Helmut Newton (Sumo)

SUMO was a titanic book in every respect: a 480-page tribute to one of the 20th century's most influential, intriguing and controversial photographers, it broke records for weight, dimensions, and resale price. Helmut Newton (1920-2004) always demonstrated a healthy disdain for easy or predictable solutions. SUMO-a bold and unprecedented publishing venture-was an irresistible project.

The idea of a spectacular compendium of images, a book with the dimensions of a private exhibition, reproduced to exceptional page size and to state-of-the-art origination and printing standards, emerged from an open, exploratory dialogue between photographer and publisher.

With the physically commanding SUMO weighing in-boxed and shrink-wrapped-at 35.4 kilos, Newton created a landmark book that stood head and shoulders above anything previously attempted, both in terms of conceptual extravagance and technical specifications. Published in an edition of 10,000 signed and numbered copies, SUMO sold out