Folio Press Fine Editions Marketing

I would be really interested to know how the Folio Press Fine Editions were originally marketed. I know that some of our fine members hoard (I mean collect!) old FS marketing material, and wondered if anyone has anything going back that far? Or old Folio magazines that cover them? If anyone does, can they share what the marketing said? Or can any long standing members remember?

Did FS explicitly refer to them as limited editions for example? Whether explicit or not, I believe they were each limited to 1000 copies (excluding The Bird Paintings of Henry Jones and Perfect and Imperfect Enjoyments which weren't part of the same series). There is of course no reference within these books (except for the Henry Jones and Rochester titles) that they are limited editions.

I would also be interested in how FS marketed the nine books published between 1990 and 1995 which were special editions of standard publications, limited to 100 copies, signed by the illustrator, quarter bound in leather with Ann Muir hand marbled boards. How were they marketed and how were they priced relative to the standard editions?

EDIT: Correcting a really old typo which bugs me :-)

I've got what must have been a supplement to the Prospectus, a booklet titled "The Folio Society: Special Publications 1992". It would appear to gather up the sets issued in the previous 12 months with the available Fine Press editions and some editions (including non-FS titles) in special bindings. Actually, having just written that, there's an explanation on the inside front cover:

"This booklet gives details of Folio Society Special Publications. These books are available exclusively to members of The Folio Society, but it should be noted that they do not count towards your membership.

"Folio Special Publications fall into four main categories: works, like Winston Churchill's biography of Marlborough, which are too long to be accommodated within the normal Folio programme; books printed in small editions because of some exclusive feature of printing or binding, such as Folio Fine Press Editions; books not published by Folio, but which have been selected because of their relevance to members' interests and often bound specially by us (for example or selection of reference books); and various miscellaneous extras such as almanacks and Folio binders."

I still don't have a mobile phone or digital camera, and the webcam on this computer won't pick up enough detail, so I'll list the contents of the booklet:

page 1 (the cover is unpaginated): The Folio Anthology of Humour $57.50 (for some reason I was sent the US booklet).
page 2 Just So Stories (Kipling) $37.50 (this is the edition published in association with The British Library in 11/91).
page 3 Hours in a Library (Leslie Stephen) $120.00
page 4 The Cornish Novels (Daphne du Maurier) $170.00
page 5 The Complete Novels of Charlotte, Emily & Anne Brontë $262.50
page 6 Marlborough His Life and Times (Churchill) $300.00
page 7 Sword of Honour (Evelyn Waugh) $144.00
pages 8-9 (centre spread) 1991 Folio Fine Press Editions:
Here's the blurb: "The 1991 Fine Editions are quarter bound with cloth spines blocked with the book title. The inside paper is mould-made acid-free rag paper from the Cantiere Enrico Magnani in Tuscany. The books have gilt tops and head-and tail-bands, and the natural deckle edge of the paper has been left on the fore-edge. The patterned paper sides have been designed exclusively for each book by the artist who has illustrated the text, and each incorporates a title label. The bindings are protected by transparent acetate wrappers. As with previous editions, all titles are Royal Octavo (10" x 61/4')."
The titles are:
Woman in White: Poems of Emily Dickinson $75.00
De Profundis (Wilde) $95.00
Motley and other poems (Walter de la Mare) $85.00
Barrack-room Ballads (Kipling) $79.00
page 10 Cézanne by himself $85.00
The Queen of Heaven $66.00 (Two big art books 123/4" x 10" and 121/4" x 95/8" respectively)
page 11 The Bird Paintings of Henry Jones $850.00
A Stanley Spencer Almanack $17.00
Folio Binders $9.00
pages 12-13 headed "A last chance to buy these two leather sets"
page 12 The Folio Shakespeare Leather Edition $2,000.00 (this is the original 6-volume Folio edition of the Oxford edition bound in goatskin and 'presented in a polished oak case).
page 13 The French Revolution: A History (Carlyle) $900.00
page 14 Cambridge Biographical Dictionary "available in two editions": standard $60.00. Leather edition $150.00
The Cambridge Encyclopedia $49.50
page 15 The Times Comprehensive Atlas $390.00
Edward Gibbon's Atlas of the World $75.00
pages 16-17 "Earlier Folio Press Fine Editions"
Peter Grimes and Other Tales (George Crabbe) $89.00
Love Poems (Robert Graves) $75.00
Dorset Poems (William Barnes) $82.00
Domestic Manners and Private Life of Sir Walter Scott (James Hogg) $68.00
The Life of Dr John Donne (Izaak Walton) $75.00
"PLease note that there are fewer than a hundred of most of these titles remaining. We would therefore advise members to order early, as these books will be supplied on a first-come, first-served basis."

