Taschen GmbH

It’s not just flashing, snarling Porsche cars that racing photographer Rainer W. Schlegelmilch captures in these shots from 1963 to 1988—though his zoom effect lifts them dramatically off the page. It’s his story over the years, it’s the reality of the track, drivers’ conversations, mechanics’ dirty hands. Feel the vibrations and smell the oil!

Ferdinand Porsche was one of the most influential car designers of all time. As a gifted engineer, his remarkable legacy was built upon by his son Ferry and grandson “Butzi” who helped evolve Porsche into the globally renowned brand it is today. This book spans the entire history, from the Type 64 concept to its latest range-topping models.

On December 5, 1923, at just twenty-two years old, Manly Palmer Hall embarked on the defining pilgrimage of his early life, boarding the S.S. Franconia for a journey around the world. The voyage was conceived an ambitious spiritual and intellectual expedition, as Hall set out to encounter firsthand the religious traditions, sacred philosophies, symbols, and cultural systems that had long stirred his imagination through books. This journey became the inspiration for Hall’s masterpiece, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, an encyclopedic synthesis of myth, mysticism, esoteric philosophy, comparative religion, and symbolic traditions from around the globe. The book supported his enduring conviction that beneath the world’s diverse religions and mystery schools lay a perennial philosophy: a hidden wisdom expressing humanity’s enduring search for truth. The Secret Teachings would secure his place as one of the twentieth century’s foremost interpreters of esoteric thought.Created in close collaboration with Manly P. Hall’s archives at the Philosophical Research Society, this newly curated edition offers a fresh gateway into Hall’s landmark esoteric masterpiece. Revered as a classic since its original publication in 1928, Hall’s monumental encyclopedia remains one of the most expansive explorations of subjects ranging from Hermetic philosophy and Tarot to Egyptian mythology, sacred geometry, and Pythagorean thought. This thoughtfully abridged companion edition brings renewed life to Hall’s visionary work, with previously unpublished photographs from his global travels alongside the extraordinary illustrations of J. Augustus Knapp and additional works by Hall’s longtime creative collaborator, Mihran Serailian. Together, these artists illuminate nearly 60 mythological and magical subjects, creating a volume that is both an essential introduction for new readers and a visually immersive reexamination for longtime seekers.

Get closer than ever to the movie that changed the movies. This behind-the-scenes spectacular of 2001: A Space Odysseysheds light on the lead actors, senior production designers, special-effects experts and masterminds of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, who together revolutionized science fiction and the art of cinema.This comprehensive visual record includes on and off set photographs, pre-production paintings, and conceptual designs from the Kubrick archives. These dazzling images offer insight both into Kubrick's meticulous directorial methods, and into the mysteries and magnetism of a film at once vast in scope and intricate in its exploration of our relationship to technology.Written and researched over several years by the outer space, special effects, and technology journalist Piers Bizony, this compendium is both an exhaustive labour of love and a monument to a masterpiece of 20th century culture.

Well before Andy Warhol’s rise to the pinnacle of Pop Art, he created and exhibited seductive drawings celebrating male beauty. Andy Warhol Love, Sex, & Desire: Drawings 1950–1962 features over three hundred drawings rendered primarily in ink on paper portraying young men, many of them nude, some sexually charged, and occasionally adorned with whimsical black hearts and delightful embellishments. They lounge or preen, proud of or even bored by their beauty, while the artist sketches them, rapt. They rarely engage with their keen observer, and likewise Warhol’s focus is on their form, their erotic qualities, and unbridled sexuality. If his subjects are content to revel in their attractiveness, so too is Warhol. His confident hand illustrates a multitude of colorful characters, yet also reveals much about this enigmatic artist.Warhol was already a booming commercial illustrator when he exhibited studies from this body of work at the Bodley Gallery on New York’s Upper East Side in 1956. He mistakenly saw these illustrations as his way of breaking into the New York art scene, underestimating the pervading homophobia of the time. While he never saw through his plan to publish the drawings as a monograph, he did produce more than a thousand elegant, seemingly effortless drawings from life. This volume brings his project to fruition by gathering his most striking images, published in a comprehensive book and chosen by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Edited and featuring an introduction by the Foundation’s Michael Dayton Hermann, and essays by Warhol biographer Blake Gopnik and art critic Drew Zeiba. The inclusion of poems by James Baldwin, Thom Gunn, Harold Norse, Essex Hemphill and Allen Ginsberg create moments of introspection, which expand on the themes and moods present in the drawings.In style, the drawings evoke the sketches of Jean Cocteau and even Matisse: highly distilled and sure of line, yet loose. The sly voyeurism, meanwhile, is entirely Warhol’s own, and even the most risqué drawings contain a kind of droll humor?a sense of ironic detachment?that would become a Warhol trademark. 

