Taschen Books is a publishing house founded by Benedikt Taschen in 1980, headquartered in Cologne, Germany. Taschen first started off by selling comics at the age of 18 and has since launched his flourishing publishing house that illustrates publication on a range of themes including art, architecture, design, film, photography, pop culture and lifestyle.  Taschen books are known for making lesser-seen art available to mainstream bookstores, including some fetishistic imagery, queer art, historical erotica and adult magazines (including multiple books with Playboy magazine). Taschen has helped bring art books into a broader public view by publishing these potentially controversial volumes alongside its more mainstream topics.