Phaidon Bets Heavy On Big Book

It's really big—13 pounds and more than 1,000 pages—and really comprehensive, and the price is pretty good, too. In November, Phaidon is publishing 30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space, a mammoth pictorial history, and the U.K. art book publisher is betting that many thousands of copies will end up on coffee tables (as well as in libraries and classrooms) around the English-language world.

And Phaidon is betting big. Priced at $49.95, the book's initial printing is more than 200,000 copies for the English-language market, with national consumer and trade advertising planned (including ads in regional bookseller associations' holiday catalogues), as well as a 20-title point-of-sale display unit. B&N will do a 10-unit version of the display for placement in all its stores nationwide for the holidays.

Phaidon has a successful history with big, comprehensive art world surveys that feature cutting-edge design and smart, accessible text. The Art Book, an oversized dictionary of worldwide art similar to 30,000 Years, has sold millions of copies since it was published in 1994; Cream, a series on contemporary artists, and The 20th Century Art Book follow the same winning formula.

But 30,000 Years of Art takes the Phaidon model to new extremes, said editorial director Amanda Renshaw. The book surveys the history of art worldwide from the beginning of humankind, placing examples of art from the same historical period, but from different geographical and cultural locations, together in chronological order. The book took five years to compile, with the help of more than 30 specialists from institutions around the world who culled the final entries from a list of many thousands. “It's enormous,” said Renshaw in a phone interview from Phaidon's London office. “We're a bit crazy to do this. But it's very accessible and easy to navigate; even experts can learn from this book.”

Robert Barrett, manager of Hennessey+Ingalls, an art and architecture bookstore in Los Angeles, agreed with her. “We've placed a sizable order, much larger than usual for a new title. We expect to do well with it,” said Barrett. “We keep Phaidon's books in stock. They're so well designed, we love to sell them.”