DLE Aesop's Fables

Another nice deluxe set by Easton Press. Nice marbled endpapers with gilding around the edges, which I really like. Lots of illustrations, but they only appear at the beginning of each fable, and are not very large. The announced limitation was 600, but was dropped to 300 sets, perhaps not enough pre-orders. They are not nearly as large as I had expected, I guess after receiving Ovid's, I was expecting, bigger books. Bound in cowhide instead of pigskin as the other limiteds. These photos have been moved to the photo album. Click the pic.

2721 The Fables of Aesop: /300 4@$125.00 ($500.00)

Beautiful books! I wonder if those gorgeous marbled endpapers are acid-free.

Nice!!!

Curse you Wootle, I just said no photos!!!

Must resist, must resist, must resist...

Double curses on you, Wootle (The Cagliostro of Easton Press DLEs)...the rest of us slaver and salivate with envy!!!

Triple curses on you, Wootle.

I need to get this now.

> 6

Having said that, I have just noticed that as an 18th Century text it has those damned "f" instead of "s". I appreciate it's a beautiful antiquarian reprint, but I find 18th century texts unreadable because of this (same as the Ovid, which has tempted me, but which I passed over for the same reason). I love beautiful books but they still have to be readable for me, otherwise there is no point.

>7 Quicksilver66: David, the "f" instead of "s" are not that bad, just something to get used to. But I do understand your concern. I'm trying to find a fine edition of Blackstone's The Commentaries on the Laws of England

> 8

Your right Ironjaw - you probably get used to the "f" after a while. I must admit to still being tempted - they do look like beautiful books. The marbled end papers are stunning.

Good luck with Blackstone. You know, he was the first lawyer to explain the Common Law to the common man. Lawyers have never forgiven him for that !!

7-- I started reading it right away and didn't even notice the "f"s for a couple of paragraphs. It's easy to read.

>7 Quicksilver66:, I agree with you, Quicksilver. I am so happy that we now use "s" instead of "f". It makes words like "suck" much more politically correct than their antiquarian cousins.

Thanks for posting the photos, W. -- I was beginning to feel guilty about not posting some of my own.

You are not alone at being surprised by the size. Although the size is printed on the brochure, I too had somehow formed the opinion that they would be an inch or two larger...

That said, the books are in no way a disappointment.

Thanks for the photos Wootle!

2: most likely. You can always call or email EP and ask, they will find an answer for you!

> 11

Indeed - that would be embarassing.

I am wobbling and quite possibly I am going to order this lovely set.

> 14

I have now wobbled over the edge and ordered Aesop and Ovid. I am looking forward to both, despite those pesky "f's".

Wootle - bless you my friend. Long may you continue to put temptation our way with your great photographs.

Quicksilver, I am confident you will not be disappointed by Ovid (excepting possibly the storage/display issues arising from their size). That has been my favorite DLE so far...but keep in mind I missed out on both the Chaucer and the Crusades, much to my chagrin. I stupidly decided a three week trip to London (my first!) for my 40th birthday was a higher priority. Now I wish I had just spent the money. I would live with far less regret today.

I decided not to order Aesop, though, as it just doesn't seem special enough to justify the price, especially for its size. Ovid is a bargain by comparison. So I am most grateful for all the pics!

> 16

Thanks UK_History_Fan. I am really looking forward to the Ovid. From the pictures, it looks magnificent. I think it's great that EP are making this historic editions available in affordable editions.

Never regret foreign travel. I hope you enjoyed your trip to London and that's not why you are dissapointed. I love London, but then I was born there and so I am quite prejudiced on the subject. Like any "mega city" it has it's high points and it's low points.

Wootle,

Thanks for posting the pictures. It looks like a lovely set. One question: are the illustrations printed on the page or tipped in?

They are tipped in, a little thicker paper.

After following the discussion, I have ordered the Aesop. And yes, the new Folio Society's year is about to start...
Beans and potatoes for the next 4 months...

16: I personally think every DLE is "worth" ordering. I do not have that kind of money, and in fact I don't desire to collect all the DLEs, however from what I've seen of the pics, I think the Aesop is certainly "special" and worth the cost! Since only 300 copies were made, and since it is Aesop, I predict that this edition will sell out fairly quickly. My advice to anyone considering this, order soon (sadly, EP does not reimburse me for all the free advertisement I give them :)

I wonder if EP will go along the fairy-tale route for upcoming DLEs... First Aesop, then Grimm perhaps? Or Anderson? Or both!

