Taschen has released a new two-volume book on the enduring legacy of Life magazine and its close ties with Hollywood and the wider film industry. Titled Life. Hollywood, the books chronicle the rise of Life, from its transformation into a photo-led weekly news magazine in 1936, to becoming the most widely-read publication of its kind in the 1940s, to its eventual dissolution as a weekly in 1972. (The magazine is due to be relaunched by Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss after a deal was made earlier this year.)

Over the course of nearly four decades, Life established itself as the go-to magazine for film, style and celebrity lovers alike, and during this period it featured more than 744 Hollywood-related subjects on its covers. The first of these was renowned American actress Jean Harlow, and her profile, along with many others, can be found in this latest book. Similarly iconic figures include Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, Steve McQueen, Sophia Loren, Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, and Brigitte Bardot.

Life. Hollywood is divided into two luxurious volumes. The first, which covers 1936 through to the 1950s, explores the Golden Age of Hollywood – a time dominated by household name actors, powerful film studios, and extravagant lifestyles. The second, which covers the 1950s through to 1972, looks at ‘New Hollywood’ and the move towards independent film and a more diverse cast of actors.

Though technically two separate books, both volumes boast a glamorous design, with colours and typefaces reminiscent of vintage Hollywood films. Think art deco sans serif fonts, deep reds and rich golds. Attention has been paid to every little detail, to make the publication not just worthy of the classic films it contains, but also give it the care and artistry that went into making Life the groundbreaking magazine that it was.

The book also features essays by photography critic Lucy Sante, captions by film historian Justin Humphreys, and images by over 70 esteemed Life photographers, such as Alfred Eisenstaedt, Peter Stackpole, Gordon Parks, Lisa Larsen, Margaret Bourke-White and Gjon Mili, among others.

Writing in the introduction to Volume 2, Sante says: “The movies were just made for Life, and Life was just made for the movies…. With Hollywood, the magazine achieved a perfect balance of aims. Life took farmers and housewives and druggists and librarians to Hollywood and showed them around, introducing them to friendly people, demonstrating how movies work, maybe letting them hang around the studio commissary and try to put names to all the faces. And then Hollywood had them, if it didn’t already, and so in turn did Life.

“Together Life and Hollywood constructed a great deal of what gets called the American Century, especially the 36 years of relative prosperity and optimism that bounded the active life of the magazine.”

Life. Hollywood is published by Taschen; taschen.com