These 100 introduction images come from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. Alongside the main 650 picture gallery, this edit covers the subjects and chapters covered in the book: Logistics; Accountancy; Electricity; Rocket Science; Biscuits; Tuna Fishing; Aviation; River Business and the unpublished Couture chapter. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

These 650 images (in file name order) originate from the book project 'The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work' (subtitled A Song for Occupations) by Alain de Botton. The gallery called One Hundred Images contains a much smaller edit than seen here and may help the viewer acquaint themselves with this body of work. In his book, de Botton writes: "We spend much of our lives at work - but surprisingly little gets written about what makes work both one of the most exciting and most painful of all our activities. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, evoking what other people get up to all day - and all night - to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art - in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying." The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. They are a combined edit (from a total of 5,000 shot) and were released for sale through Photoshelter, Alamy and some also exclusive to CORBIS on 1st April 2009. Each image has its availability details in the restrictions field, if appropriate. JPEGS for book review purposes are available on request and Lambda prints are on sale via bakerpictures.com. Blog story about the photography: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

"The aesthetics and workplaces of accountancy, photographed at the European headquarters, seminar classes and academic days of a firm of accountants." These 30 images are from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

"The life of a McVitie's biscuit starts as a marketing idea at their headquarters where executives decide on toppings and packaging. Their big idea is eventually produced at a factory in industrial Belgium." These 16 images come from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

"The incongruous nature of launching rockets laden with satellites from the jungle of colonial French Guiana." These 30 images are from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

"College and university graduates attend a jobs and careers exhibition where British companies try their utmost to recruit new talent." These 10 images come from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour.

"The story of a Yellowfin tuna fish starts from the near-idyllic waters of the Maldives and the deck of a Dhoni fishing boat in the Indian ocean. Its travels continue through local processing factories, an Airbus container and Heathrow cargo sheds before reaching the dinner plate one Friday night in England." These 50 images come from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Hamish Hamilton in April 2009. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is here: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

"Crossing English landscapes from the south coast to the capital, 542 pylons carrying 40,000 electric kilovolts cross housing estates and a wildlife sanctuary to reach power-hungry consumers of London's West End." These 30 images come from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is here: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

"The corridors of industry and landscape along the estuaries of the changing Thames Gateway, in Essex and Kent." These 30 images are from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. Two blog stories about the project's photography are at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j and http://wp.me/p3fbj-1k

20 images from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. Here are the vast logistics warehouse complexes at DIRFT in the Midlands and Sainbury's depot on the M25, showing the food-miles that products make to satisfy our insatiable appetite for speed and freshness. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

These 30 images come from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009. The book's last chapter - Aviation - was photographed at the Paris Air Show and in the aircraft graveyards of Arizona and California. This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata. The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

Couture English couturier Margaret Howell's fine clothing business is a behind-the-scenes (unpublished) chapter for the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton. These pictures are from her north London design factory with a team of dedicated seamstresses and tailors, and her flagship shop in Wigmore Street in central London, where her collection's catwalk shows appear and where customers can buy her simple and beautiful handmade garments that are in big demand all over the world. But especially in Japan. Howell is one of Britain's more understated of couture brands alongside more flamboyant personalities. Howell admits to being "inspired by the methods by which something is made .. enjoying the tactile quality of natural fabrics such as tweeds, linen and cotton in a relaxed, natural and lived in look." A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

Photography of Alain de Botton writing on location for his book 'The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work' and A Heathrow Diary. A blog story about the project's photography is at: http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

Edit for exhibition only.

Two exhibitions of limited edition Lambda digital prints from Alain de Botton's book 'The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work' are amalgamated here into this one gallery page. The first six framed prints are from the Accountancy chapter and were shown at 'Werk Nu' (Work Now) in the Z33 Gallery in Hasselt, Belgium in 2009. The black-framed Lambda prints include specially-selected excerpts by de Botton. Frame sizes from that show are: 117 x 68 cm (46 x 27 inches). Following the blank divider are 16 that were edited for a summer 2010 show at The Museum of the History of Science in Oxford. Frame sizes from the Oxford show range from 130x76cm to 81x45cm. Every photograph is followed by corresponding text and both can be viewed more closely if clicked on for an enlargement. Photographs are the copyright Richard Baker and text the copyright of Alain de Botton 2010.