Decorative and Democratising: How the Coffee-table Book was Popularised in the Post-war Era CHRISTINE MARY ELLIOTT 10.26180/5b7e117f7cc2c https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/thesis/Decorative_and_Democratising_How_the_Coffee-table_Book_was_Popularised_in_the_Post-war_Era/6998951 Coffee-table books emerged in the post-war era. Part of their popularity was their role as an aesthetically pleasing object in a changing social landscape. The emergence of coffee-table books was fuelled by advances in full-colour offset printing technology, social change and the entrepreneurial efforts of key individuals in America, Britain and Australia. As an accessible visual medium, they played a central role in creating a new book-buying market and the democratisation of book ownership. Coffee-table books became an important tool for photographers and publishers, many of whom used the large-format pages to exhibit images of landscapes, national identities and art. 2019-04-02 23:37:36 Book publishing book history cultural studies popular culture post-war social change colour printing coffee-table books photography visual culture sociology national identity environmental studies Australiana art books the domestic sphere Language, Communication and Culture not elsewhere classified