The special editions 1990-95 were simply mentioned on the normal pre-publication leaflets. They were priced at round £180-£200.

>2 housefulofpaper: What a wonderfully informative response. Thank you very much for taking the time to list all of that information.

I have looked through the Folio Magazines from 1987 - 1992, and there is no mention of any of the Folio Press Fine Editions. There is an article on Yeats in 1989, which mentions "The Tower", but that fine edtion was published in 1987. In any case, there was no marketing info about it.

Does anyone have more info (esp. pictures) of the Churchill biography of Marlborough? I had not realized that FS published this title and it is one I have been desiring in a nice edition.

> 5

Like I said, I can't get a good picture of the booklet but here's the description: "Four volumes in a buckram slip-case. Introduced by Maurice Ashley. Each volume is Wide Royal 8vo (10" X 6 3/4"). Set in Ehrhardt with typography by Peter Guy. 468pp; 480 pp; 448pp; 568pp. Bound in full red buckram with ornamental blocking. Each volume has a full-colour frontispiece plus sixteen pages of black-and-white contemporary illustrations, letters and maps."

The following list may be helpful; I have adapted it from my partner's contribution to another LT group.
From the Folio 50 bibliography:
"The aim of The Folio Press Fine Editions series was to produce slim volumes to the highest standard, using mould-made paper and letterpress printing, with bindings and, where appropriate, illustrations in the private press tradition."
The books are narrow Royal octavo volumes, typically of between 50 and 90 pages, protected by transparent plastic (not glassine) dust-jackets and having contrasting cover labels; those quarter bound in silk also have spine labels.

