MARCH2–15, 2020 |THE CUT 63brand itself in honor of its eminence, such
as a book on Rimowa, the German com-
pany whose grooved aluminum suitcases
are the kings of the baggage carousel.
Many partners become repeat customers.
“We’ve done five books with Coca-Cola,”
Alex Assouline says. “Dior, 13.” Richard
Dickson, now the president of Mattel,
approachedtheAssoulinesin2008,“try-
ingtoconvincethem,” hesaid,“what they
coulddowithmeif wecreatedthisamaz-
ingcelebrationofBarbie.” TheBarbie
bookbecamea collector’s item,notleast
becauseMattelstoodreadytosnapup
copiestoproudlydisplayinitsofficesworldwide.“Wetalkabout
whatisthevisionforwhat storywe’retryingtotell,whether
that’s a Barbiestory,a HotWheelsstory,ora Mattelstory,”Dick-
sonsaidinaninterview.Anotherbook,forMattel’s75thanni-
versary, is beingdiscussed.
Andyetpartnerandeditorialbookssitspinebyspinein
Assouline’s storesandtheirclients’libraries.“It’sinterestingto
seetheinterestinthelibrary,”Martinesays.“It wasnotthecase
tenyearsago.Thelibrarywassomethingboring.‘Youwanta
bibliothèqueat home? Ohmy God.’” Nowthecompany offers
curationservicestointeriordesigners.
TheAssoulinesinsist oneditorialindependence,butthey
acknowledgethat exposésarenotthepointandtheirgentilityis,
inpart,expressedingentleness.“I thinkthey givethesubjects a
lotoffreedomintermsofhowtopositionthebooks,”Fraschsays.
Oneoftheirbestsellers,anda keyget,is LeeRadziwill’s memoir,
HappyTimes,whichAssoulinepublishedin 200 1. In herlong,
ex citinglifetime,Radziwillwascommissionedtowritea memoir
inthe’70sandagaininthe’90s,butneithercametofruition.It ’s
hardtoimaginea traditionalpublisheracceptingtheagreeable
trifleRadziwillproduced,“a slimpicturebookwithreminiscences
ontheBouviersisters’carefreeearlyyears,” inthewordsofthe
New YorkTimes.“Mostmemoriesarehappy, right?,” LarryKing
askedRadziwillwhensheappearedonhisshowin 200 1. “Ohyes,
I thinkso,”shereplied.“Youcansort ofblocktheonesthat aren’t,
toa certainextent.”Thebookhassold50,000copiestodate.
Theguidingprincipleseemstobe“Ifyoudon’t haveany-
thingnicetosay, don’t say anythingat all.” Fora fee,Assouline
willhappilyproducebooksnotmeantforthepublicmarket-
placeatall. Prospercompareshisteamto a restaurant
kitchen:“We haveallofourthree-starkitchendoinga bar
mitzvahforsomebodyyoudonotknow,” hecrowswitha
merrylaugh.Assoulinehaspublishedtitlesonprivatecollec-
tions,privatehomes(“Wejust finisheda bookononeofthe
mostexpensivehousesintheworld,” a 17th-centurybehemoth
inParis,Prospersays),privatetraveldiaries(“likeNoaNoa,”
Gauguin’s Tahitianmemoir),evenentirecountries,commis-
sionedbytheirgovernments.“Theycandoit anywhereelse,”
hesays,“butthey wanttohaveanAssouline.”I wondered
aloudif allofthesegovernmentsweredemocraticallyelected
ones,whichgota laugh,butinhisofficeProsperproudlydis-
playsa forthcomingtitle,astallashiswaist, onAlUla,the
soon-to-open“livingmuseum”ofarchaeologicalandhistorical
sitesinSaudiArabia,photographedbyRobert Polidoriand
commissionedbytheSaudis.
Bookpublishingisa difficultbusiness,especially for more
expensive,illustratedbooks,whosecosts canbedriven sky high
byphotorightsandpermissions,andsomeofAssouline’s rival
companieshavesoughtrefugeinlargercompanies or patrons.
(Theprivate-equitybillionaireandavidrare-bookcollector Leon
BlackownsPhaidon.)Assoulinehasmaintainedits indepen-
dence,buttheconglomerateLVMH—whichownsDior, Fendi,
Givenchy,andMarcJacobs—acquireda minority stake in the
businessin2013.Thecompany is profitable,though the family
declinedtosharespecificsoftheirrevenueorvolume.
TheAssoulinesensibility—notsurprisingfora company that
publishesIntheSpiritofMiamiBeach,IntheSpirit of Palm
Beach,andIntheSpiritofGstaad—cantravel.And in recent
years,itsscopehasexpandedfrombooksintotheworld around
them.Prosperseesthenextgenerationofthebusiness, now
vestedinAlex’scare,asbeinginpartnershipsthat bring a touch
ofAssoulinetoworthyprojects,fora price.Thecompany now
keeps 13 shopsand 20 “brandedcorners”inhigh-end department
storesaroundtheworldaswellastheflagshipMaison Assouline
inLondonanda franchiseMaisoninDubai.(Gucci, which has
publishedwithAssouline,namedtheLondonMaison, in a former
bankbuildingdatingtotheearly1920s,oneofits“Gucci Places,”
which“reflectthetasteandvaluesoftheHouse.”)“This is one of
themostimportantdepartments,”Prospersays.
TheRelatedCompanies,thereal-estatedeveloper that is
amongthemostlandowninginManhattan,contracted with
theAssoulinestoputa librarylounge intheCaledonia (a
hybridrental-condobuildinginChelsea,which opened in
2008),asoneofseveral on-siteamenitiesthat include an Equi-
nox gymandhigh-enddogcare.TheAssoulinesdesigned the
spaceandpickedthebooks.“Alloftheadvertising was ‘Equi-
noxforyourbody, Assoulineforyourmind,’ ” Prosper says. Two
yearsago,they camebackto“refresh”thelounge; another
refreshisplanned,andRelatedhasbroughtthem into more
buildings,including 15 HudsonYardsandtheforthcoming
LanternHouseneartheHighLine.
TheCaledoniarefreshwasoneofAlex’sfirstmajor projects
forAssouline,afterhereturnedtothefamilybusiness follow-
inga shortcareerinconsulting.“There’sa lotinevery industry
wecanventureinto,becausewereallycreateluxury lifestyle,”
hesays.Thebiggestopportunityisnottoblanket the world
withbooks:Luxuryandavailabilityarenaturalenemies, and
theprintrunsforhigh-endillustratedbookslike Assouline’s
generallydon’t exceed5,000,anyway.Assouline is a “niche,
stilla niche,” Martinesays.“Welike that.” ■Unlike a seasonal campaign or a throwaway bit of
marketing, books last. “They are all going to the garbage,”
Prosper says, “and the book is going to stay at home.”