First, the good. This is a truly magnificent book: absolutely stunning art and interior design, magnificently photographed, and the text is very well-written and readable. Gary Hutton is a very gifted colleague of mine whose work I have admired greatly for many years, and I've specified a number of pieces of furniture of his design in my own projects, a number of which are featured in these pages. Both his design acumen and Chara Schreyer's eye for amazing art are extremely well portrayed. When a designer and client are so well in synch, true magic can emerge from their collaboration, and this book is a testament to this dynamic - a real gem. I love the book, obviously, and read it straight through in one sitting. I really want to display it on my coffee table in my living room, where it so richly belongs, and would love to be able to give copies of it as gifts.
So why only 3 stars, when the content is unquestionably 5 star?
Because the binding is a bloody disaster - utterly unacceptable in any book, let alone one of this caliber. A brand new, perfect book showed up - and after laying it out flat on my dining room table and reading carefully through the whole thing one single time, it was literally already starting to fall apart by the time I closed it, to the point that none of the page edges are properly lined up any more, and I'm almost afraid to handle it. You can see the printer's marks at the binding side of many pages, the unbound open edges are almost as staggered and roughly ordered as old-fashioned deckle-edged books, and the whole book's contents are pulling away from the spine, with the stitching actually starting to pull out. It's as if people had been bending the binding all the way backwards and twisting it repeatedly over a period of time, but obviously that has not happened. It's just awful.
Amazon is sending me a replacement, so hopefully this is just a one item defect; I will update this review if the new one is OK.
But Assouline, if you are reading these reviews, this is completely unacceptable. You need to deal with your quality control right away.
The Brand
Beginning in the mid-90s, ASSOULINE has brought the illustrated book market to life with products that are modern, luxurious and creative.
Beyond beautiful books, ASSOULINE is invested in the promotion of culture. It has created the first luxury brand on culture by opening boutiques where one can discover a world of good taste, excitement and intellect, a place where culture can be acquired within a luxurious environment.
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Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com
Amazon.com:
16 reviews
Wendy Hoechstetter
Fabulous Content, Horrible Binding. Very Disappointing
21 September 2017 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
Andrea
Beautiful coffee table book
16 November 2017 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
pgjbns
What are the names of the artists so beautifully displayed? Have fun searching.
15 October 2020 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
FABULOUS!!!! THANK YOU!!!
17 March 2018 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
Michelle Parchman
Ripped cover on both corners.
11 August 2019 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
Ripped cover on both corners.
Reviewed in the United States on 11 August 2019
Love the book, packaging was poor. Ripped edges on both sides of the cover
Reviewed in the United States on 11 August 2019
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