So Consistently Beautiful

I found myself in the bookstore this evening - in search of a new Moleskine® - and I inevitably found myself in the art and architecture section flipping through this wonderful book from Phaidon press. I was first introduced to Phaidon by my dear friend Nell when she purchased It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be. Since then I've come to recognize that whenever I see that logo on the spine of a book, that book is guaranteed to be two things: 1. Entertaining/Inspiring 2. Beautiful. Whenever I pick up one of their books I find it extremely difficult to not simply buy it right then.

{photos via Phaidon Press}

Phaidon was founded in Vienna, Austria in 1923. The company was named after Phaedo, a dialogue in which either Socrates or Plato - I'm a little confused as to which - discussed the immortality of the soul. The company was founded on a simple concept, provide quality books a affordable prices, which they accomplished through co-editions and large print runs. They initially printed books on literature, philosophy and history, their first large format art books were not introduced until 1936. The company moved to England after the Nazis occupied Vienna. After the war their focus turned primarilly to art books and has stayed that way ever since. Phaidon has established itself as the preemminent publisher of books concerning all the visual arts. Nigel Spivey - Professor of Classical Art at Cambridge University and author of a short book entitled Phaidon History - put it best, “a readership is rightly disposed to buy a Phaidon book for no other reason than that Phaidon has produced it”.