"This exclusive volume - Hermitage, a Palace and a Museum - with dimensions of 48 x 40 cm, contains 200 pages, with approximately 15,000 words of text and an additional 102 colour plates. The volume was printed in Germany, in a state of the art offset printing facility with special Japanese inks. The large format 8 x 10 inch photographic plates by Ahmet Ertug were processed in the leading London photographic laboratories, in order to capture their best colour fidelity. The digital darkroom work and colour separation for the volume has been carried out using PrimeScan 16 bit drum scanners, Eizo high end monitors and specially calibrated proofing systems. The technical team, which has many years of collaboration with Ahmet Ertug, has devoted many hours to each image, and has utilised leading-edge technology in order to emphasise the full range of colour captured on each original film. The paper used in the volume is 250 gsm Scheufelen Phoenixmotion Xantur, an exceptional German paper with FSC Qualification (the mark of responsible forestry). The volume was hand-bound in Italy by master binder Ruggero Rigoldi. It is bound in an exceptional red silk and presented in a slipcase. A limited edition of 100 copies is also available, bound with exclusive hand-embossed leather and presented in a leather box. The Introduction is by the Director of The State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky. An essay by Michael Forsyth and Marion Harney describes the outstanding architecture of the Hermitage. A contribution by Geraldine Norman illustrates the highlights of the Hermitage Museum collection. The clarity of the photography by Ahmet Ertug displays the outstanding qualities of the Hermitage, making this book a collector's item."--Publisher's website