Jim Heimann

West Coast Wild California’s architectural anomalies At the dawn of the automobile age, Americans’ predilection for wanderlust prompted a new wave of inventive entrepreneurs to cater to this new mode of transportation. Starting in the 1920s, attention-grabbing buildings began to appear that would draw in passing drivers for snacks, provisions, souvenirs, or a quick meal. The architectural establishment of the day dismissed these roadside buildings as “monstrosities”. Yet, they flourished, especially along America’s Sunbelt, and in particular, in Southern California, as proprietors indulged their creative impulses in the form of giant, eccentric constructions — from owls, dolls, pigs, and ships, to coffee pots and fruit. Their symbolic intent was guileless, yet they were marginalized by history. But, over the past 40 years, California’s architectural anomalies have regained their integrity, and are now being celebrated in this freshly revised compendium of buildings, California Crazy. Brimming with the best examples of this architectural genre, California Crazy includes essays exploring the influences that fostered the nascent architectural movement, as well as identifying the unconventional landscapes and attitudes found on Los Angeles and Hollywood roadsides which allowed these buildings to flourish in profusion. In addition, California Crazy features David Gebhard’s definitive essay, which defined this vernacular movement almost forty years ago. The California Crazy concept is expanded to include domestic architecture, eccentric signage, and the automobile as a fanciful object.

Up until the 20th century, children's play was not a subject that demanded much attention. While objects that entertained children have been present from ancient history, it was only with industrial mass production-and a developing urban middle class-that toys appeared more frequently. As playthings began to display a robust economic performance, an industry rose to provide this new market with the objects of their desire. European manufacturers dominated the toy market, with Germany, in particular, supplying the American market with the bulk of both singular and mass-produced products. World War I ended its dominance, and by the 1920s, bolstered by American ingenuity, an ever-growing consumer culture supported by the media empires of newspapers, radio, and television, American toys became ubiquitous in the consumer market. Ranging from the simple to the complex, children were inundated with a commodity to be wished for and sold to by the millions. From frilly dolls to science sets, children were marketed to with gusto, first through magazines and comic books and later through television. Toys fell along familiar gender lines all while being developed with the unspoken subtext of stimulating developing minds and being vehicles of problem solving with educational value. If the first part of the 20th century represented the rise of toys in America, the postwar period signaled a market unleashed by the baby boom. That one event gained traction for the toy industry and propelled it to its current state. Unforeseen was the next chapter in the industry-the advancement of the technical revolution-which would create another dimension of toy products that would captivate both children and adults as one century blended into the next.In the world of toy production, the multimillion dollar industry took the advertising of their product seriously, and toy manufacturers inundated customers with their latest product via trade journals. In New York City, the hub of the toy industry for most of the 20th century, annual trade shows introduced a deluge of new playthings to the buying public. Frisbees, board games, baseball mitts, Hula-Hoops, air rifles, video games, dolls, and miniature trains were all served up to generations of children, cementing forever the memories playtime. Filled with a Santa's sack full of surprises Toys. 100 Hundred Years of All-American Toy Ads takes us down the aisles of America's toy store delivering the favorites and forgotten memories of toys that were hugged and hoarded, saved and disposed of, and now finally brought back in their pristine glory. Once again it's Christmas, your birthday, and a reward for a job well-done.

Welcome the most comprehensive visual history on all things surfing. With hundreds of images and essays by today's leading surf journalists, this publication spans photography, fashion, film, art, and music to chart the evolution of surfing culture from its first mention in 1778 to today's global and multi-platform phenomenon.

At the dawn of the automobile age, Americans predilection for wanderlust prompted a new wave of inventive entrepreneurs to cater to this new mode of transportation. Starting in the 1920s, attention-grabbing buildings began to appear that would draw in passing drivers for snacks, provisions, souvenirs, or a quick meal. The architectural establishment of the day dismissed these roadside buildings as monstrosities . Yet, they flourished, especially along America s Sunbelt, and in particular, in Southern California, as proprietors indulged their creative impulses in the form of giant, eccentric constructions from owls, dolls, pigs, and ships, to coffee pots and fruit. Their symbolic intent was guileless, yet they were marginalized by history. But, over the past 40 years, California s architectural anomalies have regained their integrity, and are now being celebrated in this freshly revised compendium of buildings, California Crazy. Brimming with the best examples of this architectural genre, California Crazy includes essays exploring the influences that fostered the nascent architectural movement, as well as identifying the unconventional landscapes and attitudes found on Los Angeles and Hollywood roadsides which allowed these buildings to flourish in profusion. In addition, California Crazy features David Gebhard s definitive essay, which defined this vernacular movement almost forty years ago. The California Crazy concept is expanded to include domestic architecture, eccentric signage, and the automobile as a fanciful object. Combine a freethinking populace with a desire to reinvent itself, and a climate was created that served as the perfect incubator for the outrageous and amazing.

This landmark publication is the most comprehensive visual history to-date of the sport and culture of surfing. As much a cultural event as a publication, it brings together two and a half years of meticulous research with institutions, collections, and photographic archives around the world to trace the visual history of surfing from its first description by Captain Cook in 1778 to today's global phenomenon. Divided into five chronological chapters, with essays by top surfing journalists, the book examines and celebrates the evolution of surfing both on and off the water, as a sport, a lifestyle, a philosophy. More than 500 images detail surf's remarkable crossover from the originary shores of Hawaii to fashion, film, music, and even car design. A must-have for any serious player on the surfing scene, this is an unrivalled tribute to the breadth, complexity, and richness of surfing.

Start every day in style. This is a century's worth of fabulous looks to inspire you daily: TASCHEN's perpetual calendars. For those of you whose date books have been replaced by smartphones, TASCHEN has created the new "365 Day-By-Day" series so that you can still enjoy the warm analog feeling of marking every day with the turn of a page. Each day you'll discover a new photo and a related quote, ensuring a constant source of inspiration right on your desktop. At the end of the year, just turn back to the beginning and start again!