For some time now, I've believed that something was missing from traditional photo book publishing. An itch became a scratch that became an idea, that now, I'm delighted to say, has become a beautiful, tangible book: Born To Run Revisited, with photographs by Eric Meola.

Born To Run Revisited is an ultra large format hardcover, with 96 pages, and a new 2,000 word introductory essay by Eric Meola. When closed, the book measures 24 inches high x 18 inches wide (60x45cm). A double page spread measures 24 inches high by 36 inches wide (60cm x 90cm). That's a vast scale in anyone's language.  Just get out your tape measure and plot out 24 x 36 inches (or 60cm x 90cm).  Now visualise a double page spread this size, carrying a single image in pin sharp detail. You will need your tape measure though - a ruler won't be big enough.

Why is this book important? Because something revelatory happens when a photograph is presented in a very large format: hidden details come to light, and the power and impact of the image are magnified exponentially. Unless you go to a gallery and see a large format print on the wall, you can’t experience this. That’s where we come in. Ormond Yard Press has been established to publish a carefully curated series of spectacular large format limited edition photography books that package the essence of large format gallery exhibitions, without reducing the impact of scale. Imagine an entire art gallery exhibition that you get to take home and keep forever.

This is a book that defies the normal 'coffee table' convention. In fact, it is like no book you will have seen before: much larger than a traditional coffee table volume, it is slim and elegant at the same time. Born To Run Revisited is housed in a beautiful custom slipcase which reproduces the front and back book cover art. The slipcase is lined with black suedel, a felt-like material, which cushions and protects the book. The cover of the book and slipcase have been deliberately left free of text so that nothing detracts from the power of the images. As a result, the book looks like a work of art you could hang on your wall. And in fact you can, as we have developed a special slide-in-slide-out frameless acrylic frame that we are launching in early 2012, and which enables you to do just that. More on that later.

Liking it so far?

Buy it now

Contains Eric Meola's most important images of Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons from his June 1975 Born to Run photoshoot, alongside previously unpublished material

The book brings together familiar images in a spectacular new format, and at the same time introduces you to previously unpublished material.  Eric has made his personal selection of the very best images from his 1975 Born To Run session to present in this dramatic 24 x 36 inch spread size. That spread size is no accident - it has been deliberately chosen in the same aspect ratio as 35mm film, namely 1:1.5.  This is important as it allows the photographs to be presented across an entire double page spread, with no detail cropped out.

While a number of these photographs have been published in the past in books and magazines, they have never been presented in this physical scale before. Just imagine the classic Born To Run cover photograph, presented in its full uncropped glory, 24 inches high x 36 inches wide.

In addition, Eric has also ensured that a selection of previously unpublished photographs from the 1975 shoot are included in this incredible book. We have included one of the previously unpublished images alongside, showing Clarence lifting Bruce.

Eric has also contributed a 2,000 word introductory essay as the introduction to the book.

To give you a better idea of the layouts of the book, we have included some sample pages in the visual at the bottom of this webpage. If you scroll down, you will be able to 'turn' sample pages, and view in fullscreen mode.

 

Buy it now

The opportunity to present uncropped images across double page spreads reveals incredible levels of detail never previously presented in book format.

You will be amazed at the level of detail you can see in this book. Here's an example: when you look closely at Eric's Born To Run album cover photograph, presented uncropped as a glorious 24 x 36 inch (60cm x 90cm) double page spread, you will see there are not two, but five people in the frame. Bruce, Clarence, Elvis (on the badge) and two people on a tiny detailed painting on the leather pick guard on Bruce's guitar. The painting on the pick guard is a revelation, and is something that most people don't know about.

We've reproduced an extract of this alongside. Look closely at the pick guard and you will see a moonlit scene with a man leaning against a lamppost in front of a brick wall, while someone looks at him from a window of an adjacent building. The amazing thing about this is that here you have an image that you have looked at hundreds of times. It's one of the most familiar photographs in the history of rock'n'roll. But if someone asked you how many people there were on the cover of Born To Run, you probably would have said two. That's because you never had the chance to really look - until now.

Buy it now

The most important thing in all this is of course what the owners think of what we are doing.

