The best kind of crush is a book crush.

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Books I’m crushing on…

*Piero Fornasetti: A Conversation between Philippe Starck and Barnaba Fornasetti

Painter, sculptor, designer, craftsman, and engraver of art books, Piero Fornasetti was a visionary. In his lifetime, the Milanese artist created more than 11,000 items, considered among the largest output of art objects and furniture in the 20th century. His son Barnaba continues that workshop tradition today, reviving his father’s most popular pieces and creating new ones. In this illustrated memoire devoted to Piero Fornasetti’s work, Philippe Starck and Barnaba Fornasetti discuss his contribution to 20th century art and design.

This hardcover book measures 6 inches by 8 12 inches. Published July 1, 2005.

 

*Cecil Beaton: The Art of the Scrapbook

As one of the 20th century’s most important photographers, Cecil Beaton documented lives both famous and quotidian in dozens of scrapbooks now held by Sotheby’s London. In the course of his decades-long career as a photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair, as well as a British war correspondent, Beaton helped invent the cult of the celebrity image. In these pages, reproduced here for the first time, you enter a fabulous and surreal party where Tallulah Bankhead rubs shoulders with a bust of Voltaire and a portrait of Stravinsky, and where Beaton’s first trip on the Queen Mary coincides with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

James Danziger began his career in the photography world in 1977 as the youngest Picture Editor of The London Sunday Times Magazine. In the 1980s he became Features Editor of Vanity Fair where he was instrumental in repositioning the magazine and in championing Annie Leibovitz, now the magazine’s chief photographer. From 1989 to 2000, Danziger founded and ran the James Danziger Gallery in New York City, one of the world’s top photography galleries, representing such established photographers as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Giacomelli and Joel Meyerowitz. He later became Director of Magnum Photos’ American operations and now runs Danziger Projects, a contemporary projects office and gallery in the Chelsea district of New York City.

This hardcover book measures 11 1/2 inches by 14 2/5 inches. Published November 9, 2010.

 

*Gypset Style

Yuppies, Yippies, Jet Setters, Bright Young Things, Generation X, Generation Y… and now the Gypset. Fusing the ease and carefree lifestyle of a gypsy with the sophistication of the jet set, the Gypsetters are artists, surfers, designers, and bon vivants who live and work around the globe, from Jose Ignacio, Uruguay and Ibiza, Spain, to Montauk, New York. Gypset Style explores the unconventional, wanderlust lives of these high-low cultural nomads and the bohemian enclaves they inhabit, as well as their counterculture forbears, such as the Victorian explorers, the Lost Generation, the Beatniks, and the hippies. And along the way, author Julia Chaplin looks back at quintessential gypsy boho moments in social history.

Julia Chaplin is a New York based journalist and editor who covers contemporary art, fashion, design, lifestyle, and travel. She is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Elle, Vogue, Wallpaper, New York Magazine, and Condé Nast Traveler.

This hardcover book measures 11 inches by 7 3/4 inches. Published March 30, 2009.

 

*In the Spirit of Capri

Jutting proudly out of the Mediterranean Sea, like a miracle of nature, Capri is one of the world’s chicest destinations and the European pleasure island. It is a place where well-tanned Italians joyfully share the islands beauty with celebrities and emphatic island lovers: from limoncello, the native digestivo, to its eponymous Capri pants, to the bright turquoise jewelry and bejeweled sandals made famous by its glamorous denizens. In a colorful tribute to the isle adored by literary icons and the jet set alike, author Pamela Fiori explains with resonant texts and vibrant images the effortless charm of this fabled island.

Pamela Fiori is the editor-in-chief of Town & Country, founded in 1846 and the oldest continuously published lifestyle magazine in America. In her distinguished career (which has also included positions at Holiday and Travel + Leisure), she has written countless articles, among them her popular monthly editor’s letter for Town & Country, and has received several important awards for her accomplishments, such as the Chevalier National du Merite from the French government and the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award.

This hardcover book measures 11 inches by 7 3/4 inches. Published September 1, 2009.