I apologize in advance for asking a silly question, but how does the DLE compare to the Aesop's Book from the 100 Greatest Books series? I realize it is two volumes and appears to be larger, but what else differentiates it? I did not receive the flyer on this one (for some reason, they keep sending me flyers on the Beatles).

I am really on the fence on this one. I am not even sure I remember reading any of these fables when I was younger, so I actually do not know if I even like them (probably time to do a little research on the stories I guess).

22: I know that the book from the 100 Greatest only lists a partial fraction of the fables found in the DLE. Also, I don't know about the translations, but I imagine the styles are somewhat different (the DLEs tend to be more "traditional" whereas the books from the 100 Greatest seem to be modernized in general). Also, the 100 Greatest obviously does not have the gorgeous illustrations that are in the DLE. Without actually seeing the DLE, that's the best I can tell you :)
I did have the Aesop from the 100 Greatest, and although nice, it was far from complete and the illustrations were not particularly striking (in my opinion).

Thank you astropi. I was honestly hoping you were going to tell me that there wasn't much difference, other than it was spread over two volumes and to not spend any money on this DLE. The pictures Wootle posted above look really nice (actually, I think all the pictures that I have seen of his look really nice). I also like a mixture of traditional and modern translations.

I do really like the illustrations that EP includes in its DLE's and most of its other books for that matter. Maybe one day somebody can explain why these illustrations are so addicting and can compel one to purchase a book (even if it's a different version of an EP book they already own). I spend so little time actually looking at the illustrations in my book, at least relative to reading them, but feel like I am missing out on something if I don’t purchase them to have in our library.

>22 constantine325:: There is a scan of the flyer here. The 'Limited Edition' is a facsimile of the 1793 edition. The '100 Greatest' is a re-print of the of the LEC/HP edition with a translation by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Dawson. The 'Limited Edition' is "profusely illustrated with over 450 engravings", to quote the title page, which is significantly more illustrations than the '100 Greatest' edition. This edition is limited to just 300 copies. The '100 Greatest' edition has been reprinted so many times that McDonalds is currently in negotiations with E/P to use them in lieu of napkins. And then there are the enhancements ... slipcase, hand-made marbled endpapers, gilded borders on the inside boards, etc.

25: tsk tsk Wail...
While I know that EP has reprinted the 100 Greatest numerous times, I certainly would not consider it "cheap" and common like McDonalds :) Although you could argue that it is unhealthy, since after your first book you'll want to get more and more... and before you know it you're hooked! In fact, I heard EP costumer service is now supposed to ask "Would you like a DLE with that?"

19: Wootle, the illustrations do not look tipped in to me. Could you please check, or am I just missing something? From the photos you posted, it looks like they are plates, and not tipped in. I thought tipped in meant as in Meditations (where the art is actually on a separate layer).

25: I think there are 112 images. Still far more than in the 100 Greatest, but obviously far less than 450.

Meditations actually has tipped in pages with hand mounted plates. Tipped in just means an extra page that is glued in afterwards. All of the auto pages are tipped in. They tipped in these illustrations because they are printed on heavier paper than the text.

Gotcha! Thanks for teaching me :)
By the way, on a purely personal scale, how does the DLE strike you?

I think it is a little plain, and a little overpriced. I know it is a reproduction, and only so much they could have done with it. I think it should have been cheaper, say $300. I also think I have become spoiled with all these DLE, so I have come to expect "incredible" every time.

More to 28-- Tipped in is always easy to see if you hold the page itself and look on both sides at the spine, one side will be glued to the page next to it, usually the one in front. Of course you probably knew that.

30: indeed. I guess if they keep providing huge, gorgeous editions, we expect everything to just keep being huge and gorgeous. I expect the cost is higher in this edition because of the hand-tipped pages. Still, this is Aesop. I think the man definitely deserves a DLE. I hope they also do some DLE fairy-tales...

I would love to see an incredible small volume, like, 2.5" x 4". Don't know what it should be, but something truly exquisite.

