Japan - Limited Edition

The Limited Edition of Japan is already on the website. Looks grand and fabulous. Seems like a must buy for me. It is due in May 2012.

http://www.foliosociety.com/book/JPN

They are two gorgeous books in their individual slipcases.

Oh I must say this limited edition looks really beautiful. Though I myself will be skipping it. It would be hard for me to justify such a price for a set I do not really have any interest in.

Seems like the folio has been upgrading their presentation skills with this LE on their website. Looks great.

Done gone clicked it through!!!

Curse you, you sexy Japan!!!!

Now. What to sell... kidney, nephew...

Looking at the earlier editions available on Abe, it seems there have been sixteen editions (or reprints) from 1897, in ten or fifteen volumes, because there were two series, with and without photographs (or one without "large" or hand-coloured photographs, it's not easy to make full sense from various sellers' descriptions). Furthermore, different editions (or reprints) have had different limitations, from 1000 to as low as 250, the deluxe "Mikado" edition. I can't figure out what's the deal with limitations, which editions they refer to, some sellers list 750, 450 etc. (all with the publication date of 1897).

As single volumes from the 1897 edition start at 100 USD, and the cheapest full set is more than twice the Folio price... why, it's a bargain! Or so I'll be telling myself for months to come.

At any rate, going by those prices I'd never be able to afford (or willing to pay for maybe) a fine original "Mikado" set.

I do wish they had reproduced the deluxe edition's original cover, though:

> 4

Excellent research...I must say :-)

Never again!!

:)

Astonishing photography! Though I suspect most are obviously staged, I love these type of photographs that capture such a moment in the past. .

I am informed that this book is not available to me, either because of my geographic location (U.S.) or member status (full member, with no unfulfilled commitments). Hmmm.....

I can see it (US as well) so sounds like either you need to clean cookies and see if that will help or ask them why the site thinks you are not a full member :)

Sigh, gasp, swoon, tremble and a spindle of drool (not on the books, mind). If only I had a lazy $1300 kicking around.

I think it looks fabulous, but it's way beyond my means.

I must admit that the subject matter does not interest me much. However, the fact that the LE looks gorgeous is not helping. It is not helping at all.

#7

Yes, they are all (or most) studio photographs, it says so in the booklet on the site (PDF).

Remember, this was made in days long before the image saturation we suffer through nowadays--short of going to Japan, something like these albums would have been the only way to "see" it. Apart from the greater technical ease of studio photography, there was also the possibility of "stuffing" the pictures with as many details as desired. The goal was more educational than documentary, I think.

For me this is a perfect dream-book, an object of meditation. For some others it would be nothing but a glorified album of old photos--not a position to knock, those get to save money! :)

It is indeed a beautiful set and the bindings are stunning. But my current commitment to the Polar regions has frozen me out of the running for the immediate future.

I don't expect this will sell out very fast...

15 > I agree, with that price and what seems to me to be a very niche topic.

Hmm, you think this is niche? I feel the opposite--as themes go, I'd say Japan is one of the most popular. What about the Polar expedition LE, or the medieval facsimiles etc.--I'd expect that sort of thing to have a much narrower appeal. That's if we consider the widest public, of course. The subset of collectors of fine books might have a different pattern of taste.

No, I expect this to be a slow(er) seller precisely because all things Japan ARE popular, so there's a flood of material out there, enough to make comparisons tempting, at least out of financial reasons.

High limitation and high cost points to a long availability. More expensive than I was expecting/hoping but I did know it was coming and that I wanted a copy so it looks like I'll be using the 10 month payment plan.

Binding etc magnificent, but the content is of absolutely no interest, so this is a very easy decision. TBH, very few of the LEs have grabbed me of late: lots of lovely presentation but they seem to be mostly for gazing at rather than reading.

17 > I shouldn't make assumptions about what people would be interested in, I should say I have no interest in this at all :)

This is one of the few LEs I do actually have interest in. Problem is that now I need to think about which LE to acquire first...

Fascinating images - the promotional envelope arrived here this morning - but their potential for me is quite rapidly drained (which probably says more about me than about the photographs) and I'm not tempted to own the volumes. That's just as well seeing that Blake's illustrated Gray may not be far from publication, I doubt I'll manage to put that purchase off for long. Japan does seem among the Society's more venturesome productions as regards the fine press market, I too won't be surprised if the limitation takes a good few years to sell.

The brochure announcing this new LE is beautiful. The images included are themselves outstanding (the ink smell on the paper is heady). For all its remarkable impact, I can't see myself ordering a copy. It's too static.
And I wish they would stop referring in FS announcements to editions 'strictly limited to...' How is that different from just 'limited'?

>23

I can answer your conundrum. In the United States our government has a debt ceiling limit but it is in no way "strictly" limited.

