''SUMO'' is a book series by publishing house
TASCHEN, so named due to their size.
History
The first SUMO was written by German-Australian photographer
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...
. The book is a monograph that showcases his work in fashion and celebrity photography. Featured portraits include
Catherine Deneuve,
Nicolas Cage and
Mickey Rourke. The book is credited with changing the fortunes of
Taschen.
It was initially released as a limited edition of 10,000 copies in 1999, selling for $1,500. The first run was numbered and signed by Newton. In keeping with its title, the book weighed over and measured . Owing to the size and weight of the book, a bespoke stand was designed by
Phillipe Starck to support it. The first copy of the book was signed by 80 of the celebrities featured in it. This was subsequently sold at auction in
Berlin on 6 August 2000 for $430,000, becoming the biggest and most expensive book produced in the 20th century.
[Elisabeth Binder]
Royale Atmosphäre mit Königin Silvia macht gute Taten zum Genuss - 1,3 Millionen DM kamen zusammen
in Tagesspiegel, April 7, 2000. Retrieved on 6 September 2017.
A subsequent edition, edited by Newton's widow
June, was released in September 2009. Although oversized, it was much smaller, measuring about 12 by 17 inches. This edition came with a perspex stand to display it and retailed for $150.
Other SUMO titles
Other books belonging to the SUMO series include:
''The Rolling Stones'' ''GREATEST OF ALL TIME: A TRIBUTE TO''
''MUHAMMAD ALI''
''Sebastião Salgado. GENESIS''*
'
"A bigger splash: 35kg book of David Hockney’s artworks costs £1,750"
The Guardian. Retrieved on 30 May 2017.
*
The David Bailey SUMO
'
References
{{Reflist
External links
Books of photographs