33: I think a lot of older religious books are like that. Not sure how exciting a DLE they would make. I personally would like to see EP produce DLEs that are similar to LEC books in that they have original illustrations and are signed by the artist!

33>

Perhaps a single fairy tale by Pushkin, illustrated with Palekh miniatures

That would look nice.

Talking of small, does anyone have any Eastons smaller than the Fairy books? They are 7.5" x 5" x 1.5"

The poetry library that EP produced (some copies might still be available) were the smallest EP books that I know of. Smaller than the Fairy books.

Just checked:

4 1/4" x 6 1/2"

I see the Great British Poetry set is 6.5" x 4.25", is the other set even smaller or the same?

I found it, they are the same as the British set.

>36 Wootle:

I don't have any, but aren't the Peterson Field Guides pretty small?

The field guides are 7.5" x 5" also, I have about a dozen of them.

The smallest Easton Press book that I've ever seen is Quotations from Mao Tse-Tung from the Books that Changed the World series.

ETA: Accord to WorldCat, this book is 18 cm, which would make it slightly larger than the poetry books. I'll have to check when I get home...

This one? http://cgi.ebay.com/EASTON-PRESS-COLLECT-ED-Quotations-Charman-Mao-Tse-Tung-/150...

They state 7 x 4.75

So the poetry sets are still smaller.

Ah, I was editing my message above as you posted...

I believe you all may have overlooked this one. You may not have seen it yet since it's just been announced as the next DLE:

I hope they charge by the pound for that one.

>27 astropi:: Now you know my little secret .... ((( I can't read ))).

>36 Wootle:: The Merriam-Webster Pocket Dictionary and Pocket Thesaurus are only 4"x 6", smaller than the pocket poetry books.

The compact size of the Aesop LE is one of the factors that has attracted me to it. I prefer smaller book. As my wife often says, bigger is not always better.

I have received my Aesop about one month ago, No 191.
Fine and thick binding but they look a bit like oversized Harvard Classics.
My limitation paper mentions 300 copies although the EP website mentions now 600 copies!
So they decided to increase the number, lowering the production cost.
Is it acceptable? Should we complain, send them back or appreciate them like they are?
Could it be a mistake?

48-- The limitation was not increased, it was decreased to 300. They didn't change the website to coincide with production.

The Aesop volumes are thoroughly charming and beautifully bound. The endpapers are amazing. I enjoy these facsimiles of historic editions. I have even got used to those pesky f/s.

> 49

This is a good news. So it is a mistake.
> 50
I would agree with the incredible endpaper and the quality of the binding is great.
What f/s mean ?

> 51

It’s the 18th century English use of an “f” for an “s”. I found it very distracting at first but after a while it becomes second nature.

What you are referring to is the 'medial s' -- which stems from the long-discontinued practice of using a different character for 's' at the end of words than that used at the beginning or middle of words. In modern English typography, we use only the 'terminal s'.

Really wierd to the modern eye are words ending in a double s -- which were once spelled with a 'medial s' followed by a 'terminal s' -- Yikes!

> 53
Interesting Silent, I never noticed the pattern that the "f-like s" was only at the end of words! I just assumed it was how all "S" were printed.

I read Blackstone's Commentaries of the laws of England a long time ago, not a popular work to start with if you have never noticed f/s but as David mentioned you get used to it.

Edit: just realised that I have already mentioned this in message >8 ironjaw: above, lol. Oh and for reasons explained in >7 Quicksilver66: above by David, I have not ordered Aesop nor Ovid, although you do get used to it, it's just not my cup of tea

>54 UK_History_Fan:

Actually, the 'medial s' (or, the "f-like-s", if you like) was used everywhere except the ends of words.

You can see this in the photos of the EP DLE Aesop's Fables included in message #1 above. Check out the spelling of mistresses (miftreffes) in Fable I and Ass (Afs) in Fable V (the second word in the text, not the title--which is in upper-case).

Also, for those of you who haven't noticed, it's not really an 'f' being used in place of the 's', but rather a mutant character that looks like an 'f' for which the crossbar does not actually cross the stem (according to Wikipedia, it is based on the upper-case 's' used in Old Roman Cursive). You can compare the two characters using the photo of Fable XXIII (again, in message #1). Compare the 'f' in "faint" with the 'medial s' that appears in many other words on that page.

