A coffee table book about art (The Group of Seven) resting on a coffee table

A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. The Group of Seven was a group of Canadian landscape painters in the 1920s originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth A Book is a set or collection of written printed illustrated or blank sheets made of Paper, Parchment, or other material usually fastened together A coffee table, also called a cocktail table, is a style of long low table which is designed to be placed in front of a Couch, to support Beverages They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for portability. Subject matter is generally confined to non-fiction, and is usually visually-oriented. Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as Fact. Pages consist mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text, as opposed to long prose. Most tend to be biographies or fall into the genres of history, art, nature, photography, or entertainment. A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. Photography (fә'tɒgrәfi or fә'tɑːgrәfi (from Greek φωτο and γραφία is the process and Art of recording pictures by means of capturing See also Entertainment (disambiguation and The Entertainer (disambiguation Entertainment is an activity designed to give people Since they are aimed at anyone who might pick the book up for a light read, the analysis inside is often more basic and with less jargon than other books on the subject. For Wikipedia jargon see WikipediaGlossary. For hacker slang see Jargon File. Because of this, the term 'coffee table book' can be used pejoratively to indicate a superficial approach to the subject. Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt

History

David R. Brower is sometimes credited with inventing the "modern coffee table book". David Ross Brower ( July 1, 1912 &ndash November 5, 2000) was a prominent environmentalist and the founder of many environmental organizations ^[1] While serving as executive director of the Sierra Club, he had the idea for a series of books that combined nature photography and writings on nature, with, as he put it, "a page size big enough to carry a given image’s dynamic. Mission statement To explore enjoy and protect the wild places of the earth To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources To educate and The eye must be required to move about within the boundaries of the image, not encompass it all in one glance. " The first such book, "This is the American Earth", with photographs by Ansel Adams and others and text by Nancy Newhall, was published in 1960; the series became known as the "Exhibit Format" series, with 20 titles eventually published. Ansel Easton Adams (February 20 1902 – April 22 1984 was a legendary American Photographer and Environmentalist, best known for his Black-and-white Nancy Wynne Newhall ( May 9, 1908 – July 7, 1974) was an American Photography critic ^[2]

The concept of a book intended essentially for display was mentioned much earlier by Michel de Montaigne in his essay Upon Some Verses of Virgil, first published in 1580: "I am vexed that my Essays only serve the ladies for a common movable, a book to lay in the parlor window. Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (French miʃɛl ekɛm də mɔ̃tɛɲ ( February 28 1533 &ndash September 13 1592) was one of the most influential writers . . "^[3] Almost two centuries later, Laurence Sterne in his 1759 comic novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman advanced the more lighthearted view that "As my life and opinions are likely to make some noise in the world, and. Laurence Sterne ( November 24, 1713 &ndash March 18, 1768) was an Irish -born English Novelist and an Anglican The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Gentleman (or more briefly Tristram Shandy) is a novel by Laurence Sterne. . . be no less read than the Pilgrim's Progress itself- and, in the end, prove the very thing Montaigne dreaded his Essays should turn out, that is, a book for a parlour window. . . "^[4]

In popular culture

Coffee table books have been featured in many areas of popular culture. In the 1980s, British comedy duo Smith and Jones released The lavishly-tooled Smith and Jones Coffee Table Book^[5] - its cover was designed to look as if the book could double as a coffee table. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Mel Smith (born in Chiswick, London on 3 December, 1952) is an English Comedian, Actor, Film director Griffith Rhys Jones (born 6th November or 16th November (depending on source speakers agent (6th or BBC (16th 1953 in Cardiff, Wales In the fifth season (1993–1994) of the American sitcom Seinfeld, there was a story arc involving Kramer wanting to write a coffee table book about coffee tables. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Seinfeld is an American Situation comedy, or sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5 1989 to May 14 1998 lasting nine seasons A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as Television, Comic books Comic strips Cosmo Kramer is a character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998 played by Michael Richards. Cosmo Kramer is a character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998 played by Michael Richards. His idea was for the coffee table book to have legs built into the back cover and cupholders built into the front cover, so the book itself could be turned into a coffee table. There is a 2003 coffee table book about coffee tables called The Coffee Table, Coffee Table Book by Alexander Payne. Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10 1961 is an American Film director and Screenwriter. ^[6][7]

References

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