The term "coffee table book" typically conjures images that delve into either insufferably dull or insufferably cute territory -- things like the evolution of American coinage, or little puppies dressed up in Halloween costumes.
However, with TASCHEN books proliferating tabletops nowadays, you're more likely to set your cup of tea on an 1800s rendering of a circus clown flying on a trapeze, or the largest male reproductive organ you've ever seen (on paper, anyway).
That's right -- The Big Book of Penis is one of TASCHEN's bestsellers (3D editions available), and also one of the store's many books you can snag for half the original price this weekend.
TASCHEN bookstores worldwide are having a blowout sale, offering
thousands of slightly damaged and display copies of store favorites for
as much as 75% off. The TASCHEN Miami store, located at 1111 Lincoln
Road in Miami Beach, will hold its sale from today through
Sunday, Jan. 22.
TASCHEN is a publisher notorious for both its elite taste for quality and an, ahem, streak of the unorthodox. The company's
stated mission has been to publish innovative, fabulous art books at
popular prices. Those prices are about to get more popular come Friday.
Although the sale books will vary by location, Miami store manager Sanda
Trapero gave us the lowdown on some notable titles to scoop up this
weekend.
75 Years of DC Comics. The Art of Modern Mythmaking: $100
TASCHEN
started out as a comic book store in 1980; its founder, Benedikt
Tashcen, dreamed of sharing his extensive collection of comics with the
Cologne community. Many years -- and dreams realized -- later, TASCHEN
offers 75 Years of DC Comics, The Art of Modern Mythmaking, a mammoth
hardcover measuring 11.4 x 15.6 inches of full-color adolescent delight.
The book contains over 2,000 images, fold-out timelines measuring
nearly four feet and an appendix filing bios on artists, writers,
editors, publishers, and actors alike. The store's description warns that
even Superman might have trouble lifting this XL book, so if you can
manage to carry it out of the store it's yours for $100 -- that's half the
original $200 price tag.
Diego Rivera. The Complete Murals: $100
This
collection, centered on Latin American art hero Diego Rivera, is
another coffee table book too big for your coffee table. "Mr. Taschen
wanted this sale to be bigger, better, bolder than ever," explained
Sandra. Emphasis on the bigger.
Like the DC Comics book, this
one folds out into stunning renderings of the Mexican artist's
celebrated works. Other XL books that will be 50% off include art books
on Matisse, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio, a tribute to Muhammad Ali, and
The Book of Palms, a volume devoted exclusively to the 19th century art
and study of palm trees. (What better accessory for a Miami Beach living
room?)
Architecture Now! 7: $19.99
The
multi-volume Architecture Now! series examines contemporary
architecture worldwide with thoughtful prose and photographs as
inventive as the buildings they capture. Each edition is an industry
update from the last, and is organized A-Z for easy reference.
Architecture Now! 7, the latest in the series, is subtitled After the
Fall: Architecture in a New Economic Climate. The edition examines how
architects are stretching their creative muscle in a time of budget
constraint -- something most of us can relate to, unfortunately. A variety
of the Architecture Now! titles will be available at the sale for
$19.99, half of the original $39.99 price.
The Big Book of Breasts: $29.99
TASCHEN
is known for pushing the label with erotic and fetishistic imagery that
wouldn't otherwise hit the average mainstream book nook. Take the
publisher's popular Body Part Series, for example: Breasts, penis, butt, legs, and, most recently, pussy all cheerfully and unapologetically adorn
TASCHEN bookshelves worldwide in all their stupefying glory.
The
volumes, however, balance shock value with high art and pop culture
history to create a visual diorama as educational as it is pornographic.
On one page of The Big Book of Breasts, a large pullout quote by Dolly
Parton puts it all into perspective: "I do have big tits. Always had
'em -- pushed 'em up, whacked 'em around. Why not make fun of 'em? I've
made a fortune with 'em."
Dolly's bazoombas -- and many, many
more -- are all yours for $29.99, half off the original price. Look out
for the other books in the Body Part series, as well.
Menu Design in America, 1850- 1985: $29.99
What's
more iconic of American culture than our love of food? Take a
cross-country, century-long road trip in this delightful volume that
spotlights that little printed paper of words and pictures that, during
each fleeting encounter, represents the most crucial, agonizing decision
in your universe: the food menu.
Revisit the Jetsons-like
spacey graphics customary of 1950s diners; ogle over the posh dinner
offerings at the Rockefeller Center Rooftop; gasp at a circa-1935 image
of what appears to be a woman squirting wine out of her nipples into the
glasses of several eager, black-tie gentleman at the French Casino in
Chicago.
Menu Design in America: A Visual and Culinary History of
Graphic Styles and Design 1850-1985 provides a visual feast (ha ha) for
all at 50% off the $59.99 original price.
--Grace Stainback