> 53 - 56

Thanks FilentInAWay. I had not underftood the hiftory behind this ufage. Very confufing. But yes, after reading a page or two of Aefop and Ovid’s Metamorphofes it becomes fecond nature. Its obvioufly appropriate in a facfimilie and has period charm.

But thofe endpapers are fpectacular and worth the admiffion price alone.

Obfolefcent fpelling? -- fuch fillinefs, fuch fenfeleffnefs -- for fhame, fixty-fix!

>52 Quicksilver66: - 57
Thanks. We have the same in old French.
I am sorry to learn that Quickfilver66 lost all his front teeth!

Reading through my Fables this morning I came to Fable XVIII on page 75, “The Swallow and Other Birds”. Unlike all the proceeding fables this one had no illustration plate attached. I wondered if this was an error. I noticed that the limitation page said that over the two volumes there were 112 illustrations. I then counted 114 fables in the two volumes on the contents pages, so it does seem that two fables are not illustrated and The Swallow may be the first of these. However, to put my mind at rest, could one of you with this book check that your copy is the same.

Thanks.

> 59

Thats exactly how I read the Aesop at first - as if I had lost my teeth.

>60 Quicksilver66:

Are you sure you counted right? The table of content shows 110 fables, the last one being Fable CX, "The Tortoise
and the Eagle. I have an illustration before page 75.

I also have an illustration pre 75. There should be 110 fables.

> 60
Uh-oh, David. I also have an illustration before "The Swallow and Other Birds." It appears to be of a farmer sowing seeds in a field. Quick, get that replaced before it sells out!!!!

>60 Quicksilver66:
I have the illustration facing p 75.
There are 110 fables and 2 title pages, that makes the count.

Damn. Ok, thanks. I will have to ask for a replacement copy. What a pain. You had all better check through your copies to check whether or not you have missing illustrations.

This should not happen with a LE. So far I have bought 5 EP LE’s and 3 have had issues. The Gullivers Travels is a write off, the binding on Fahrenheit 451 split after one reading and now Aesop. All 3 have come from BindTech and they seem to be the culprits. True, my Metamorphoses is BindTech and that seems ok. Romance of King Arthur was bound by Kingsport, and that’s damn near perfect. EP should drop BindTech and only use Kingsport.

> 66
OMG, David, I had no idea you were having so many issues with the DLE books from Easton. I was only aware of the Gulliver's Travels. Did you ever get your replacement copy of that?

I also am saddened about this because clearly this isn't a case of you just having "bad luck." After my own disastrous experience with Gulliver's Travels, I have to believe it is an issue of poor quality control and even poorer vendor selection.

I would demand to speak with someone higher up than just "customer service" when you call them, perhaps the person in charge of the Deluxe Limited Edition program. I fear that the message is not getting fed back to them. Then again, perhaps it is, and they just don't care. One of my biggest complaints about EP is that is a soulless private for-profit secretive corporation (ok, MBI is) which just brings to mind all kinds of evil thoughts and images. If it wasn't for the usual nice book they produce, and if the Franklin Library was still around to compete with them, I would drop them as a source of books.

I think they used to be a great company. But lately, I have had more disappointments than delights.

> 67

I feel the same way, Sean. Problems can happen but 3 out of 5 is to frequent to be a coincidence. I am happy with my 100 Greatest subscription - the books are inexpensive, well designed and modestly priced. The EP LE programme has some great titles but there have been too many quality issues for this to be a coincidence. I just don’t think they care enough. I don’t get the feeling that they “eat, breathe and live fine editions” and that they are just an arm of some faceless novelty company.

I want to love EP but I am feeling a bit hacked of at the moment. It would not be so bad if I was US based, but the books take on average 5 to 7 weeks to get to the UK and you can’t track them. So that’s a long wait for a replacement copy. And no, I have still not yet received my replacement Gullivers Travels.

David, I understand your concern. I have a small hole in one of the pages at the start of the Farenheit 451 which I only realized after inspecting it. It is quite irritating finding such faults because of the huge backlog I have I don't get to open and inspect all books that I buy. FS are on this part a bit better on quality control I must say.

