The Taschen publishing house is widely recognised as one of the best publicisers of image collections, particularly of erotic images. This substantial volume of 575 pages charts the use of monochromatic photographic images to portray the human, principally female, form in the hundred years that ended in 1939. The images are from the unique collection made by Uwe Scheid, and the wealth of material available there is imaginatively grouped into particular phases of intent on the part of the photographers, ranging from the overtly arousing to the more subtle 'artistic' aims of the genre. Each section is furnished with a brief essay by Michael Koetzle. Despite the fundamentally erotic nature of depictions of naked females, particularly for male observers, the result proves to be highly tasteful, at least for modern viewers, and the book is truly a gem of outstanding worth, in its breadth and depth. ( )