What is a coffee table book, and why is it called that?
A coffee table book refers to sumptuous large format books that tend to focus on non-fiction lifestyle and culture-defining subject matter in areas such as photography, interiors, fashion, beauty, food, art, design, and architecture to name a few. How-to guides are also popular topics presented in the coffee table book format i.e. jewellery making, cookbooks, flower arranging and so forth.
Coffee table books are typically hardcover, image-heavy, and expensive. They rely on lavish print and production processes that turn them into works of art in their own right. The pages largely consist of evocative, aspirational photographs, illustrations and graphics accompanied by minimal blocks of text to provide context rather than an in-depth analysis of a subject. Coffee table books are therefore positioned as light reads, meant to be read or flipped through at leisure. They also act as conversation starters and sources of inspiration. Together these factors contribute to the desirability and trend for purchasing coffee table books as decorative items to display on coffee tables or shelves, hence the name.
Coffee table books are also known as illustrative books, art books, cocktail books or lifestyle books. The term ‘coffee table book’ is noted to have first appeared in Arts Magazine in 1961. Over the years the name ‘coffee table book’ has been used disparagingly by critics in reference to something frivolous, not to be taken seriously.
The coffee table book’s origins can be traced back to 1581 when French philosopher Michel de Montaigne lamented in an essay how the society ladies of the time were placing his writings ‘…in the parlour window’, in other words displaying them, rather than actually reading them.
Centuries later the precursor to the modern version of the coffee table book is said to have emerged in the 1940s with the introduction of large format art books featuring colour illustrations.
The creation of the coffee table book as we know it today has been credited to David Brower an environmentalist who in the 1960s began publishing a series of books that highlighted nature photography in oversized pages with accompanying text. The first book American Earth featured photographs by prominent American landscape photographer Ansel Adams. The book series set the tone for coffee table books as a sought-after genre.
If you want to publish a coffee table book, there are 9 things you need to do to go from idea to publication, discover what they are here.
– Tapiwa Matsinde
References via Wikipedia
– “Complete Essays by Michel de Montaigne”. Project Gutenberg.
– “Natural Visions – Nature on the Coffee Table”. Chicago.edu.
– Arts Magazine, Volume 36. Art Digest Incorporated. 1961. Google books.
[Image credits: The image shown belongs to Jasmin Ne on Unsplash. If downloaded and used elsewhere please credit accordingly.]
