The Coffee Table Book

 




Coffee Table Books - some light reading or maybe not!

The coffee table or cocktail table book is, according to Merriam-Webster, "a large expensive book with many pictures that is typically placed on a table for people to look at in a casual way."  The French humanist philosopher Michel de Montaigne, first mentioned this type of book in his 1580 essay Upon Some Verses of Virgil: "I am vexed that my essays only serve the ladies for a common movable, a book to lay in the parlor window." Over three hundred years later, the term "coffee table book" made its first appearance in a 1961 issue of Arts Magazine. Today,  interior designers adorn occasional tables and credenzas with these large oversized books. They are pretty to look at and a great conversation piece.  In this photo are some of my favorites. Charles Faudree was a formidable force in decorating US homes with European influences, his books on design together with beautiful photography take you on tours of some very elegant homes. 

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