I.B.Tauris Acquired Philip Wilson Publishers
06/05/2011 17:24:00
Philip Wilson Publishers (PWP) is a fine arts publisher which for the past forty years has specialised in producing authoritative, finely designed art and illustrated books. Starting life as Sotheby’s Publications, the publishing arm of the auction house, it became independent in 1977 as PWP. With over seven hundred works to its credit, the company still concentrates on its original expertise and has established unique relationships with museums and other art collections worldwide. Jonathan McDonnell, Managing Director of I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd said "We’ve handled all the sales, marketing and distribution of PWP for the past several years, so we already know Philip and his team and the PWP ethos very well and there will be no ‘acquisition pain’ for either side here."
Philip Wilson himself, his Senior Editor Anne Jackson and all the PWP staff will stay on, relocating to the I.B.Tauris offices, but as Jonathan McDonnell said "the distinctive character, brand and publishing strategy of PWP will be maintained – and it will slot in seamlessly alongside the I.B.Tauris publishing in Visual Culture, particularly in the area of contemporary art."
Philip Wilson’s response to the acquisition of the company was forthright: "I couldn’t imagine a better partner for the PWP list and programme. I’m delighted. Especially because I, for one, will be able to do much more of what I love doing: conceiving and developing art books, exhibition, and artists’ catalogues with some of the best galleries and institutions around."
This is the first I.B.Tauris acquisition since the company began publishing in the mid-eighties. It has established itself as a quality non-fiction independent publisher straddling both the academic and high-level trade markets in the fields of History, Politics, International Relations, Current Affairs, Religious Studies, Classics, Visual Culture and the Fine Arts. Iradj Bagherzade, Chairman, Editorial Director and founder of I.B.Tauris said, as the sale was announced, that PWP "was an extremely good addition to our list. We’ve already established a strong presence in the world of fine arts publishing with our books relating to cultures of the Middle East, and the acquisition gives us an opportunity to grow this side of our business significantly."