Reed Krakoff is known for being an arbiter of all things fine, from his eponymous collection to his spectacular art collections, interior pieces and the homes they are displayed in. And he brings the same kind of passion to his quest for great books — old, rare, art, fashion and always beautiful. He takes Tory Daily a special library pass. And refreshingly, as precious as his books are, every single one has been read. Again and again.

The first book I wanted to keep…
A Picasso volume of the posters made for his ceramics created at Vallauris.
It was a huge book that I remember looking through when I was very young.
I distinctly remember having to put it on the floor and sitting next to it to
look through the pages.

Authors or genres I collect…
The books I collect relate closely to the work I’m doing in both my professional and personal life. It’s always a mix of unlikely subjects that create an interesting point of view. Recently, I’ve been collecting books on Tiffany glass, Adolf Loos, Sol Lewitt, and Martin Szekely for an interior design project. Simultaneously, I’m looking for books on Le Corbusier, Robert Motherwell, Ellsworth Kelly and Paul Rand for the RK collection.

When it comes to rare, valuable books, reading them vs. keeping them safely on display…
Books are to be read, looked at and most of all to be used. I’ve never collected books… I’ve always acquired them to learn and explore. There’s nothing worse than a library full of books not read!

The book I have read the most…
The books I go back to again and again tend to be more for their images than their text. A few example are Horst: Interiors, Irving Penn’s Irving Penn’s Passages, the Jean Michel Frank monograph, Luxury of Space by Oberto Gilli, Bruce Weber’s A House is Not a Home, Carte de Visite by Francois Halard, books by the Bouroullec brothers, Alexander Liberman, Jacques Grange, Les Lalanne or my collection of Visionaire publications.

The most important book in my collection…
Every year for the last 10 years, I’ve made a book of photographs from the summer, that I give my wife Delphine for the holidays. I shoot all of the images, 6×7 format film, of our family and friends throughout the season. I work with a traditional bookbinder and make only 10 copies. It’s a very personal reminder of our time together.

Oldest book in the room…
I’m not really sure, I’ve never thought about it!

And the oddest book…
Sumo by Helmut Newton — it weighs 50 pounds and comes with its own stand designed by Philippe Starck.

How do I organize my displays…
We display our books by subject and, whenever possible, alphabetically by title. All of the homes that my wife and I have designed have had libraries that have served as a place to read, work and entertain, as well as my favorite place to nap!

Titles I am still hoping to find…
Always… Collecting books is a never-ending process. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t surrounded by them. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, growing up, my father was in the publishing business and our house was filled with books.

More to read…