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Taschen

German publisher of art books

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ367205
Source-derived summary

Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt Taschen and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen.

Taschen focuses on making lesser-seen art and imagery available to bookstores. The firm has brought potentially controversial art and imagery, including fetishistic imagery, queer art, historical erotica, pornography, and adult magazines (including multiple books with Playboy magazine) into broader public view, publishing it alongside its books of comics reprints, art photography, painting, design, fashion, advertising history, film, and architecture.

Taschen publications are available in a various sizes, from oversized tomes and limited editions, to small pocket-sized books. The company has also produced calendars, address books, and postcards sets.

History

The company began as Taschen Comics, publishing Benedikt's comic collection.

In 1985, Taschen introduced the Basic Art series with an inaugural title on Salvador Dalí. Today's series comprises over 100 titles available in up to 30 languages, each about a separate artist, from classical to contemporary. Further series followed, alongside an expansion into new themes like architecture, design, film, and lifestyle.

Editorial summary

“Taschen” enters the record as german publisher of art books. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Taschen, German and publisher can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1980, 2017, 1985—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1980. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Taschen, German and publisher.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Taschen” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Taschen, German and publisher provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q367205. The Library of Congress control number is no2004003050. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1980, 2017 and 1985.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Taschen”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Taschen primary sources, Taschen archive and Taschen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Taschen”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Taschen” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.