The feedback from the first clutch of customers to receive their Born To Run Revisiteds has blown us away. In particular we loved this photograph that Jim from Marietta, Georgia sent us of him with his book. That is the smile of a satisfied man. As he put in his note, "received the package yesterday and I am loving it!"

Here are some of our other favourites so far:

Received!
I received this morning a big black and white baby,
extraordinary,
he is really magnificent,
so happy ;-)   Nathalie M, France

The book arrived safe and sound on Friday and I had it wrapped and under the tree before my wife got home.  She opened it today and was absolutely "blown away."  I didn't look at it beforehand so my first viewing was when she opened it.  All I can say is that it is a wonderful piece of work.  You, Mr. Meola, and everyone involved should be proud of what you have created.  This is something we will always treasure.  We are huge Bruce Springsteen fans so this means a lot to us.I thank you for making this happen and for adding so much to our holidays this year. All our best to you,  William G, Virginia USA

Your "Born To Run Rev" book is awesome!   Guido H, Italy

Took delivery of the above last week, and I have to say I'm thrilled with the content, format, and quality! A superb initial publication from Ormond Yard Press .I await with interest your next edition, trusting that now you have set the benchmark it will be in the same ' class leading ' bracket ?  Ray C, Warks, England  [ Ray - it will ! ]

The books arrived just in time. They are beautiful!  Well done!  The gift was a big hit and I, of course, love mine.  Thanks for all your help and happy new year. Craig B, California, USA

The book and case arrived safely on Friday. Thank you.It is stunning ! and my husband is over the moon with it. It looks wonderful in the wall mounted slipcase. Many thanks for your help. Karen J Shrewsbury UK

Buy it now

Just 500 signed numbered books are being offered to collectors worldwide.

In the limited edition book world, this is a small edition and we expect demand to be high.

Are you going to become one of the fortunate 500 ?

Buy it now

“A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.”

So said Andy Warhol.

We could have gone down the track of carving out a special edition of the books we publish. You know the kind of thing - an edition with a signed print, a special binding etc etc. A lot of publishers do this, and although we did consider it, it wasn't for us. Why? Simply because we are focused on making them all special. When you look at yours, you know that no-one has a better version. They are all the best.

Buy it now

The signed limited edition book, in its slipcase and a sturdy external shipping box, costs £ 395 (approx* USD 630 / Euro 460)

Given the size and weight (approx 9 kg /20 lbs) of the slipcased book in its external shipping box, we recommend that you have us deliver the book. 

The delivery charge depends on location as follows:

UK: next day signed for courier - £25
Europe and USA: 2/3 working days, signed for courier service £65
Rest of world:  4/5 working days, signed for courier service £75

If you wish to collect the book from the gallery, then there is no delivery charge.

*USD/Euro prices are illustrative based on current FX rates. Actual USD/Euro prices will depend on the rate at the transaction date if purchasing online in USD or Euros / or the rate applied by your credit card company if purchasing in GBP. If you wish to use Amex, you will need to get in touch with us at the gallery rather than purchase online.

Buy it now

There is no hanging around - books are in stock, and ready to ship.

We are shipping books every day. Please bear in mid that the clock on the edition is ticking. Books are selling fast, so the practical timing issue is simply when we run out and sell all 500 copies in the edition. So our advice is, if you want one, get it now and avoid disappointment.

Delivery times depend on location very from next day (for UK orders) to approx 1 week (for more distant destinations)

The book is packaged securely and anonymously. We have gone to town on packaging, as we don't want to take any risks of the book being damaged in transit. It comes in an extra thick unbranded shipping box, with void areas to absorb any knocks in transit.

Buy it now

Sadly the logistics don't allow us the luxury of everyone being able to pick a specific number they would like.

We're allocating books in sequential number order, so people who order earlier, get earlier numbers.

Buy it now

Special acrylic slide in slide out wall display case

Make no mistake, this is a big book, and we wanted to give you some different display options. Of course you can put it on your coffee table or (big) bookshelf, but we felt it deserved something a bit special. At the design stage of the book/slipcase we took a conscious decision to keep the cover free of text, so that nothing detracts from the power of the chosen front and back cover images. That notion gave rise to the idea of this display unit - because it means you can, should you choose to, display your book just like a piece of art on the wall - which is what it is, after all.

