Animalia and Fantasia - Century Guild's Magnum Opus
Century Guild has outdone itself with its latest completed project, Animalia and Fantasia. This is a magnificent book in just about every way, and I am genuinely blown away by the quality. It perfectly exemplifies everything I love about Century Guild as an organization - the celebration of Art Nouveau artists and their works within beautifully designed and extremely high-quality art books. Even the front cover is a gem! But really, the whole book (and especially the incredible reproductions) is a shining example of what art books should be. There is a real love and passion for beauty imbued into the book - especially for the star artist Anton Seder - something I wish was more common in the art books of today.
Speaking of the artist, before I saw this book for the first time on Century Guild's website, I had never heard of Anton Seder, or encountered his name anywhere. Shocking, really, as I consider myself a lover of Art Nouveau, and yet one of its greatest artists from Germany was entirely unknown to me (for that matter, I wasn't really aware that Strasbourg - at the time part of Germany - was a center for Art Nouveau and the arts and crafts movement). Seder's art is really stunning, his attention to detail and genius vision for artistic design with animals is really inspiring, and reading about his pedagogical work and ambitions is fascinating and thought-provoking. I really wish I knew about Anton Seder years ago!
In short, I cannot recommend Animalia and Fantasia enough. For those who collect art books, particularly for art from the late 19th century, this is a must-have. Thank you everyone at Century Guild for making this amazing book!
I loved every page. The illustration are very easy to see and the references to earlier centuries artwork add to my art history knowledge..Now on to Vol 4!
I particularly enjoy collecting beautiful and artistic books, so when I found this one I just had to have it. I swear, it puts every other volume I own to shame! It’s beyond stunning, and the amount of detail that went into making it so is extraordinary. I cannot rate this book and this shop highly enough! Came excellently packaged and in pristine condition. Century Guild, I will be back for more!!!
I particularly enjoy collecting beautiful and artistic books, so when I found this one I just had to have it. I swear, it puts every other volume I own to shame! It’s beyond stunning, and the amount of detail that went into making it so is extraordinary. I cannot rate this book and this shop highly enough! Came excellently packaged and in pristine condition. Century Guild, I will be back for more!!!
Positively enchanting! Super happy to be able to add this gorgeous book to my collection. Came nicely packaged and in pristine condition. Highly highly recommend!
A perfect fit! This shirt is super comfortable and looks exactly as pictured. Absolutely had to have this one since The Cask of Amontillado is my favorite Edgar Allan Poe story. Highly highly recommend!
If you love history, art, books, the macabre or any combo of those, this book is most certainly for you. It is an absolutely beautiful collection of rare posters on full glossy pages with information about the time period, art style, and specific poster provided on the opposite page. The book itself is lovely, with red edging on the pages, raised lettering on the cover, and a semi-tactile edge that you can't help but run your hands over. If you're on the fence, don't hesitate - this is an amazing addition to anyone's shelf and worthy of showing off!
This book are amazing! You can tell thought really went into putting it together! I would never have thought this artwork was created in the Art Nouveau era. Seder had quite an imagination.The size of the book also allows you to really appreciate the illustrations.
