Unusual Guides
Making guides is quite a passion of mine, and I really want to create a guidebook about a place or a topic. While planning for this, I have been looking for ways of creating such a book. What are some of the really interesting ways of making a guide? What does a brilliant guidebook look like? How can it be extraordinary? In order to accumulate ideas about this, I have collected a number of unusual guidebooks over a period of time, and I would like to share a peek into some of these books with you.
Travel in Vogue
Condé Nast Publications, Da Capo Press, 1981
Travel in Vogue is a compilation of travel writings from Vogue Magazine from the twenties to the seventies. It contains wonderful and sometimes slightly odd travel accounts, that certainly will enliven ones curiosity about the different destinations that are featured. The destinations that are portrayed are extremely varied; from the Ivory Coast to Bhutan. I really enjoy the concept that the book is built on - different periods of travel writing compiled together in one volume. It can give you an idea of how some of these writers perceived the places that they visited, at that time in history. I also find it appealing to be able to get clues about how a certain destination might have changed up until now. Equally interesting is the process of trying to find hints about what might not have changed.
Barcelona - Shops & More
Angelika Taschen, Taschen, 2007
This guide is a visual feast! I was so excited when I found this book, because of the fact that it is almost exclusively a visually-based guide. Images take on the main role in this guide. There are no descriptions, other than a short title line. All the practical information that you will need to find the places, is provided. The images by Pep Escoda, are beautiful and the paper that the book is printed on is super matte, and gives the book a very tactile feel. There are also three maps featured in the book. They are absolutely gorgeous. Great examples of successfully illustrated maps. (Picture below)
De Greske Øyer
Don Larrimore, Berlitz forlag, 1979
A cute and short guide to the Greek islands, that gives a good overview. Even though it was published a long time ago, I still found it convenient to use when I was planning a holiday to Greece. I love a guide that does not go out of date quickly, that will feature certain types of information about things that will stay relatively stable in a place over time. Information about things like ancient sites, natural attractions and food culture, can be just as interesting regardless of publishing date.
Mantova
Ercolano Marani, Moneta Guidebooks, 1960
This is an art-focused guide to Mantua in Italy, and it is wonderfully illustrated. The print quality of the images is exceptional, and the book also includes a cool and quite abnormal illustrated map of the city. I really like the fact that the guide uses art as an entry point to a city. A way to explore its many sights and buildings. I found this little guide to be very inspiring and it really sparked my interest in the artist Andrea Mantegna's 15th century fresco paintings. A great example of how a guide can be a source of knowledge about a wide range of topics, and can be useful and interesting, regardless of whether one is planning on going to the destination in question, in the nearest future or not.
Travel in Vogue
Condé Nast Publications, Da Capo Press, 1981
Travel in Vogue is a compilation of travel writings from Vogue Magazine from the twenties to the seventies. It contains wonderful and sometimes slightly odd travel accounts, that certainly will enliven ones curiosity about the different destinations that are featured. The destinations that are portrayed are extremely varied; from the Ivory Coast to Bhutan. I really enjoy the concept that the book is built on - different periods of travel writing compiled together in one volume. It can give you an idea of how some of these writers perceived the places that they visited, at that time in history. I also find it appealing to be able to get clues about how a certain destination might have changed up until now. Equally interesting is the process of trying to find hints about what might not have changed.
Barcelona - Shops & More
Angelika Taschen, Taschen, 2007
This guide is a visual feast! I was so excited when I found this book, because of the fact that it is almost exclusively a visually-based guide. Images take on the main role in this guide. There are no descriptions, other than a short title line. All the practical information that you will need to find the places, is provided. The images by Pep Escoda, are beautiful and the paper that the book is printed on is super matte, and gives the book a very tactile feel. There are also three maps featured in the book. They are absolutely gorgeous. Great examples of successfully illustrated maps. (Picture below)
De Greske Øyer
Don Larrimore, Berlitz forlag, 1979
A cute and short guide to the Greek islands, that gives a good overview. Even though it was published a long time ago, I still found it convenient to use when I was planning a holiday to Greece. I love a guide that does not go out of date quickly, that will feature certain types of information about things that will stay relatively stable in a place over time. Information about things like ancient sites, natural attractions and food culture, can be just as interesting regardless of publishing date.
Mantova
Ercolano Marani, Moneta Guidebooks, 1960
This is an art-focused guide to Mantua in Italy, and it is wonderfully illustrated. The print quality of the images is exceptional, and the book also includes a cool and quite abnormal illustrated map of the city. I really like the fact that the guide uses art as an entry point to a city. A way to explore its many sights and buildings. I found this little guide to be very inspiring and it really sparked my interest in the artist Andrea Mantegna's 15th century fresco paintings. A great example of how a guide can be a source of knowledge about a wide range of topics, and can be useful and interesting, regardless of whether one is planning on going to the destination in question, in the nearest future or not.
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