Before reaching the tender age of 30, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) had already sculpted Pieta and David, two of the most famous sculptures in the entire history of art. As a sculptor, painter, draftsman, and architect, the achievements of this Italian master are unique?no artist before or after him has ever produced such a vast, multifaceted, and wide-ranging ouvre.This fresh TASCHEN edition traces Michelangelo’s ascent to the cultural elite of the Renaissance. Ten richly illustrated chapters cover the artist’s paintings, sculptures, and architecture, including a close analysis of the artist’s tour de force frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Full-page reproductions and enlarged details allow readers to appreciate the finest details in the artist’s repertoire, while the book’s biographical essay considers Michelangelo’s more personal traits and circumstances, such as his solitary nature, his thirst for money and commissions, his immense wealth, and his skill as a property investor.

Discover the legacy of mid-century architecture, its four design giants—R. M. Schindler, Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, John Lautner—and the Case Study Houses. These works came to define California’s architectural identity by celebrating indoor/outdoor living, building with a deeper connection to nature, and shaping modernism globally.

Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566) was a founding father of modern botany, honored to this day in the vivid flower, and corresponding color, Fuchsia. In 1543, Fuchs combined his masterful botanical knowledge with groundbreaking medical research in his New Herbal, a catalog of some 500 types of plants and their healing properties.While a dependable scientific reference, The New Herbal won fame above all with the detail and quality of its illustrations. Alongside essays describing the plants’ features, origins, and medicinal powers, Fuchs presented each plant with meticulous woodcut illustrations, refining the ability for swift species identification and setting new standards for accuracy and quality in botanical publications. From the age of great exploration, The New Herbal also documented plant types from the recently discovered New World, offering the first visual record of tobacco, maize, kidney bean, and cactus.This edition is based on Fuchs’s personal, hand-colored copy, which has miraculously survived four-and-a-half centuries in pristine condition. Fascinating for historians of medicine and art, gardeners, and anyone interested in herbal medicine, the volume features over 500 splendid illustrations, and an essay exploring the history of healing herbs.

Whether it's diamond-encrusted grills, oversized “truck” style chains, bust-down Rolex and Patek Philippe watches or a Tiffany necklace, jewelry is a cornerstone of hip-hop culture. Glittering, blinged-out jewels are the shining statement of a collective identity: unapologetic, charismatic, and street savvy. Spanning the history of hip-hop jewelry, from the 1980s to today, Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History is a stunning compilation of storytelling and visuals.Hundreds of extraordinary images of every major hip-hop artist on record celebrate how “Ice” has become a proclamation of identity and self-expression. Starting with Run-DMC’s gold Adidas pendants and Eric B. & Rakim’s ostentatious dookie rope chains and Mercedes medallions, the jewelry then transforms from street style into a booming design culture.The hip-hop tradition of “show up and show out” reaches new heights with artists like Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, Gucci Mane, and Cardi B, whose over-the-top pieces integrate unique pop culture references, unconventional materials, and enduring collaborations with artists like Takashi Murakami. Author Vikki Tobak reveals – in great detail – the work of pioneering jewelers such as Tito Caicedo of Manny’s, Eddie Plein, and Jacob the Jeweler as well as newer artisans such as Avianne & Co., Ben Baller/IF & Co., Greg Yuna, Johnny Dang, Eliantte, and many more. Ice Cold is a treasure trove of dazzling, inspirational style, featuring the work of leading photographers, including Wolfgang Tillmans, Janette Beckman, Jamel Shabazz, Timothy White, Gillian Laub, David LaChapelle, Danny Clinch, Chris Buck, Mike Miller, Phil Knott, Raven B.Varona, Al Pereira, Albert Watson and many more. A foreword by hip-hop superstar Slick Rick and essays by A$AP Ferg, LL COOL J, Kevin “Coach K’ Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas of Quality Control Music take us on personal journeys into their jewelry universe. Ice Cold goes beyond the ostentatious bling to reveal a transformative story that is loud and proud.

