Four New Letterpress Shakespeare

Richard II, King John, Henry VIII, and Timon of Athens. Of that group, the only I'd be interested in is Richard II.

Anyone want to place a bet how long these will be available? I have the feeling that you needn't hurry if you're interested in these.

I have no doubts that you are correct menteith. I dont think any of the volumes have sold out to date.

That being said I have alot of these volumes and they truly are wonderful. I highly recommend them... of course thats assuming you have the shelf space for the large solander boxes.

>2 SirFolio16:

You're correct, SirFolio. Anyone who wants any of the titles probably has time on their side. That is quite fortunate for me, because I am still thinking about getting a few of my favorites but haven't taken the plunge.

Do you have any of the histories? Do they look that dark in person? The pictures of the Letterpress Shakespeare volumes on Folio's website look quite different from the pictures I've seen elsewhere.

They are darker than the others but they are not as dark as the Folio Pics make them out to be.

Just a word of warning: I love Shakespeare but decided that I wasn't going to spend that much per volume for Folio editions... and then I was given Macbeth as a christmas present (I am now 15 volumes in). Once you have one of these volumes in your hands I am pretty sure you will be hooked and want more.

>4 SirFolio16:

That is precisely what has prevented me from buying any yet. I want Henry IV Part I...but then I know I would look at it sitting there by itself and I would need Part II. Then I would need Richard II and Henry V, just to complete the series. I would want Macbeth, but then I would think...'How can you have Macbeth and not have Hamlet?" Etc...

>5 menteith: I have Macbeth (eBay £80 something) and not Hamlet, or Lear, or indeed any of the others. I'm perfectly content with this one example unless I can pick up some others at sensible (for me) prices. I'd like a whole bunch of them but better one than none as far as I'm concerned.

The books sure look gorgeous! Cost aside, the one thing which is a deal-breaker for me is the fact that the plays are all modernized. Maybe I should say the spelling is modernized (although to me this is the same thing). Please correct me if I'm wrong?

Wow! A keepsake from the Folio Society! That's a first (I think). They are sending me a facsimile page from the play Sir Thomas More containing Shakespeare's handwriting. Free(!?) with my purchase of all the Letterpress Shakespeare. It's little gestures like this that keep you coming back. Merry Christmas to me. Oh yeah, and I guess I should stop procrastinating and send in my order for the next four plays. Thank goodness for the installment plan.

>8 jveezer: Wow I have to admit i'm a bit jealous... Thats a great free gift... I am also collecting the letterpress Shakespeare but at a rate of about 3 each year.

>9 SirFolio16: Ray, how many are you at? And how do you store them. I have only one, Macbeth and currently my bookshelf cannot store it so I have it laid flat somewhere safe

I have 14 at the moment (my first one was Macbeth as well). Since they are too tall to fit on any of my shelves I store them vertically on top of my book shelves. They can be a pain to store but they are gorgeous and well worth it in my opinion.

11: please share some pics!

This is what they look like on the shelf when slipcased:

>Oh my God!!! They're beautiful. Where do you keep your commentaries

Are the solander boxes destroyed???

Only the first eight (and the Sonnets) came in solander boxes, so I just keep the commentaries for those in another room. All the rest came slipcased without commentaries (which I understand are available in paperback anyway).
I haven't been able to bring myself to throw away the nine solander boxes yet so they sit on top of a wardrobe - but I've been having a clearout lately and it's gonna have to happen soon!

You must be the only person who considers the solander boxes disposable trash.

>17 GiltEdge:

I'm another.

I noticed that FS sales all Letterpress in solander box, and you are the second LT member who shows his books in slipcases, how come?
Are they coming from FS or from second-hand booksellers?

Where did you get slipcases for the volumes that came in solander boxes?

>17 GiltEdge: Not so much disposable trash as surplus to requirements (and I can't think of anything useful to do with them).
>19 Maretzo:,20 They issued the third set of four books as available in slipcases, and if requested sent slipcases for the previous volumes. Slipcases turned out to be not very popular though, so after a couple of years or so they stopped them as a standard option, but you can still order them in slipcases over the phone.

So, if you were to order a Letterpress Shakespeare now, would it come with the commentary?

I know that solander boxes are helpful for preservation, but I also do not favour them - they are bulky and seem to provide a barrier to access. However, if you ever wanted to sell your letterpress volumes, I would worry that the absence of the solander would put off buyers. (I generally don't buy second hand fs books without slipcases. )

I wish they were still selling these in slipcases -- every time I convince myself I want them, I remember that I really do not have the space for them...