> 24

Thanks, podaniel. I guess I'll have to go along with Humpty Dumpty on this one...

Judging by the original run, in publishing "limited" doesn't necessarily mean "forever and never again". There were multiple editions/printings, all individually "limited" to some number of copies.

So maybe FS' insistence on "strictly" limited reinforces the idea that THIS edition indeed is one and only, never to be repeated. Btw, they do say "never to be repeated" somewhere, don't they?

I thought it was a stock phrase with most LEs so far.

> 26

It may be stated somewhere. In fact, 'limited edition' is used several times also. Another 'detail' in the postcript of the letter is that of the 1000 copies 500 are available for reservation now.

Looks like I am not the only one not really inspired by this LE. It is beautiful and looks stunning, but the subject does not interest me enough to shell out such a large sum of money. The “pictorial” LE’s (as opposed to the literary ones), whilst beautiful, rarely make me want to buy them.

I wish I could have a sheet of the paper used for the endpapers.

Who/What are the previous publishers/editions of this book? I assume it must have been published several times before? Or has it been out of print since it's first publication?

J. B. Millet of Boston (no, I hadn't heard of them either ;) ) Originally published in 1897, and from a quick scan of Abebooks' current offerings it perhaps wasn't republished after a cheaper edition produced in 1904. It's available now in print-on-demand form, which sounds an even less adequate prospect for this title than it generally is.

>31. Thanks for the info. I'm gonna check out Abe.

>28

Thinking the same, for Photography books , they are too many publisher who can provide same or better product with considerably lower price.

Besides, hand-color photo is much like a low-fi recording. it give almost the same sound quality on a million dollar hi-fi system and a 100 dollars system.

> 26,27
http://www.foliosociety.com/pages/about-limited-editions

#33

I suppose the original must be out of copyright if POD versions are available, but I'm not aware of any other edition except the announced Folio's. Not so far at least.

I'm curious, why do you think someone else might provide a better (but cheaper) product than the Folio LE? Cheaper I wouldn't contest, but better--how?

>35

My comment are largely referring to books in the Photography genre. since this one fall into this category, IMHO, I was judging it with the same criteria.

I am not sure if others publisher had provided this particular volume. but looking for the works of original photographer T. ENAMI. KIMBEI, TAMAMURA, and several others, should find some more options, maybe a japanese publisher.

For T.Enami : http://www.t-enami.org/

Is a pity that the original contributor didn't get mention along with this book.

Handed color photo do not has the high dynamic that call for the best reproduction technique. for a photography book to be better in quality, bindings alone is not enough, they have to reproduce the dynamic .

For the question about better-how, i would recommend LE photography book from Little Brown, or Nazraeli press ( for michael kenna Japan, huangsan..etc) ,and many other that targeting fine-art artist , they normally fall into the price range of around 100 USD.

Oh, that's a fantastic link, thanks so much! I'd love those stereoscopic slides!!

I hope they'll let me hotlink this:



That's one of the Japan-described... sets! So the FS binding design does refer to the original (or one of the original) covers more directly after all!

kafkachen, I'd certainly be glad to pay less for more (or the same), but this is only making me more impatient for the LE. However, if you dig out a cheaper edition by May, PLEASE let us know. ;)

>38

You are welcome, you have make this LE grows on me too. ; )

Looks great but I would prefer solandar box to slipcases.

Has there ever been a set like this for China? The Japan LE looks beautiful but after living in Taiwan and Hong Kong for 5 years I'd prefer China.

Edit: I see that FS did A History of Chinese Civilisation in 2003 but it isn't the same quality

>41

During that era, china was severely damaged by war..... I don't think you can find anything close to this.

Hundred thousands of antique books were burn away by the japanese alone. but that is off topic...

My Japan has changed status to "at warehouse". Perhaps they ship a little earlier then indicated.

Even mine has changed to "at warehouse" :-)

Hurray! My copy with limitation number four arrived a few days ago in a sturdy box as is common with Folio LEs. The two volumes are absolutely stunning. In my opinion one of the most beautiful books Folio has published, somewhat comparable to The Holy Land and Egypt and Nubia. I really like these old style hand painted pictures. There are not just pictures, both volumes also have large text bodies. Due to their size the books are of course not so easy to handle. Books are an interesting read, it is a subject I care about, I suppose that helps.

Pictures you say? Yes, I have made some pictures of questionable quality. My camera clearly does not love me. Rest assured, it is mutual.














Japan is actually quiet large. Two more pictures for a size comparison with Moby Dick and a Roberts volume.

>45 Congratulations and thanks for posting the pictures! I thought I would pass on this LE but your pictures got me rethinking my position.

