A feeling of nostalgia: not really tangible and yet everyone has felt it themselves: a whisper of stories past, a veil of days long gone - Revelling in old times feels good. Even if it is not our own memories, but the lived lives of other people that we are allowed to share. 

Thinking about the good old days warms us and makes us happy. It is a feeling of security and at the same time a longing for something that will never be again. Everyone knows the intimate desire to travel back in time for a moment and to feel the freedom of that special moment again. The best way to look back emotionally is through photographs and recordings that preserve and capture the feelings and moments of that time for eternity. 

In our teNeues range, there are some coffee table books that bring out that unique nostalgic feeling particularly well. We present five coffee table books that promise a trip back in time and remind you of the ease of those days. Experience the beginning of photographic milestones, the adventurous introduction of exciting train journeys or the Italian summer in 1959.

"Russell Melcher - The Golden Age of Photojournalism"

The book "Russell Melcher - The Golden Age of Photojournalism" is about the stories behind the picture and the personality. Refreshing, humorous, but also thoughtful, Russell Melcher describes his path to the perfect photo. The book shows the individual perspective of the exceptional artist, up to the importance of photographic storytelling of this "Golden Age of Photojournalism". A book about an era that made the world talk with pictures.

Russell Melcher, born in 1931, was a photographer, photo agent and a key witness to the emergence of visual world exploration. This "golden age of photojournalism" in the 1950s and 1960s was characterised by a strong self-image of photographers as authors and storytellers, by high-circulation magazines such as "Life", "Time Magazine", "Paris Match", "Spiegel", "Stern" etc., and by a readership for whom these reportages represented the keyhole to viewing the world. 

Photographers became storytellers who captured the truth with their cameras and showed it to the world. Russ Melcher encouraged the protagonists of his photographs and quickly became a trusted partner of the stars of that era through the ages. In Europe, he photographed the superstars in intimate moments and accompanied them on their worldwide travels. In this way, he became a contemporary witness to many world events, from film festivals to terrorist attacks.

The book is structured according to the two decades and Russell's encounters with the stars of the time. Among those portrayed were royal families such as the Windsors, Grace Kelly & the Monegasques, as well as film legends Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Burt Lancaster, Erol Flynn, Alfred Hitchcock, Sofia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and music legends such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, Yves Montand etc.. In addition, there were political greats such as Charles DeGaulle, Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, the Shah of Persia, American presidents and many more.

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"Autochrome - The Fascination of Early Colour Photography"

The coffee table book "Autochrome - The Fascination of Early Colour Photography" takes you on a journey into the technology and history of early colour photography. Autochromes are considered the first commercial colour photographs that succeeded in depicting the world in natural colours. Invented in 1904 by the Lumière brothers Auguste and Louis in Paris, colour photographs caused a great sensation at the time. A completely new era of photographic representation was born. The delicate pastel shades and soft texture of the Autochrome images create a unique atmosphere that still immerses us in another world today.

The Autochromes were an important turning point in the historical development of modern colour photography. The images are timeless works of art that tell impressive visual stories.

This unique illustrated book was curated by Dr. Maria Reitter-Kollmann and Dr. Alfred Weidinger. As leading scholars and experts on the history of colour photography, the authors work at the Oberösterreichische Landes-Kultur GmbH in Linz. The museum holds one of the most important European collections of historical autochromes. This illustrated book presents the most beautiful and important pieces from this collection in their vivid splendour. In addition to the photographs, background knowledge on the technology is also provided.
 

"Light on the Riviera - Photography of the Côte d'Azur"

The Côte d'Azur, the beautiful stretch of Mediterranean coastline that stretches from Cassus to Menton on the Italian border. Today, the French Riviera is world famous and a timeless jewel that captivates visitors from all over the world. Whether it's a beach vacation or a city break, the versatility of the Côte d'Azur is limitless and delights not only with famous places like Nice, Cannes or Saint Tropez. 

The Riviera is a place to see and be seen. People have been taking pictures on the Riviera since the beginnings of the medium. Even today, the rich light on the Côte d'Azur is considered a breathtaking natural spectacle. The soft hint of golden, warm sunlight over azure waters, white sandy beaches and dancing ocean waves painting glittering reflections on the water's surface:  Thanks to its legendary light, the Riviera propelled art photography and was the creative site of numerous works. 

"Light on the Riviera - Photography of the Côte d'Azur" is a chronolgy of the visual heritage of photographers such as Charles Nègre, Lee Miller, Martine Franck and Helmut Newton. 

This book traces the evolution of photography and the Riviera itself through the work of artists, showing how photographers, painters and fashion designers influenced each other in their creative art. Delve into the beginnings of photography as well as the avant-garde fashion of the 1920s, discover a chronology from the Surrealists to the Golden Fifties of paparazzi photography, and experience the evolution from artist portraiture to photojournalism.

Photographer Genevieve Janvrin and Sophie Wright show how former fishing villages became cultural centers, creating a coffee table book that depicts the Côte d'Azur at the beginning of the 20th century. 

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"La lunga strada di sabbia"

The book "La lunga strada di sabbia" is dedicated to the extraordinary journey of writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini and the recently deceased photographer Paolo Di Paolo in the late 1950s. The travelogue accompanies the two men in the summer of 1959 on their coastal route from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adriatic, from Ventimiglia to Trieste. Two men, who until then did not know each other, discover a changing Italy in a humorous and personal way.

Commissioned by Arturo Tofanelli, the editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Successo and the weekly Tempo, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Paolo Di Paolo document their experiences in very different ways: while Pasolini, the writer, searches for a world of lost literary ghosts, Di Paolo wants to portray an Italy that looks to the future. From him also comes the title "La lunga strada di sabbia", which translates as "The long road of sand". The contrasting viewpoints of the two men make the illustrated book a special witness to the era.

The book promises nostalgia and transports us to a distant time, between the recovery from the war and the beginnings of the economic miracle. Vivid black-and-white scenes depict the life of those times and provide insights into the fashions, daily life, and mood of a growing country. 

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"Nostalgic Journeys - From the Orient Expess to Ocean Liners"

"Nostalgic Journeys - From the Orient Expess to Ocean Liners" is the epitome of a nostalgic look into the past. The coffee table book takes the reader into a cultural history of the last two centuries. Thanks to the invention of the railroad, lonely fishing villages became sophisticated seaside resorts, remote mountain nests became the new destination for hiking and skiing enthusiasts, and inns became grand hotels.

The book awakens not only nostalgia but also wanderlust for a journey that once again seemed almost indescribable. The invention of the railroad made it possible to penetrate previously unknown territories and, with the tour operator Thomas Cook, also brought forth the inventor of modern tourism.

"Nostalgic Journeys - From the Orient Expess to Ocean Liners" takes you on a unique and exciting journey of times gone by. Travel with the Orient-Express to the Orient, cross the Atlantic with ocean liners, follow Route 66 across the USA or break the sound barrier with the Concorde. The book offers a look back at past experiences and awakens the longing to find these moments again.