10 books every gentleman should consider for his coffee table
From a James Bond visual archive to the world atlas of coffee, these are the titles to invest in for your coffee table…
Words: Jonathan Wells
Forget opera houses, art galleries and concert halls — culture starts with your coffee table. More precisely, with your coffee table books; extravagantly-bound, large-scale volumes used to inform visitors — without doubt or uncertainty — that you’re as smart, sophisticated and well-informed as they think you are.
The things are like hardback exhibitions, portable art shows — or endlessly browsable catalogues of your favourite cars, photographs or destinations.
And which book you choose says a lot about you. Too intellectual or avant-garde, and you’ll be tripped up when somebody asks why the spine has never been cracked. Too vapid and vacuous, and it’ll have the opposite of your desired, charismatic effect. Thankfully, we’ve rounded up 10 of the finest titles that sit assuredly (and heavily) in that accomplished coffee table sweet spot. Now it’s just down to you to pick one…
Greatest of All Time: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali
A good place to start. Or should that be great? This slightly slimmer, bantamweight edition of Muhammad Ali’s visual history is a perfect, manageable option for sports enthusiasts. With expert essays, compelling interviews, thousands of images, and two gatefold sequences, it’ll float like a butterfly, sting like a bee and keep you entertained for hours.
Beautiful Machines: The Era of the Elegant Sports Car
From the coffee table to the garage. Beautiful Machines is a treat for any petrolheads out there — looking to start their engines with 320 pages of automotive excitement. From the legendary Porsche 917 (Steve McQueen’s favourite) to the Ferrari Daytona and slick Aston Martin DB5, it includes fascinating stories behind (and incredible images of) quintessential sports cars. Buckle up.
Braun: Designed to Keep
Braun is more than just an electronics brand. Since 1921, the German company has been shaping the way we live through its timeless designs that are underpinned by a set of functional and aesthetic principles. Perfect for design lovers, this book explores the brand’s core values, such as simplicity, usefulness and longevity, which have changed the way household items are perceived and used.
The Impossible Collection of Wine
Published as part of Assouline’s Ultimate Collection, The Impossible Collection of Wine explores the most exceptional wines of the twentieth century — from the 1928 Krug Champagne to the 1951 Penfolds Grange Bin 95 — as chosen by Enrico Bernardo, the world’s best sommelier. This hand-bound luxury edition, featuring hand-tipped images and presented in a wooden crate, is a must-have for the dedicated oenophile.
Atlas of Interior Design
Architecture and design journalist Dominic Bradbury’s Atlas of Interior Design features more than 400 of the world’s most inspirational interiors from the past eight decades. Whether you’re looking for practical interior inspiration or simply want to drool over beautiful design, this book is an ideal addition to any coffee table book collection.
The World Atlas of Coffee
What better book for your coffee table? Written by a former World Barista Champion and brimming with freshly-roasted stories and stats about coffee, this alternative atlas is the perfect deep dive into everyone’s favourite caffeinated cupful. Prepare to discover where coffee comes from and how it is harvested — before getting up close and powerful with the rich roasting process.
The James Bond Archives: “No Time To Die” Edition
The original James Bond Archives were a cracking read — shaken and stirred together with photos, designs, storyboards and production materials from over half a century of cinema’s most successful franchise. This edition one-ups the original, with a wealth of 1,007 images and an oral history featuring 150 members of cast and crew talking up the as-yet-unreleased No Time To Die.
1,000 Record Covers
If you’ve already got a feature wall shelving and showing off your record collection at home, why not complement it with a coffee table book? This extraordinary compendium compiles 1,000 of the most iconic record sleeves from the 1960s to 1990s. Visually striking, endlessly nostalgic and utterly expressive of their respective periods, the millennium of artworks are accompanied by the stories and secrets of how they came to be.
Savile Row: The Master Tailors of British Bespoke
Savile Row; the beating, bespoke heart of London’s tailoring scene. If you’ve got a couple of made-to-measure suits hanging upstairs in your wardrobe then this coffee table book was also made-for-you. Told through eight chronological themes, this beautifully illustrated celebration brings together Savile Row’s highlights and lowlights, the dramas and private tales, the fabrics and the cuts, the history and future.
St. Moritz Chic
And, finally, to St. Moritz. Perhaps the coolest (both literally and figuratively) holidaying spot of the jet set, the stories and decadence of this slick Swiss resort town could fill tens of books. But author Dora Lardelli has done a sparkling job of condensing the opulence and outrage into a single volume; packed with gorgeous, frosty photographs, tales from the slope-side and the daring-do antics of playboys from Gunter Sachs to Gianni Agnelli.
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