Let’s be honest—Assouline has never been just about books. They’ve been about book moments. Those oversized tomes, immaculately printed and spine-tinglingly tactile, were always meant to do more than inform—they were meant to inhabit. Your coffee table. Your private jet. Your impossibly chic Parisian study.
Now, Assouline is doubling down on that fantasy, launching The Library Collection: a new line of objets d’art and home fragrances that fully cements the brand as not only the keeper of beautiful books, but the curator of the world in which they live.
And reader—this collection smells exactly like old money and very good taste.
Books Are Just the Beginning
If Assouline’s massive, glossy books are the crown jewels of a luxury lifestyle, this new line is the velvet-lined case they sit in. The collection includes everything from refined brass bookends and magnifying glasses to a full backgammon set in caramel-toned leather. There’s even an hourglass, which feels more like an art object than a timekeeper—because who’s really in a rush when reading about Capri or Cartier?
Designed in collaboration with French designer Pierre Favresse, the objects are steeped in what can only be called librarycore glamour. Think tactile woods, handsome leathers, and quietly confident brass accents in Assouline’s signature palette: red, brown, camel. It’s a vibe. A mood. A gentle whisper of “I summer in Tangier and winter in Verbier.”
These are the kinds of pieces you don’t just place on shelves. You style them, photograph them, light them just-so.
photo: @Assouline
Scent of a Library
But here’s where it gets really sensorial: the home fragrance line. Presented in amber glass vessels (of course), the candles and diffusers are said to evoke “luxurious wood, leather-bound books, lush pages, and smoky tobaccos.”
Translation? It’s what you imagine a billionaire bibliophile’s drawing room smells like—somewhere between a mahogany-paneled library and the inside of a vintage Hermès bag. Warm, nostalgic, and quietly decadent, it’s more about mood than novelty. Think less Diptyque drama, more literary seduction.
The Assouline Lifestyle, Codified
With The Library Collection, Assouline is doing something very smart: it’s not just selling books anymore, it’s selling lifestyle codes. The collection isn’t just décor—it’s an ideological expansion of the brand. It says: Don’t just read about luxury. Live it. Surround yourself with it. Make it your scent, your tools, your ritual.
Alex Assouline, ever the brand’s charming frontman, puts it simply: “This collection invites clients to take the Assouline lifestyle even further.” Translation: the book is just the beginning of the story—and now your whole room can read like the first chapter of a travelogue to Milan, or a biography of Yves Saint Laurent.
A Soft, Stylish Evolution
Still, let’s not ignore the gentle irony here. A publisher moving into home fragrance and decorative objects? One could argue it’s a subtle admission that the physical book, even a luxury one, needs a little extra support to stay relevant in the age of streaming everything.
But rather than pivot, Assouline leans in. They don’t abandon the book—they build a beautiful altar around it. And in doing so, they remind us that how we read—where, with what, and even what it smells like—is just as important as what we read.
The Final Word
With The Library Collection, Assouline proves they’re more than publishers—they’re experience architects. This launch is an ambient love letter to the culture of curated living, where every object is a story, and every story deserves its own setting.
In a world of scrolling and screens, Assouline invites us to slow down, light a leather-scented candle, and remember that the quiet luxury of a well-appointed library might just be the ultimate modern indulgence.
And if your magnifying glass happens to match your bookstand? All the better.
Verdict: A richly layered and slightly cheeky expansion that solidifies Assouline’s position as the high priest of bookish luxury. Whether you’re reading Ibiza Bohemia or merely pretending to, now your room can look—and smell—like you really mean it.
