Customer Reviews

The Art of Money: The History and Design of Paper Currency from Around the World

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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
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Make no mistake -- this is a very attractive book. Frankly, its Jeremy Stout's design and Joshua Dunn's photography that make this book worth buying. Full color images of hundreds of U.S. and foreign paper currencies delight the eye. The layout itself takes its inspiration from money, with security stripes and microprinting, and even page numbers look like currency serial numbers.

The commentary, however, is another issue. While often containing valuable tidbits of the history of paper currency, especially in the section on the United States, "The Art of Money" suffers from failed attempts at humor and an often joyless condescending tone. In an entry on Queen Elizabeth II she's described as looking a little too much like "Prince Charles in drag." The portraits on the redesigned U.S. currencies are described as looking like characters on "South Park".

For most readers, this is not helpful information. In addition, there are too many explanations of images that include the modifiers "must be", "could be", "it would seem so" and modern interpretations of allegorical scenes. Absent an expert's analysis or first-hand knowledge of the reasons behind the placement of images on currency, the author's speculations do not help the novice currency collector and are likely to annoy the professional.

In the final analysis, its the photos of the currencies, and not the captions, that make this book an enjoyable "read." And, as a former articles editor for "Playboy", Mr. Standish might forgive readers if we pick up his book only to look at the pictures.

This is a beautifully designed book with a wonderful selection of currencies. As a visual piece, it's a great book. However, what really surprised me was the tone of the text. The author mixes social commentary, political opinions, stale cliches, attempts at witticisms, straightforward history, and humor--often all within one paragraph. Not only did this inconsistent writing style make it difficult to read with continuity, it seemed incongruous with the subject matter. My personal recommendation--if you want to see a fabulous selection of currencies past and present, this book is worth it for the images alone. If you're looking for a well-written history and impartial evaluation of currency design, look elsewhere.

Money money money. We all want it. We all need it. We all have it. But how much do we know about the heart and soul of this powerful paper?

In The Art of Money, David Standish expands our world by exposing money's role in politics, industry, commerce, nature, art, and sex - yes, even sexy money - "...an appreciation and celebration of the human form, an admission that we are flesh, after all..."

This beautiful book is a masterpiece of what it means to truly work outside the box. Of all the people I know, I am the least interested in (or good at) understanding the mechanics of money. All I know about money is that when I have some of it in my pocket, I can eat. When I don't have any, I go hungry. I never looked at its colors, pictures, history, and certainly never considered it art. Art? Human nature? Intrigue? Those were the things I was interested in....and The Art of Money contains all these subjects and more. Much more.

The Art of Money captured my interest from the very first page with an amazing reproduction in full color of a 50-Gulden bill, displaying a detailed sunflower and bee: "In indirect but bright homage to van Gogh, the image says, simply being placed on the bill, that they value art and beauty in the Netherlands." This was especially relevant to me because of my Dutch ancestry and my fondness for the Dutch impressionists. But my main interest is animals - what could possibly be written about animals and money? Standish includes an international zoo with four exotic sections on nature, includingwild birds and an African safari. No nature lover will be disappointed in these pages.

Standish takes off full speed from there, guiding us around the world as only a knowledgeable and friendly tour guide could. The exquisite color pictures and stories behind the pictures are as captivating as their countries of origin. The graphics alone make this book worth its weight in gold. But the bonus is in the words which transported me effortlessly into an exciting realm of which I had been totally unaware. My 20 dollars spent on this book bought me a larger, brighter, more interesting world. A bargain any way you look at it.

Cathie Katz, Melbourne Beach, Florida

Clearly this book is not directed to specialists in the field of world paper money collecting, though many dealers, it seems, are happy just to have something glossy and well-produced to entice people into joining the hobby. Yes, the book is pretty, and yes, it is entertaining. Unfortunately, it ignores an important issue that is at the core of paper money: politics. Why do some paper money designs change while others remain the same? Why do some countries put their leaders' pictures on their money while others would never do such a thing (at least not until they are dead)? Why do pounds become dinars, cruzados become reals, etc.? The book leaves the reader with the impression that the designs on paper money are hardly more than a celebration of a country's cultural and technological accomplishments, but there is more than that...