>45 Thank you for the pictures. I was already thinking of purchasing this edition, but I will place my order sooner now. Wonderful edition and indeed: beautiful photos

Slightly OT, but did Folio produce the copy of the Iliad/Odyssey in the background?

and by produce, I mean distribute...

>49. I assume you are referring to that black Iliad & Odyssey set. It is not a Folio publication, the books are published by Chester River Press (http://www.chesterriverpress.com/). A nice edition that I can recommend. Good value for money. You can find that set pretty cheap on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006G8071W/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

Also, you can find more info here: http://booksandvines.com/2012/02/09/the-iliad-and-odyssey-by-homer-chester-river... for some reason the books in the review do not have their black dust jackets. No clue as to why the dust jackets are not photographed.

>50 Because I took them off previously, as I like these better without them...forgot to put them back on before taking pictures and am too lazy to re-shoot them! :-)

I notice from the great photos that there are also 20 lettered "Hors Commerce" copies.

Is this common with the limited editions?

Do these copies ever come up for sale on the secondhand market?

>52 yes and yes

>50 Thaks for the feedback.

I've seen one set at a used bookstore and I couldn't justify having a millionth set of the Iliad and The Odyssey though the pictures at B&V makes me re-think this a little. I'm not sure I would like the Pope translation, after reading the beauty that is Fitzgerald.

I also don't like that Pope uses Roman gods and not Greek ones.

Homer's Gods should be Greek and Virgil's should be Roman, IMO.

It looks beautiful. And large as well -I did not expect it to be that size and for some reason I had the idea that it was a more compact volume.

> 54
Thanks for the warning on the Pope versions. I too would be annoyed throughout while reading Greek classics which made anachronistic references to the Roman pantheon. This one will need to be avoided for me.

> 54, 56

A word in defence of Pope. The Pope translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey are classics in their own right. Popes translations are beautiful - but I admit they are as much (if not more) Pope than Homer (and Pope is one of my favorite poets). I have them in the EP versions and I love them - in fact, the Pope versions would be my choice for a "desert island Homer".

> 50, 55, 56

I have ordered the books as a special edition to have of these classics. An incredible bargain at Amazon. Don't have any preference for an English translation, and having the Greek facing the English is an extra bonus.

> 58

I've just ordered this as well. I don't currently have the Pope translation and, from the examples up on Books and Vines, it reads beautifully. I have plenty more literal translations, and this beautiful edition is very welcome. And the illustrations are stunning. I don't have space for it, but that's another question.

> 59

Exactly my own train of thought, Jonathan. Thanks to ExportFrisian for the link and to Books and Vines blog for the excellent review on the edition. It's just hopeless to try to resist so many temptations.

As an anecdote I might add that, on checking the publisher's webpage, I found two typos which I reported and were promptly corrected...

>58, 59 I couldn't resits the offer from Amazon either and ordered the Chester River Set too.

How much does this Iliad and Odyssey set usually cost? I came across it in a bookshop near uni recently for $100 and thought it sounded like a good price, so I bought it.

Just an aside here, EP published a really great "Oedipus the King" version with the original Greek on one side and English on the other.

Beautiful illustrations too...

It's part of the 100 Greatest series and worth checking out, IMO.

I just received my copy of "Japan" (very fast delivery this time!), and it is #268. I'm very much impressed by the beauty of the paper, print quality and photos. A true gem that will give me endless browsing pleasure.

>64 Congratulations friso_geerlings! I am still considering buying this LE but I expect the de Brailes facsimile to be available soon and I am trying to save some money for that LE.

Today I received my copy of the Iliad & Odyssey set from Chester River Press. Two really impressive books and I am looking forward to read the Alexander Pope translation after reading both works in the Fitzgerald version last year. I was positively surprised to discover that the slipcase comes with sag protection similar to the FS Roberts volumes. I wonder if the FS Japan set has slipcases with sag protection too.

>65 Japan does not have sag protection in the slipcases. Unfortunately not, best is to store the books flat.

Yes, the upcoming LE Vellum Leaves by William de Brailes is also on my interest list. Not sure what format that LE will be in though. Given the name Vellum Leaves does indeed not suggest a publication in the form of a book like a psalter or a book of hours, probably a collection of some miniatures in a solander box with a companion volume (I have seen a picture, not sure where). Rumour has that the Vellum Leaves are indeed printed on real vellum. Somewhere in Joe's blog I read that the Vellum Leaves will be priced in the same price range as the Luttrell Psalter before, around £1000. A bit pricey. Let's see, publication is somewhere in June.

Wow, it's huge and heavy. Has anyone added this set to their LT library? I didn't see anything when I looked and ended up adding it manually. Unfortunately, LT doesn't even see anyone else's set as a possible work combination.