This essential TASCHEN guide to Ferrari explores the fascinating history behind the world’s most celebrated and loved car marque. Its insightful introduction delves into Enzo Ferrari’s life story exploring how his self-confessed “mania” for car racing and desire to win at all costs informed the creation of some of the most beautiful, high-performance car models ever made.Showcasing an expertly curated selection of the marque’s most important and iconic models, from the early Ferrari 340 America Barchetta through to the immortal Ferrari 250 GTO to the firm’s recent crop of dazzling hypercars. Each of the specially selected models is presented in-depth with a suite of lavish spreads featuring stunning imagery taken by the world’s leading car photographers alongside rare archival treasures, from original factory photos to famous motorsports event posters. Each entry is also accompanied by expert descriptive texts and specs, detailing each car’s model, year, engine size, horsepower, top speed, transmission, and all-important production numbers.Put simply, this book is a fabulous round-up of Ferrari’s best-of-the-best, while at the same time being a glorious yet informative celebration of Ferrari’s never-ending quest for automotive excellence over its illustrious 80-year history.

Floor plans comprise all the attributes that elevate building from a trade to an art form: proportion, balance, coherence, structure, matter, and dynamism. Each one is a work of art in and of itself. This fascinating compendium is an inquiry into and celebration of the artistic qualities intrinsic to plan drawings. With each one distilled down to its basics, devoid of any superfluous lines or colors, every building’s core is exposed in blue against a white background.Thus simplified, they convey each structure’s spatial essence—its reason for being—in its purest form.  With more than 3500 plans, ranging from humankind’s first dwellings to today’s incredibly varied constructions, the collection becomes a narrative of architectural handwriting across millennia. Displayed chronologically, it can be digested by the reader in different dimensions—architectural or geographical, temporal or technological.  Plan drafting is a key element in the daily practice of all architects—both an expressive medium and an essential artisanal skill.Plan reading, likewise, is the first step in making the acquaintance of a building, decoding its spatial intelligence and the intent of its creators. Because floor plans are at the very core of any structure’s identity, any students or teachers of architecture will find this remarkable repository an invaluable resource and tool for research and theory. They’re likely to relish dissecting plans of familiar buildings—wellsprings of inspiration and ideas—but also delight in discovering projects they’ve probably never encountered before. 

At the height of the Jazz Age, when Prohibition was turning ordinary citizens into criminals and ordinary criminals into celebrities, America’s true crime detective magazines were born. True Detective came first in 1924, and by 1934, when the Great Depression had produced colorful outlaws like Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, and John Dillinger, the magazines were so popular cops and robbers alike vied to see themselves on the pages. Even FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover wrote regularly for what came to be called the “Dickbooks,” referring to a popular slang term for a detective. As the decades rolled on, the magazines went through a curious metamorphosis, however. When liquor was once more legal, the Depression over and all the flashy criminals dead or imprisoned, the “detectives” turned to sin to make sales. Sexy bad girls in tight sweaters, slit skirts, and stiletto heels adorned every cover. True Crime Detective Magazines follows the evolution and devolution of this distinctly American genre from 1924 to 1969. Hundreds of covers and interior images from dozens of magazine titles tell the story, not just of the “detectives,” but also of America’s attitudes towards sex, sin, crime, and punishment over five decades. With texts by magazine collector Eric Godtland, George Hagenauer, and True Detective editor Marc Gerald, True Crime Detective Magazines is an informative and entertaining look at one of the strangest publishing niches of all time.

Donald and the Duck Man Disney’s feathered favorite stars in Golden Age print adventures Suave yet short-tempered, Donald Duck was Walt Disney’s cartoon bad boy, a more complex foil to the ever-optimistic Mickey Mouse and a box-office draw from his earliest silver screen appearances. It was in comics that Donald continued to soar creatively, thanks to Carl Barks, the self-taught cartoonist whose masterful and imaginative work turned the quarrelsome quacker into a cultural icon. Spanning 1942 to 1950, this deluxe volume collects some of Barks’s earliest and most iconic tales from the Four Color anthology series, including Lost in the Andes, Luck of the North, Donald Duck and the Mummy’s Ring, and Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. Throughout these top-selling adventures—Donald Duck comic strips helped keep the Disney studio afloat during the lean years of World War II—Barks masterfully blended humor, action, and sharp characterization, crafting stories that remain as wise as they are hilarious. Barks’s synthesis of exaggerated cartoon characters with lush, realistic backgrounds, some researched from the pages of National Geographic magazine, created an entirely new art form, immersing readers in Donald’s triumphs and troubles. Introducing beloved supporting characters like identical nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and lucky cousin Gladstone Gander, these escapades enthralled younger audiences but were far from childish. They were sophisticated, complex, and often dark tales of behavioral insight and graphic brilliance. With hundreds of beautifully restored reproductions and an extended essay by Disney historian Jim Fanning, this collection is a fitting tribute to the sailor-suited hero and the revered "Duck Man"—an official Disney Legend and comic book king.

