Belgian-born Pierre-Joseph Redouté was the official courts draftsman of Queen Marie Antoinette and a favorite artist of Josephine Bonaparte. His impeccable illustrations of flowers and other plant specimens were born in the most noble of places and are now available to the masses in Redouté: Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers. The work, authored by historian Werner Dressendörfer and professor H. Walter Lack, marries exquisite reprints with informative narratives. Taschen, Aug. 1
Photographer Nicolas Brulez, known to Web surfers as The Tattoorialist, documents modern tattoo culture through fashion portraits of people on streets around the world. Brulez now showcases his innovative work in The Tattoorialist: Tattoo Street Style. Spend some time with this book, and it is not surprising that he has a professional career as a psychiatric nurse. His photography captures the diversity of individuals and the way in which their body art is a visual expression of their inner being. Mitchell Beazley, Sept. 1