OK - just read 21 - guess I should talk to them and check. :)

>22 astropi:
If you order it in the solander box, you get the commentary (it's why the box is so big). Slipcased comes without it.

> 13

Magnificent. And I admire your resolution to chuck the solander boxes. I wish I could do the same with my slipcases.

>13 rampkr:

What are your impression on The Bible LE? The wooden slipcase is a great feature, the leather looks nice...and yet it still seems overpriced to me.

>26 Quicksilver66: There we differ - I'm a big fan of slipcases, and wish all my hardbacks had them. They're particularly handy as I do most of my reading on my 2+ hour commute on the train to work and back, and they protect the books when they're in the rucksack.

>27 menteith: I'm very pleased with it. I've wanted a decent Bible for a few years now, and this one fits the bill nicely. The slipcase is very sturdy, which it needs to be given the size of the books, and to my mind much more preferable than a solander box. The leather, gold blocking etc, are all up to usual superb FS LE standards, and I like the fact that the only ornament inside the books are the red book and chapter headings - I wouldn't have wanted anything more showy for this particular book. So not too much in the way of frills (emphasis on the 'too'), but very impressive. As far as the cost goes, I grit my teeth, order it on an instalment plan, and then try to forget about it - there have been too many occasions in the past when I have decided against buying something and then regretted it later. Having said that, I do think it was worth every penny.

>28 rampkr:

Yes, I would like a nice copy of the Bible too, and I really like that it comes in a slipcase instead of a box. I doubt I will end up getting it, but it's an LE that will stay at the back of my mind for a while.

I have that FS edition and can vouch that it's worth having. Very attractive and comfortable to read, though not so much to hold.

> 28
I think I do prefer slipcases as well, to at least show us the spine of a beautiful book rather than leave it hidden inside a clumsily accessed solander box. On the other hand, I do like the full protection offered by the solander.

I was surprised to learn that you commute with your folios inside their slipcase. I realize they are there to protect the book but it does bug me when they get banged up. How well do your slipcases survive the rucksack travel? I usually, when commuting with a Folio non-limited edition (I would NEVER commute with a precious LE, assuming I could even lift it onto my bus or train), take it out of its slipcase but wrap it in bubble wrap or that rubbery kitchen drawer lining (never personally would have thought of this but received a book purchased second hand from someone wrapped in this and it is amazingly protective and have been using it ever since!). Yes, I get really odd stares on the bus when I dig inside my messenger bag and pull out kitchen drawer liner and then carefully unwrap a beautiful book, but it is better than never reading my library!

I too have learned that the best remedy for regret is to purchase what you really think you will eventually want (within some reasonable limit) the financial consequences be damned! I cannot tell you how many times I have passed on something I really wanted, feeling momentarily financially responsible, only to then acquire it much later at a usually steep increase in price (esp. for sold out Limited Editions!).

>31 UK_History_Fan: I don't recall any of the slipcases being worse for wear after I've read the book than before. I just put the book in a plastic bag and then this in the rucksack, and remember not to throw the rucksack about.
You'll probably be horrified to know that I did take my LE War and Peace on the train, and ironically this wasn't even protected by a slipcase as the solander box was too big to fit in the rucksack. I did put it in a stronger than normal plastic bag first though. I'll probably do the same with the Les Miserables, but I read the Moby Dick at home - there are limits!

>32 rampkr: :O very brave

> 32
Yes, horrified!

13: That is simply gorgeous and I am calling Ms. Sally (the only FS rep I know by name) to see if I can order slipcases separate.

Today in the St. George day e-mailing, Folio Society states: "In its own way, the Folio Society’s Letterpress Shakespeare series is unprecedented. We have now published 28 plays and the entire series is due to be completed by 2014."

Isn't this the first time FS states they plan to actually do the entire series? I don't remember seeing that before. 2014 is not even that far in the future. The series must still be quite a success to them. I myself plan on continuing my collecting of it, although the pace I'm taking is not that quick.

How many do have up till now

I'm now at 11, with the 12th on its way.

If only I had a spare $22,000 to buy all of them...

>39 johni92: Well as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

>39 johni92: & 40

Bankruptcy begins with a single credit card transaction for that one limited edition you just could not live without!

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have lived and read
Than never to have read at all.

>40 ironjaw: I thought it went 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with a squeaking fan belt and a leaky tire.' :D