The Bookshelf

Rise of the Giant Book

Giant book on chinese-style wooden stand

Last year I visited Paris, where they really take their photo books seriously, and was amazed to see absolutely enormous photo books on sale.  This one on Tibetan murals from publisher Taschen comes with its own Asian-inspired wooden stand, and costs a mere €10,000.

This gorgeous two-volume set, Genesis by world-famous photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado, shown here in its own shipping crate, comes with a bookstand in cherry wood veneer designed by star architect Tadao Ando. Although the book is available online, the shipping charges might put potential buyers off, as it weighs in at 130lbs.

Book with record LP attached to cover

This history of Capitol Records comes with its own gold disc…

Giant book of photos of life size guitars

…while the guitars in this book by Maxime Ruiz are all life size. Presumably you could cut them out if you felt like playing a spot of air guitar with added visual effects.

Art book on colourful stand

Artist David Hockney’s newest book comes with a fancy multicoloured stand, no coffee table needed.

Metal engine casing on legs holding book

The Italians top the table of crazy giant books, though, with this history of Ferrari racing. The custom stand is designed to look like an engine on legs…

Metal case like car engine open to reveal book

…which opens to reveal a leather-bound history of Ferrari’s car design. The book alone is a mere €5,000 but if you simply must have the stand it will cost you another €25,000. Postage and packaging most definitely not included.