> 69

Hi Faisel. Yes, it is frustrating. From now on I am going to make sure I carefully examine every book I receive so if there are any faults I detect them at an early stage. With Fahrenheit I only found the fault after all the copies had sold out so I would not be able to get a replacement.

> 70
I hope you contacted them David, they still should have refunded your money if you cannot get a replacement from them. With your full refund, you could have bought one in the secondary market (albeit at a mark-up, but better than owning a defective copy).

> 70

I have emailed them Sean, but of course I won’t hear back until Monday. I don’t think it’s sold out yet though - I would be surprised if it has sold out.

> 71, 72
sorry, I meant you should have demanded a full refund on Fahrenheit 451! I don't care if it is beyond the 30 days. Act like your beligerant American "cousin" and be demanding. Escalate to a supervisor if needed.

> 73

You are right, but I feel that I ordered it such a long time ago that the time is now past for complaining. The problem is that when I buy a book it could be a while, even a few years until I get around to reading it, and by then it's too late.

I agree it is probably too late, but you won't know unless you ask and given this was an expensive limited edition, you have an extensive account history, and you have encountered multiple problems, they might just be inclined to make an exception. I just don't imagine them saying "oops, sorry our heirloom edition book fell to pieces in your hands, if only you'd notified us in the first 30 days....". Given that this title is sold out perhaps they would consider a credit against your next DLE purchase which would be the smart business move, even for the soulless evil empire of MBI!!!!

EP have told me that they are looking into this to establish whether or not there is a missing illustration for this page. We know there is, of course. Hopefully they will get back to me shortly.

> 76
WTF? That makes no sense to me. What could they possibly be looking into? Your copy has a missing illustration and everyone else who responded to your question did not. So whatever they check (I am assuming just another copy of the book) will not have a missing illustration which proves nothing since yours is missing it. What am I missing here?

>77 UK_History_Fan:: I'm guessing the customer service phone rep. has no idea if there should or shouldn't be an illustration on any given blank page and rather than take the customer's word for it, (since she has no clue how informed the customer is,) she wants to check with the warehouse folks before committing to sending a new copy. I've seen some books ship with special notices explaining that what might seem to be a defect to uninformed customers was actually produced that way intentionally. I remember the first time I received a copy of a book with tipped in photos, the The Wind In The Willows, I believe. I thought E/P hadn't put enough glue on the photos because they were somewhat loose.

>78 wailofatail:: I've noticed that effect with some other EP titles that have tipped-in pictures. I guess the procedure must involve applying just enough glue (or whatever material they use) to the center of each plate to set them in place, and no more, so as to avoid the glue damaging the plates and paper? -So the edges appear to be (and in fact are) "loose".

> 78, 79
Which is precisely why I despise the look of tipped in photos. Shame that this less aesthetically pleasing method of illustration should be considered more luxurious and gravitate to the high end books.

> 80

It is odd, but tipped in illustrations have always been regarded as a sign of luxury in high end books.

EP have asked me to return the damaged Aesop and they will pay my postage. They have let me keep Gulliver’s Travels - I now have two damaged copies with a third on the way. What am I going to do with them !!!!

Send me one, haha :-)

> 82

With pleasure Faisel. PM me with your mailing address.

Leery of the Gulliver's Travels DLE, I purchased on the cheap a Heron edition for around 5 dollars. The illustrations are from 1899 (I can't recall the artist) but for an introductory its pretty great. I can imagine a more copiously illustrated edition would have even more impact. I'm finding its one of those books that is so picturesque, an artist could certainly have a field day sketching away at it.

>60 Quicksilver66: (and following): In my Vol. 1 of Aesop, at the end of Fable XLII ("The Fox and the Wolf"), the end of the sentence on page 172 is missing (along with the remainder of that fable's "Application"?). Another uncorrected printing error? -or the replication of an error in the original 1793 printing? Could others please check their copies? (Dear me, I hope not to have to request a replacement like Quicksilver did!)

I guess it's from the original printing, I have the same incomplete sentence.

> 85

I have the same error.

I have at last received my replacement Aesop and I am pleased to report it’s ok. The second volume did have some scarring to the leather, very similar to the Gulliver, but not as bad. But I have kept the second volume from the first set I received as this is perfect.

SOLD OUT

Pictures updated in post 1.

Wipef drool from corner of mouth...