Phaidon Press
Encyclopedia
Phaidon Press is a British
publisher of books on the visual arts, including art
, architecture
, photography
, and design
worldwide.
As of 2009, Phaidon's headquarters are in London
, UK, though they were in Oxford for many years, with offices in New York City
, Paris
, Berlin
, Milan
, and Tokyo
. The company publishes in English
, French
, German
, Italian
, Spanish
, and Japanese
.
, Austria
, in 1923 by Dr Bela Horowiz and Ludwig Goldscheider, with the objective of delivering high-quality books at affordable prices. They were able to achieve this as pioneers of the international co-edition and with large print-runs. Their first titles were not art books, but books on literature, philosophy and history. Phaidon's large-format art books first emerged in 1936 with plates on Van Gogh
, Botticelli
, and the French Impressionists
.
The Nazi's annexation of Austria forced the company to move to England
. After the war, Phaidon launched a program of both popular and scholarly art book publishing. This included the critical catalogue of drawings in the royal collection at Windsor Castle
and the 'pocket' series of art history texts (now known as the Arts and Letters series).
In 1950, Phaidon published The Story of Art
, a one volume survey of the history of art by Ernst Gombrich
, originally intended as an introduction to the field for children. Since its first publication, it has become one of the best-selling art books ever, selling more than 7 million copies in 16 English-language editions and in translation in more than 30 other languages.
In 1967, Phaidon was acquired by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The company changed ownership several times in the 1970s and 1980s before being acquired by Richard Schlagman in 1990.
In 2006, Phaidon entered the cookbook business by publishing their English translation of the Italian Il cucchiaio d'argento
(The Silver Spoon). It was later released in French and German editions and followed by several other cookbook releases.
Since 1985, Phaidon's The Contemporary Artists Series has published monographs on important and emerging contemporary artists.
In 2009, Phaidon acquired the film magazine Cahiers du cinéma
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
publisher of books on the visual arts, including art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, and design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
worldwide.
As of 2009, Phaidon's headquarters are in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK, though they were in Oxford for many years, with offices in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. The company publishes in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
Company history
Phaidon was founded in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in 1923 by Dr Bela Horowiz and Ludwig Goldscheider, with the objective of delivering high-quality books at affordable prices. They were able to achieve this as pioneers of the international co-edition and with large print-runs. Their first titles were not art books, but books on literature, philosophy and history. Phaidon's large-format art books first emerged in 1936 with plates on Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
, Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
, and the French Impressionists
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
.
The Nazi's annexation of Austria forced the company to move to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. After the war, Phaidon launched a program of both popular and scholarly art book publishing. This included the critical catalogue of drawings in the royal collection at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
and the 'pocket' series of art history texts (now known as the Arts and Letters series).
In 1950, Phaidon published The Story of Art
The Story of Art
The Story of Art is an introduction to art, written by E. H. Gombrich.First published in 1950, it is widely regarded both as a seminal work of criticism, and as one of the most accessible introductions to the visual arts. It was originally intended for younger readers...
, a one volume survey of the history of art by Ernst Gombrich
Ernst Gombrich
Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, OM, CBE was an Austrian-born art historian who became naturalized British citizen in 1947. He spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom...
, originally intended as an introduction to the field for children. Since its first publication, it has become one of the best-selling art books ever, selling more than 7 million copies in 16 English-language editions and in translation in more than 30 other languages.
In 1967, Phaidon was acquired by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The company changed ownership several times in the 1970s and 1980s before being acquired by Richard Schlagman in 1990.
In 2006, Phaidon entered the cookbook business by publishing their English translation of the Italian Il cucchiaio d'argento
Il cucchiaio d'argento
Il cucchiaio d'argento is a major Italian cookbook, a kitchen reference work originally published in 1950 by the design and architecture magazine Domus. It contains about 2000 recipes drawn from all over Italy, and has gone through eight editions...
(The Silver Spoon). It was later released in French and German editions and followed by several other cookbook releases.
Since 1985, Phaidon's The Contemporary Artists Series has published monographs on important and emerging contemporary artists.
In 2009, Phaidon acquired the film magazine Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
.