Bodies of Evidence Meticulous anatomical waxworks showing human anatomy in all its complexity A book that gets under the skin in every sense, containing hundreds of vivid photographs of intricate anatomical waxworks, created more than two centuries ago to astounding levels of accuracy. The models were intended to advance medical understanding at a time when scientific curiosity and intellectual fervor were sweeping Europe. Housed in Florence’s La Specola museum, which opened its doors in 1775 to visitors of all social classes—itself a visionary notion at the time—, the specimens have served as both educational tools and objects of public fascination ever since. Each model is a unique fusion of art and science, meticulously crafted to reveal the hidden wonders of the human body. From detailed musculature to finely rendered organs, they serve as a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, names like Gaetano Giulio Zumbo and Clemente Susini, who achieved incredible accuracy centuries before body imaging technologies came about. An extended essay on the history of the collection and the museum explains how the models were commissioned and produced—some required as many as 200 corpses for reference—and each chapter has a text explaining the human anatomy in lay terms. Today, La Specola’s collection offers a rare glimpse into the ambition and artistry of a past era, when society began pursuing knowledge with zeal and sharing it widely. This compelling book invites all fans of natural history to marvel at these relics of our scientific heritage, treasures that continue to inspire for their beauty, realism, and enduring contribution to human understanding.

The Soul of Spain The entirety of the artist’s etchings and lithographs collected in one volume Francisco de Goya was one of the most innovative peintre-graveurs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, his etchings and lithographs masterpieces of modern printmaking. Trained in Spain and Italy, and appointed First Court Painter to Charles IV early in his career, he brought the sensibilities of the Enlightenment into uneasy dialogue with the brutal realities of his time. Whether working in single sheets, like the harrowing The Garrotted Man or the sublime Seated Giant, or across his celebrated series—the satirical Caprichos, the unflinching Desastres de la Guerra, the dynamic Tauromaquia, and the nightmarish Disparates—Goya chronicled both the spirit and the shadows of a world in upheaval, where the individual was often crushed by violence, superstition, or power. These weren’t just reflections on Spanish society. They were indictments, meditations, and warnings, etched in copperplates. This landmark collection of 287 etchings and lithographs gathers Goya’s complete printed aeuvre, including editions produced under his direct supervision, as well as rare state proofs from unpublished series, giving uncommon insight into his restless experimentation and meticulous control over the printmaking process. With a detailed commentary on each image and commanding essays by José Manuel Matilla and Anna Reuter, this volume is the culmination of more than two centuries of scholarly research, and is a searing visual narrative. Goya did not simply depict his world. He dissected it, laying bare the eternal tensions between reason and madness, justice and cruelty, hope and despair.

Celestial Citrus J. C. Volkamer’s 18th-century ode to the citrus fruit Have you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically suspended in the sky? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer (1644–1720) did—commissioning an extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder. Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa, and even the Cape of Good Hope, the Nuremberg merchant Volkamer was a devotee of the fragrant and exotic citrus at a time when such fruits were still largely unknown north of the Alps. His garden came to contain a wide variety of specimens, and he became so obsessed with the fruits that he commissioned a team of copperplate engravers to create 256 plates of 170 varieties of citrus fruits, many depicted life size, published in a two-volume work. The first volume appeared in 1708, with the impressively lengthy title The Nuremberg Hesperides, or: A detailed description of the noble fruits of the citron, lemon and bitter orange; how these may be correctly planted, cared for and propagated in that and neighboring regions. In both volumes, Volkamer draws on years of hands-on experience to present a far-reaching account of citrus fruits and how to tend them—from a meticulous walk-through of how to construct temporary orangeries, glasshouses, and hothouses for growing pineapples to commentary on each fruit variety, including its size, shape, color, scent, tree or shrub, leaves, and country of origin. In each plate, Volkamer pays tribute to the verdant landscapes of Northern Italy, his native Nuremberg, and other sites that captured his imagination. From Genovese sea views to the Schönbrunn Palace, each locale is depicted in the same exceptional detail as the fruit that overhangs it. We witness branches heavy with grapefruits arching across a sun-bathed yard in Bologna and marvel at a huge pineapple plant sprouting from a South American town. The result is at once a fantastical line-up of botanical beauty and a highly poetic tour through the lush gardens and places where these fruits grew. Few colored sets of Volkamer’s work are still in existence today. This publication draws on the two recently discovered hand-colored volumes in the city of Fürth’s municipal archive in Schloss Burgfarrnbach. The reprint also includes 56 later discovered illustrations that Volkamer intended to present in a third volume.