Eugenia Bell Libros

The Building Blocks series presents icons of modern architecture as interpreted by the most significant architectural photographers of our time. The first four volumes feature the work of Ezra Stoller, whose photography has defined the way postwar architecture has been viewed by architects, historians, and the public at large. The buildings inaugurating this series--Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal, Wallace Harrison's United Nations complex, Le Corbusier's Chapel at Ronchamp, and Paul Rudolph's Yale Art and Architecture Building--all have bold sculptural presences ideally suited to Stoller's unique vision. Each cloth-bound book in the series contains at least 80 pages of rich duotone images. Taken just after the completion of each project, these photographs provide a unique historical record of the buildings in use, documenting the people, fashions, and furnishings of the period. Through Stoller's photographs, we see these buildings the way the architects wanted us to know them. In the preface to each volume Stoller tells of his personal relationship with the architect of each project and recounts his experience photographing it. Brief introductions reveal the unique history of each building; also included are newly drawn plans.

Historic half-timbered pubs from the 1600s, along with Georgian and Victorian-era shops like button shops and tea merchants, highlight London's rich cultural heritage. This revised guide offers updated profiles of these traditional establishments, including modern specialty shops, complete with directions, website addresses, and phone numbers. It captures the essence of London’s unique spirit while celebrating its enduring traditions.

Profiles of more than fifty establishments that have supplied goods and services to royalty–and the merely discriminating–for more than one hundred years"A gentleman," Winston Churchill once observed, "buys his hats at Locks, his shoes at Lobbs, his shirts at Harvie and Hudson, his suits at Huntsman and his cheese at Paxton and Whitfield."Luckily for the gentlemen–and gentlewomen–among us, all of these shops and dozens more are still in business, providing the traditional British goods and food that they've been supplying Londoners for a century or more. More than thirty venerable stores, along with another twenty or so eateries, are profiled in The Historic Shops and Restaurants of London ."The most beautiful shop in the world . . ." is how Esquire magazine describes John Lobb, Bootmaker's opulent premises in Mayfair. Less grand, but no less quaint, is Paxton and Whitfield, now on Jermyn Street, which dates to 1742 when cheese monger Stephen Cullum sets up his stall in Clare Market. (Now the shop sells the most prized artisanal cheeses in Great Britain.) Have a drink at the long, narrow little Grapes Pub. Built in 1720, on the site of a previous pub, the Grapes was a working class tavern that Charles Dickens knew well. As a child, he was made to stand on a table and sing to the customers. As an adult, he immortalized it as the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters pub in Our Mutual Friend . These are only a few of the many of the establishments described that are holders of the Royal Warrant, dating back to the 15th century and still granted today to recognize excellence and quality.Bespoke shirt-makers, hatters, haberdashers, perfumers, bookstores, chemists, an umbrella maker, and chocolatiers are only a few of the small specialist shops included, most of which are located in the most quaint and beautiful settings in London.Also included are traditional restaurants and bars, ranging from picturesque pubs and "caffes" to fish'n'chips stands and eel-and-pie shops.