Constructed from 5mm clear acrylic, this is a solid, simple and practical way to display your book on your wall in its slipcase. It measures 18.5 inches (w) x 25 inches (h)  x 1.5 inches (d). That's approximately 47cm x 64cm x 4cm.

It is open sided on the left and right, allowing you to slide your book (and please read 'book' as 'book and slipcase' here) in and out whenever you want to look at the contents. You also have the flexibility to show the front or the back of the book and flip it over if you feel like a change of view.

It has curved edges, and a split baton hanging system on the reverse. Special acrylic 'feet' at the bottom ensure that it hangs parallel to the wall. It is a nice, elegant, solid piece of work. Turnaround time is approx 3 weeks.

If you would like a display case, they cost GBP 350 + shipping, and you can order one online here

(Please note that the 'Buy it now' button below relates to the book and not the acrylic wall unit).

 

Buy it now

Here's our guarantee to you. If you aren't completely satisfied with your book, return it within 10 working days of receipt and and we will give you a full refund.

Buy it now

Ormond Yard Press™ : Dedicated to bringing you the bigger picture

Our mission is a simple one - to create incredible books that we, our artists and our clients can be proud of. That's a heavy burden but one which we embrace. Behind everything we do is the goal of producing elegant and brilliant books; books that celebrate classic moments in the history of popular culture, in a physical scale that mainstream publishers can't deliver.

Layouts and presentations are designed to let images shine across double page spreads, in a clean, uncluttered style. Less is more. The book is the boss, and forces you to look at what is in front of you. When was the last time you really looked at a picture properly?

We know that collecting precious things is addictive. So we plan to help you with your addiction in a number of ways.

Timing. We don’t want to bombard you. We are planning no more than three titles in each calendar year. We will be releasing details of new titles every few months.

Consistency. We want you to be able to build up a collection that works together, where the individual components can be stored and displayed together. So we will ensure consistency with all future titles in the series. A consistent look and feel, a consistent size (24 x 18 inches when closed, 24 x 36 inches spread size), and each book housed in a bespoke slipcase. This means that serial collectors can build up a handsome set of volumes over time. Of course the contents will vary, but they will be consistently brilliant.

Loyalty. We reward loyalty. Existing owners of our books will always have the first opportunity to order new titles. So when we offer pre-launch incentives, these will be made to existing owners first.

Born To Run Revisited, with photographs by Eric Meola

Eric’s is the first in a series of large format limited edition volumes that we are publishing under the Ormond Yard Press™ banner.  It is a perfect place for us to start, but it begs the question - how do we follow it?  Well, alI will be revealed in due course, but in the meantime we very much hope that you take up this opportunity with Eric’s epic book.

Buy it now

Naming a brand is always difficult. You get one shot at it, and it has to work on a whole number of levels.A number of different threads led us to the name Ormond Yard Press™ .

First, the books we publish are a yard wide – three feet – when opened up.

Second, Ormond Yard is the name of a relatively unknown street in the heart of St James’s, just a stone’s throw from our Piccadilly gallery. Ormond Yard has played an important role in contemporary popular culture as it has been the location for many photoshoots over the years – most famously it was the location of the cover session for The Rolling Stones’ 1965 album Out of Our Heads (December’s Children in the U.S). That image, by British photographer Gered Mankowitz, has always resonated as a perfect early piece of pop iconography.

Third, the topography: Ormond Yard is itself tall and slim – proportions that echo the books that are now being produced in its name.

And don’t you love it when coincidences connect distant events? In his introduction to Born To Run Revisited, Eric Meola explains that the record he was playing in his studio when he photographed Bruce and Clarence on 20 June, 1975, was none other than December’s Children by The Rolling Stones.

Buy it now

We've started a blog. The purpose is to to go behind the scenes and share our experiences in bringing this fantastic project from idea to reality. You can read our posts on Tumblr .

It's a lighthearted look at things and we try and make it interesting plus have a bit of fun. Here are a couple of examples of recent posts to give you a flavour:

 

Buy it now