Gift guide

Pencil me in
ACME Studio founder Adrian Olabuenaga gets an A+ for creating this retractable rollerball and mechanical pencil set (and extra credit for the charming packaging). Pop Art aficionados, writing-utensil collectors, doodlers, draftspersons, and those who value the timeless design of the No. 2 pencil and the black-and-white composition notebook will treasure this present. Available at MCA shop, 220 E Chicago Ave at Mies van der Rohe Way (312- 397-4034); $65.—Ruth Lopez

Our type
Don’t be fooled by the saucy title: Michael Perry’s Hand Job: A Catalog of Type (Princeton Architectural Press) is not only safe for work, it’s chock-full of inspiration for designers and eye candy for those who just dress like them. Perry has compiled posters, album covers, ads, fonts and more by 55 graphic designers who specialize in hand-drawn typography. Stefan Sagmeister and Geoff McFetridge are probably the most famous names here, which is a refreshing change from most design books: Hand Job is about the next generation of superstars, from frighteningly talented students to rising taste makers Deanne Cheuk and Kevin Lyons. It’s hours of fun. Available at Prairie Avenue Bookshop, 418 S Wabash Ave between Van Buren St and Congress Pkwy (312-922-8311); $31.50.—Lauren Weinberg

Soft serve
In 1998, Phaidon published Cream, a global survey of 100 emerging artists, and followed up with Fresh Cream, then Cream 3. Ice Cream follows the ten-curators-nominate-ten-artists formula but introduces a new flavor: Italian artist and jokester Maurizio Cattelan and the Wrong Gallery—the tiniest (and now transient) gallery in New York known for its fuck off we’re closed sign on its perpetually locked door. (The sign was a piece by British artist Adam McEwen. Miniatures are sold at museum shops the world over.) The team selected ten reemerging artists, all older than 60. Available at MCA shop; $69.95.—RL

Heavyweight champions
Beginning with the Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel (c. 28,000 B.C.) and ending with James Turrell’s unfinished Roden Crater in the Arizona desert, 30,000 Years of Art (Phaidon) is as hefty as its title suggests. A thousand masterpieces—one to a page, along with big color illustrations and small essays—make for mirthful juxtapositions: a Thai bronze Buddha (c. 1420), for example, sitting across from Lorenzo Ghiberti’s gilt bronze Baptism of Christ.Minimalist Robert Mangold’s semicircular painting next to a shot of an oval room in Turrell’s crater shows that, sometimes, function follows form. Available at the Museum Shop, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S Michigan Ave at Adams St (888-301-9612); $49.95.—RL

Toe the line,
Every few years, the outsider/folk art world makes a great discovery. Martín Ramírez is the self-taught artist of the hour. The Mexican immigrant, jobless and homeless during the Depression, was diagnosed as a catatonic schizophrenic and institutionalized for 30 years. During that time, he created hundreds of drawings now considered masterpieces. As a retrospective of his work travels around the country (currently at the Milwaukee Museum of Art), more of his large line-happy drawings of bridges, tunnels, horses and Madonnas are being discovered. The companion catalog, Martín Ramírez, extends the experience of discovering this remarkable talent. Available at Intuit gift shop, 756 N Milwaukee Ave between Carpenter and Aberdeen Sts (312-243-9088); $31.50.—RL

You say you want a revolution
Keri Smith’s The Guerilla Art Kit: Everything You Need to Put Your Message Out Into the World for Fun, Non-Profit and World Domination (Princeton Architectural Press) is the perfect gift for your socially conscious, No Logo–loving friend who is too polite to throw a trash can through the window of Starbucks. Smith never turns preachy as she explains how to transform your environment and get other people thinking with simple tools like chalk, wheat paste, yarn and found objects. The kit may be too basic for art-school grads, but the untrained would-be Banksy will appreciate her clear instructions, cool illustrations, and handy list of books and websites for further reading. Available at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W North Ave at Wolcott Ave (773-342-0910); $17.95.—LW

Mass media
If you have a photography obsession, you know all about the legendary Holga—an inexpensive plastic toy camera mass-produced in China in the early 1980s. Art students—and photographers yearning for a medium format they could afford—found that its lo-fi aesthetics, like light leaks, gave their images a dreamy quality. The clever folks at Lomography have reissued this plastic-lens classic, but instead of the standard black body, the cameras come in green, red and baby blue. The start kit includes batteries, film and a book. Available at lomography.com; $75.—RL

Object lessons
A bagel baked by Christopher Walken, a pair of elegant ceramic whippets, and a child’s electric saw (!) are among the prized possessions presented by Joshua Glenn and Carol Hayes in Taking Things Seriously: 75 Objects With Unexpected Significance. The authors assembled this nicely photographed “wonder cabinet” from the collections of artsy friends such as author Luc Sante, illustrator Tony Millionaire and graphic designer William Drenttel. It’s a fun read that inspires serious questions about how our own stuff gives our lives and relationships meaning. Available at 57th Street Books, 1301 E 57th St at Kimbark Ave (773-684-1300) ;$17.50.—LW