This is why the book ultimately falls short: By studying the art of money only as an end rather than as a means to an end, a vast -- and fascinating -- dimension of the story is lost. Hopefully there will be other books on the topic that go beyond this initial effort.

I was disappointed by this book. I am genuinely interested in the subject of currency design and was anxiously awaiting the appearance of this book. I was hoping to find detailed descriptions of currency design including the vocabulary of engraving and ornamentation. Instead, the author stuck to flippant opinions regarding portraits or images. A lot of useless words wasted on irrelevant historical anecdotes. And a poorly considered and highly biased dismissal of the appearance of American currency. It is, in fact, in this last respect that the book, from the outset, is most disappointing and perplexing. Because, after all, it's only money we're talking about here and it will always and under all circumstances be highly limited in its artistic merits. Does the image of the American dollar have no power at all? The implication is that if you saw a dollar bill on the ground, you would be reluctant to pick it up solely on the grounds that the pictures on it aren't pretty enough. If, rather, the image of the dollar can impart to the otherwise insignificant piece of paper it is printed on the ability to alter human actions, you've got to wonder how it does it. In sum, this is a very pretty coffee-table book.

"The Art of Money" is a great book, very informative and beautifully designed. I give it 5 stars even if some critics criticise it, but I think as an introductory publication to the world of paper money it's a great book. The book has two sections: International and United States. There are lots of beautiful illustrations of banknotes world-wide and in categories such as banknotes with trains, ships, heroes, wild animals or even nudes (nude women) on them. It's a great book to start your knowledge in a world of money and I strongly recommend it to a reader. Imagine if you had to buy all these banknotes and payper money yourself to enjoy them you would spend thousands of dollars and now you can have the book for less than twenty bucks......

I own a copy of this book and I must say that it makes for a good coffee table book. If you appriciate paper money for the different kinds of artwork, then this book is worth having in your library.

Bright-colored graphics and imaginative layouts enhance the pronounced visual appeal of this informative book. The text, irreverent but incisive, provides a commentary on the art of paper money from its invention by the Chinese around 810 AD up to the Euro of the 21st century. Author David Standish divides his colorful material into sections according to the content of their illustrations, e.g., "National Heroes," "Queen Liz," or "African Safari," and his entertaining remarks upon them range from the fields of biography and history and sociology to aesthetics and entertaining trivia. Standish's tone conveys that of a slightly scruffy college instructor addressing a roomful of grad students--which is what he does in real life. Granted that I may be slightly biased by an almost lifelong friendship with David, but I would give his book an A.

Probably not the venue to launch into a tirade against the stultified, diploma/stock certificate-like house design style of the American treasury. But when you see the variety, color, flare and adventuresome spirit of other countries' currency designs, it is enough to make you positively ill. This is an old complaint, of course. This books visuals make a totally convincing case for the plaintiffs, however.

There WAS one brief shining moment when American money designers put something better, a real world-class moolah design, in our wallets. --See the gorgeous 3 bill "Educational" series of the 1890's or the Buffalo dollar from the first decade of the 20th Century (with, yes, a full body engraving of a buffalo in the usual bureaucrat spot on front, and two bonus spots on the left and right bearing likenesses of Lewis and Clark). After this frolicking fist full of dollars, American currency design "went corporate"; there hasn't been a really fun or cool bill in almost a century now.

The US post office has dolled up their issues to the point people accuse them of tackiness or pandering to populist taste. This is how we can see that stamps are alive as a design vehicle. When everything is august and handsome and tasteful, it is precisely as dead as...well, as American money design.

If you are looking for something with a lot of images, that's what you need.
Very nice and fine printed, but it has not so much to say.