We are going to do something a little different for today’s post. I recently picked up a copy of The Anatomy of Costume from Amazon for the enthralling price of 1 pence. A perfectly good book, in a perfectly acceptable condition. This got me thinking, how great it would if there were a whole list of useful art books that were being sold for a penny? I did a little Google-fu to see what was out there already, after not finding anything I decided to make my own list and share it with you, my fellow Loungers.

This list of 30 books breaks down into four main categories, Reference, Tutorial, Fine Art and Other. I specifically chose books from a broad range of creative fields and would have loved to throw in a couple books on design or architecture, but sadly could not find anything worthy for so cheap.

Just in case some of you are thinking, what is the point of buying a book when you have a wealth of reference of the internet? Firstly, as shocking as it may seem, not everything is on the internet; sometimes that dissected image of that flower you need can only be found in a book. Personally, I prefer working with a book in front of me rather than a screen. Ultimately buying books will introduce you to things you weren’t looking for, which is the best way to expand your pool of inspiration. Not to mention, these books are a penny, you cheapskate!

I should mention that I own a lot of the books in this list, most of which I spent a lot more than a penny to buy. Suffice to say their value is much higher than their price tag.

Enough rambling, here is the list:

Reference

General

• Animals A Picture Book Of Facts And Figures
• Flora: An Illustrated History of the Garden Flower: Miniature Edition
• Horses and Other Animals in Motion: 45 Classic Photographic Sequences

Costume

• 900 Years of English Costume: From the Eleventh to the Twentieth Century
• Costume and Fashion: A Concise History (World of Art)
• Illustrated history of European costume : period styles and accessories
• The Anatomy of Costume

History

• Chronicles of the Middle Ages – A Survey of European History and Culture
• Egypt: in Spectacular Cross-Section
• Rome: In Spectacular Cross-Section

Tutorial

• How to Draw the Human Figure (Artists Library)
• Complete Guide to Illustration and Design (Terence Dalley)
• Creative Watercolour (Watson-Guptill Artists Library)

Fine Art

General

• The 20th Century Art Book : Mini Edition
• Essential Pre-Raphaelites
• Japanese Graphic Art
• Landscape Painting: The Landscape from Renaissance to Pop (Taschen Basic Genre Series)

Artist

• Andy Warhol (Taschen Basic Art Series)
• Gustav Klimt (Taschen Basic Art Series)
• J.M.W. Turner (Taschen Basic Art Series)
• Jean Antoine Watteau: Drawings
• Lichtenstein (Taschen Basic Art Series)
• Monet (Taschen Basic Art Series)
• Mucha (Taschen Basic Art Album)
• Rockwell (Taschen Basic Art Series)
• Toulouse-Lautrec (Taschen Basic Art Series)
• William Morris Decor and Design

Other

• Photography: Robert Doisneau 1912-1994
• Street Art: Street Logos (Tristan Manco)
• Animation: The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms, Concise Edition