Taschen Books

It's all started with a young guy by the name Benedikt Taschen: 18 years old + 25 square meters = TASCHEN COMICS shop in Cologne, Germany. After years of collecting, Benedikt settles down in his own shop, selling a huge selection of new and rare collectors' comics. And the very first TASCHEN COMICS publication was Sally Forth by Wallace Wood.

In 1981 TASCHEN COMICS started to get off its feet,
producing its own catalogs and welcoming some new collaborators: Ludwig Koenemann, a brilliant young man full of fresh and unconventional ideas, responsible for worldwide distribution. Hubertus Röder who takes care of administration & finance and Michael Kriegeskorte of design & production.

Not yet 20, Benedikt has big hopes and plans for the future of his company.

In 1982 a three-floor shop becomes TASCHEN COMICS' new home. Benedikt sent out funny invites for the grand opening, posed for Der Spiegel in front of one of his posters and had great success with Ray Banana, a detective story.

Surreal success came in 1984! Relief, happiness and revolution: Magritte saved the day (and the company). Penniless Benedikt borrows last money from mother, father and aunt to buy 40,000 remainders of a Magritte book printed in English. The bet payed off: 40,000 Germans went for it.

Also that year's summer catalog featured a photo of Woody Allen by Annie Leibovitz and a book of her photographs was also printed under TASCHEN's name.

1984 also saw the buying of rights for Reinhart Wolf's New York, photographs of skyscrapers face-to-face. The original edition was priced at 168 Deutschmarks - too much!

TASCHEN sells it for 30 and sales went sky high!

TASCHEN's edition of DalĂ­ had 1000 misprints, according to editor Ingo F. Walther, who boldly claims he could do much better. So he was hired to edit the very first TASCHEN original publication and the first book in the Basic Art series, Picasso (which has been translated into 25 languages and is still in print today). What a Bingo with Ingo
Wow!

The TASCHEN-MOBILE hit Germany in 1986 - if you can't get the books to the booksellers, bring the booksellers to the books (and keep them locked in the van until they seal their order - i.e. whatever is proposed!).

TASCHEN relocated into a rare 19th-century mansion in Cologne, hanged up a Kippenberger sculpture, celebrated the publication of Karl Lagerfeld's photography, and published more very successful titles: Bauhaus and Architecture of the 20th Century, all three edited by Angelika Muthesius.

Dear Taschen Lovers Just Satisfy Your Senses!

In 1999 Vanity Fair wrote, "SUMO is the biggest bound volume produced in the 20th century: 460 pages, measuring two and a half feet tall by one and a half feet wide, and weighing 66 pounds."

The production was a nightmare and that's the team which makes it work: among them Petra Franz (1st from left) manages to have all celebrities autograph Sumo copy #1, Veronica Weller (4th f. l.) responsible for ww public relations, Horst Neuzner (6th f. l.) and Pedro Lisboa (12th f. l.) for production. Sitting: June Newton, Sumo editor and Helmut Newton.

In January 2004, the first-ever Faulpelzfest was held in Los Angeles to reward the eight "Find Faulpelz" contest winners, who get to meet the mysterious editor hidden in many TASCHEN books.

In October 2004, the Taschen family's private art collection went on show at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Palacio Velázquez in Madrid: a Martin Kippenberger retrospective, as well as a sweeping exhibition, principally featuring works by Oehlen, Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Mike Kelley, and Christopher Wool with pieces by other key artists such as Cindy Sherman, Wolfgang Tilllmans, Helmut Newton, Julius Shulman, Elmer Batters, and Eric Stanton.