Question about older vs newer Easton press publications
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1WinterGloaming
Hello
I have been looking around on the web on books that have been published by various companies that seem to put forward nicer then the average edition one might expect to come across in regular shops etc, and so I have put my eyes on Easton Press.
In that regard I have two questions that I would like to ask the ones that have indepth knowledge about the publications of Easton Press.
1.
It has come to my attention by reading this forum that many of the Easton Press publications are very or all identical to the ones of Heritage Press is this true?
2. Independently whether the above is true or not, how similar are the publications of the same title within the Easton Press company, like a book being sold today, recently printed might have been printed by Easton Press in the 70`s, is the translation the same and does the same go for the illustrations?
I would be thankful for some replies :-)
I have been looking around on the web on books that have been published by various companies that seem to put forward nicer then the average edition one might expect to come across in regular shops etc, and so I have put my eyes on Easton Press.
In that regard I have two questions that I would like to ask the ones that have indepth knowledge about the publications of Easton Press.
1.
It has come to my attention by reading this forum that many of the Easton Press publications are very or all identical to the ones of Heritage Press is this true?
2. Independently whether the above is true or not, how similar are the publications of the same title within the Easton Press company, like a book being sold today, recently printed might have been printed by Easton Press in the 70`s, is the translation the same and does the same go for the illustrations?
I would be thankful for some replies :-)
2wailofatail
With regard to your first question, Easton Press acquired Heritage Press' copyrights and subsequently republished many of the titles with leather bindings, moire end-sheets, sewn-in silk ribbon page markers, and gilded page edges, which the original Heritage Press editions did not have. It is my understanding as well that the Heritage Press editions were typically signed by the illustrator. There has been some discussion in this group regarding the quality of Easton Press' reproductions of the illustrations and from that, in the case of Beowulf, at least, E/P appears to have cut some corners.
The answer to your second question is more difficult. Easton Press has published the same title in different editions for different collections as well as the same title in the same edition for different collections. Generally speaking, books from their masterpiece collections, i.e. 'The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written', 'Masterpieces Of American Literature' (now retired), and 'The Collector's Library Of Famous Editions' (nearly retired), the books were larger and seem to have more heft. With the exception of special presentation type books, these are the hallmark of Easton Press and the best editions you will find with regard to quality from Easton Press.
Easton Press has, in some cases 'had', secondary collections based on themes such as 'The Masterpieces Of Science Fiction', 'The Library Of Military History', or 'The Library Of American History', which were typically smaller in size and/or lacked moire endsheets and/or illustrations.
As mentioned, Easton Press has recently discontinued some of their long-standing collections. However, their '100 Greatest Books Ever Written' collection survives and to my knowledge, books published for this collection are the same edition, quality, format, content, etc. as they have been since they were originally published. They have changed the designs on, and the colors of, the leather covers in many instances and collector's have preferences for one design or color over another but that is really the only difference of which I can think between the old and new from a particular collection.
Hope this helps. Have fun! Beware!
The answer to your second question is more difficult. Easton Press has published the same title in different editions for different collections as well as the same title in the same edition for different collections. Generally speaking, books from their masterpiece collections, i.e. 'The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written', 'Masterpieces Of American Literature' (now retired), and 'The Collector's Library Of Famous Editions' (nearly retired), the books were larger and seem to have more heft. With the exception of special presentation type books, these are the hallmark of Easton Press and the best editions you will find with regard to quality from Easton Press.
Easton Press has, in some cases 'had', secondary collections based on themes such as 'The Masterpieces Of Science Fiction', 'The Library Of Military History', or 'The Library Of American History', which were typically smaller in size and/or lacked moire endsheets and/or illustrations.
As mentioned, Easton Press has recently discontinued some of their long-standing collections. However, their '100 Greatest Books Ever Written' collection survives and to my knowledge, books published for this collection are the same edition, quality, format, content, etc. as they have been since they were originally published. They have changed the designs on, and the colors of, the leather covers in many instances and collector's have preferences for one design or color over another but that is really the only difference of which I can think between the old and new from a particular collection.
Hope this helps. Have fun! Beware!
3astropi
1)As wail noted, quite a few EP publications are very similar to the Heritage Press (especially in the 100 Greatest and Famous Editions), but not identical (EP has leather binding, etc). However, keep in mind that EP also has many books that Heritage press never published. Some of the volumes in the Famous Editions you will not find by the Heritage Press or LEC. Also, nearly all the books in the Masterpieces of Science Fiction were never published by Heritage Press (the only exception I can think of is The Martian Chronicles), and these have exclusive commissioned artwork. EP also has numerous other books that were never published by Heritage (Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Burton's 1001 Nights, etc).
2)Yes, some of the books published (particularly from the 100 Greatest) are nearly identical to those published years ago. However, there likely are some slight changes over the years. Keep in mind that many EP books do go out of print. Just because a book was published as part of the 100 Greatest years ago, does not guarantee that it still in print.
4kdweber
2> Actually the Heritage Press editions are unsigned. The Heritage Press was the mass market version of the Limited Editions Club which were generally signed by the illustrator and limited to 1500 copies. You can visit the George Macy devotees group to find out much more about the LEC and HP editions.
1> As the others have already noted, the EP produces many volumes that are not reprints of the HP and LEC.
1> As the others have already noted, the EP produces many volumes that are not reprints of the HP and LEC.
5wailofatail
>4 kdweber: As an E/P collector who does not own a single Heritage Press or Limited Editions Club book (and dare I say Folio Society book either?) I get fuzzy on facts when I stray outside my realm. Thank you for correcting me. Now that you've stated it correctly my brain says, "Ahh, yes ... that's right!"
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