the reader to the fascinating world of early modern cartography. This volume features all 60 maps of Italy and the text is in Italian, English, and German.