Introduction

The introduction outlines the key factors of a history of the coffee-table book set against the dynamic backdrop of post-war America, Britain and Australia. A genre that sits at the centre of complex developments as these Anglophone countries emerged from the austerity of the war years. I argue that coffee-table books appeared and proliferated when a convergence of three post-war developments occurred: advances in full-colour printing technology, social change, and publishing entrepreneurism and innovation. The post-war era was a period full of optimism, growth and abundance, particular to the Anglophone world. This included increasing populations, new houses, suburban sprawl, aspiration, mass-production and consumption of a new array of products and a shift to more informal, relaxed lifestyles. The chapter offers an overview of the sequence of topics covered in the various chapters, including brief summaries of the motivation, argument, contribution, scope and theoretical approach to the study.