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A new monograph on Dutch superyacht specialist Feadship forms part of Assouline’s ‘Ultimate Collection’ series, measuring in at a hefty 40.5 x 48cm. Suitable for only the largest of libraries and the most structurally sound coffee tables, Feadship by Assouline takes on a pretty weighty subject with a scale to match.
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
The monograph tells the story of Feadship (First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders), a company born in 1949 from the union of two of the Netherlands’ most distinguished family-owned businesses, Royal Van Lent Shipyard and Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw. Thanks to a heritage that dates back over 175 years, Feadship has accrued an impressive reputation, and the company’s pivot to luxury yachts saw it pioneer many of the techniques, technologies and stylistic innovations of the genre.
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
With text by Wallpaper* contributor John Weich, Feadship explores the company’s commitment to one-off builds, with a low-key public image despite the undeniably high impact and massive scale of some of its most celebrated designs. The book is presented ready for a life onboard the most elaborate contemporary yacht, with leather bindings and case and a metal Feadship logo plate.
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
The publisher notes that Assouline’s sizeable picture books are popular tomes in the showy seaborn libraries of the superyacht set, but it’s unfair to lump Feadship in with books designed to be looked at not read. Weich’s text has lots to draw on, and although the pictures are undeniably first rate, every superyacht can tell a story or two.
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
Over the years, Feadship has launched many such craft, from the iconic Venus, originally commissioned by Steve Jobs and now used extensively by his widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, and a fleet of vessels overseen by the influential British studio Winch Design (also given the Assouline treatment), including Madame Gu and the arts and crafts-infused Sea Owl.
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
There’s a lot of archive imagery that showcases the shifting sands of superyacht taste – almost always more out there than anything confined to land – but you’ll look in vain for in-depth breakdowns of a particular boat; this is one of the most secretive luxury industries in the world.
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
‘This publication is not about celebrating individual yachts, but about documenting a way of working that has been shaped over generations,’ acknowledges the CEO of Royal Van Lent Shipyard and Feadship director Jan-Bart Verkuyl. ‘By opening our archives, we wanted to provide an honest and carefully curated view of what it takes to create a Feadship, from the first pencil line to delivery.’
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
A spread from Feadship by Assouline
Feadship by Assouline, text by John Weich, €1,400 / £1,150, available via Feadship-Oceancollection.com and Assouline.com, @Assouline, Feadship.nl, @Feadship