13 Gorgeous Coffee Table Books for Anyone on Your List

This holiday season, give the gift of a gorgeous, conversation-starting coffee table book. Here are 13 that you can get for anyone on your list, whether they're obsessed with history, art, or cats.

1. Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present; $50

Deborah Willis’s incredible book features more than 200 photos—many that were previously unpublished—organized by theme. There are famous figures like Josephine Baker, Lil Kim, and Condoleezza Rice, as well as anonymous Black people in the neighborhood, reading magazines, and getting a cut from the barber. Willis spent 10 years doing research and combing through archives to create the book, which has been hailed as “a definitive history of black beauty … a treasure, a triumph and a singular achievement that invites fresh and enduring insights with each viewing.”

Buy it: Amazon

2. Parks: United States National Park Service Maps from the Collection of Brian Kelley; $57

National Park enthusiasts will love this book, which pulls together more than 400 maps and other incredible visual treasures dating as far back as 1910.

Buy it: Amazon

3. America 1900; $70

This stunning, 588-page behemoth of a book (it weighs almost nine pounds!) features the first color photos of North America, produced between 1888 and 1924. Taschen also has books devoted to France, Italy, and Germany at the same time period if you’re looking to gift a set.

Buy it: Taschen

4. Walter Chandoha. Cats: 1942-2018; $50

After snapping photos of a kitten he’d rescued in 1949, Walter Chandoha—who had previously worked as a photographer for the Army during World War II—started to photograph shelter cats … and didn’t stop taking photos of cats for the next 70 years. This book pulls together his incredible images (which influenced Andy Warhol) in one place, and it’s a gift that any ailurophile/bibliophile will appreciate.

Buy it: Taschen

5. Bibliostyle: How We Live at Home with Books; $24

This tome, which features drool-worthy home libraries from history and around the world, will inspire (and possibly enable!) any book lover.

Buy it: Amazon

6. Cabinet of Natural Curiosities; $70

This reprint of Albertus Seba’s prized natural history book weighs in at more than 10 pounds and features incredible, colorful illustrations that will delight lovers of the natural world.

Buy it: Taschen

7. The Photography of Game of Thrones; $43

Pop culture aficionados who miss the fiery palace intrigue of Game of Thrones can revisit Westeros with this book of photos by set photographer Helen Sloan. Not only does the book provide gorgeous shots of the show and its iconic characters, but it also provides readers with a peek behind-the-scenes of Thrones. (The Night King doesn’t look so scary snapping a selfie, now does he?)

Buy it: Amazon

8. The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space; $150

Anyone who has dreamed of going to space will love this nearly 13-pound book, which includes more than 400 photos from NASA’s history, rare illustrations, and text by former NASA historian Roger Launius, Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin, and journalist Piers Bizony.

Buy it: Taschen

9. Dog People; $35

Sandra Müller’s hilarious collection of photos of pups dressed as people is the perfect gift for any dog owner who’s constantly anthropomorphizing their pooch.

Buy it: Amazon

10. Patterns of India: A Journey Through Colors, Textiles, and the Vibrancy of Rajasthan; $22

Brighten up the dull winter months with Christine Chitnis’s 288-page book that features more than 200 lush and bright photographs of life in Rajasthan, India. One reviewer called Patterns of India “an inspiring celebration of one of the most visually compelling and engaging destinations for travelers and photographers, where every detail, from the mundane to the sacred, is a divine expression of ancient and modern artisanal mastery.”

Buy it: Amazon

11. Booze & Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks; $23

The perfect gift for the person who loves sipping a cocktail while listening to their favorite record, Booze & Vinyl has been billed as “the ultimate listening party guide.” The book is organized by mood and features 50 albums released from the 1950s to the 2000s. (Under Rock, for example, you’ll find The Clash’s London Calling, while Dance features Lady Gaga’s Fame Monster.) Each album is accompanied by notes and a cocktail recipe—Bjork’s Debut, for example, is paired with a cocktail called The Swan that originated at The Waldorf before Prohibition.

Buy it: Amazon

12. History as They Saw It: Iconic Moments from the Past in Color; $36

The colorization of black and white videos and images might be somewhat controversial, but it’s undeniable that adding hues to our views of history can give us a new perspective. This book by Wolfgang Wild and Jordan Lloyd brings color to 120 photos of unforgettable historical events, including the building of the Eiffel Tower and the sinking of the Titanic, making it a beautiful gift for history buffs who wish they could travel back in time and see these scenes with their own eyes.

Buy it: Amazon

13. The Art of Looking Up; $20

In The Art of Looking Up, art historian Catherine McCormack gives the backgrounds and stories behind the most incredible ceilings around the globe. The book is split into four themes—Religion, Culture, Power, and Politics—and features incredible eye candy like the glass flowers that adorn the ceilings of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada; the intricately tiled ceiling of the Imam Mosque in Isfahan, Iran; and the stained-glass ceiling above the Toluca Botanical Gardens in Mexico.

Buy it: Amazon

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