1987, Folio 50 Nos. 592-595
On the morning of Christ's nativity, & other poems, by John Milton. Five small copper engraved vignettes by Brian Hanscombe, printed in red-brown and black from line blocks Quarter black buckram, Rackenmarmor Swedish marbled paper boards, and brown endleaves.
Domestic manners and private life of Sir Walter Scott, by James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd. Preface and notes by Ettrick. Portrait by Peter Reddick (Folio 50 comments that the portrait did not reproduce well on the rather rough, heavy paper used which should have been damped but wasn't.) Quarter brown buckram, Rackenmarmor Swedish marbled paper boards, and pale yellow endleaves.
The tower, by W. B Yeats. Introduction by Bel Mooney. Typographical design by Sebastian Carter. Folio 50: ...his typography makes this one of the most successful and attractive books in the series. (Note: Sebastian succeeded his father, Will, as owner of the Rampant Lions Press “among the most highly-regarded letterpress printing-offices in Britain”). Quarter blue buckram, Rackenmarmor Swedish marbled paper boards, and blue-grey endleaves.
Poems by Charlotte, Emily Jane & Anne Bronte. Selected by Stevie Davies. Quarter black buckram, Rackenmarmor Swedish marbled paper boards, and brown endleaves.
1988, Folio 50 Nos. 616-619
These things also are spring's, poems by Edward Thomas. Selected and introduced by Patrick Garland. Wood-engravings by James Bostock (Folio 50: For the first time in many years, the wood-engravings were printed directly from the wooden blocks.) Quarter green moiré silk, Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled paper boards, and brown endleaves.
The life of Dr John Donne, late Dean of St Paul's Church, London, by Izaak Walton. Introduction by Colin Ward. Typographical design by Malcolm Harvey Young (designer of the FS Trollope series). (Folio 50: The frontispiece reproduces an etched portrait of Donne.) Quarter green moiré silk, Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled paper boards, and blue-grey endleaves.
The Anglo-Saxon elegies. Translated and introduced by Kevin Crossley-Holland, with vinyl engravings by Hannah Firmin. (Folio 50: The vinyl-engravings consist of eight large designs, one used for each divisional title, and a smaller title-page decoration). Quarter dark brown moiré silk, Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled paper boards, and pale brown endleaves.
Lays of ancient Rome, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Typographical design by Humphrey Stone (son of Reynolds Stone; trained at the OUP and in Verona “sitting at the feet of Giovanni Mardesteig”). Quarter dark red moiré silk, Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled paper boards, and pink flecked endleaves.
1989, Folio 50 Nos. 642, 643, 645, 649
Dorset poems, by William Barnes. Translations by Pauline Tennant, introduction by Peter Levi, engravings by William Barnes. (Folio 50: ...nine wood-engraved vignettes, printed from line-blocks, and a lithographic frontispiece reproducing Barnes's engraved trade card advertising his skills as an engraver.) Quarter pale orange cloth, pale grey moiré silk boards, and Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled endleaves.
The wonderful year 1603, by Thomas Dekker. Introduction by A. L. Rowse. Typographical design by Bernard Roberts (one-time proprietor of the John Roberts Press, where a notable re-creation of The Kelmscott Chaucer was printed in 1975; in 2002, he allowed the Folio Society to disbind and photograph his personal copy to produce their popular LE facsimile). Quarter brown cloth, purple moiré silk boards, and Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled endleaves.
The rape of the lock, an heroi-comical poem in five canto's, by Alexander Pope. Illustrated by Peter Forster (Folio 50: There are 12 remarkable wood-engravings, printed in pink, yellow and blue by lithography, with two of the putti used again in black on the title-page.) Quarter blue cloth, pink moiré silk boards, and Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled endleaves.
Poems of war, by Wilfred Owen. No design or typographic credit listed. Quarter black cloth, dark green moiré silk boards, and Mitchell and Malik (Ann Muir) marbled endleaves. The poems are over-printed in black on war photographs printed in green-brown; the complexity of combining the letterpress and the lithography apparently delayed publication for several weeks.
All the remaining books in the series were printed at the Stamperia Valdonega and bound by Legatoria Torriani.
1990, Folio 50 No. 664-667
Peter Grimes, the poor of the borough, by George Crabbe. Introduced by Kevin Crossley-Holland, with seven lithographs by Alan Powers. Typographical design by Martino Mardesteig. Quarter dark grey cloth, pale blue-green paper boards patterned in blue and red by the Stamperia Valdonega, and pale blue-green endleaves.
Love poems, by Robert Graves. Selected and introduced by Sue Bradbury. Typographical design by Sebastian Carter. Quarter red cloth, pale grey paper boards patterned in blue and red by the Stamperia Valdonega, and pale grey endleaves.
The Aspern papers, by Henry James. Lithographs by Edward Piper (son of the more famous John). Typographical design by Malcolm Harvey Young. Quarter dark green cloth, pale green-brown paper boards patterned in green and red by the Stamperia Valdonega, and pale green-brown endleaves. The book is dedicated to Edward Piper, who died just after seeing his lithographs through the press.
Poems from the Greek anthology. Translated by James Michie, introduction by Peter Levi. Quarter brown cloth, pale brown paper boards patterned in green and red by the Stamperia Valdonega, and pale brown endleaves. Decorative borders designed by Giovanni Mastersteig (presumably a typo for Mardesteig).
1991, Folio 50 Nos 690-692, 707
De profundis, by Oscar Wilde. Edited & illustrated by Peter Forster. Quarter black cloth, white paper boards patterned in black by Forster, and black endleaves. (Folio 50: Forster's plates are a combination of pen-and-ink drawing and wood-engraving, reproduced by lithography.)
Motley and other poems, by Walter de la Mare. Introduced by Giles de la Mare, and illustrated with two-colour lithographs by Ian Archie Beck. Five smaller decorations printed in the text. Typographical design by Sebastian Carter. Quarter dark blue cloth, white paper boards patterned in blue-green and blue by Beck, and blue-green endleaves.
Barrack-room ballads, by Rudyard Kipling. Introduced by Sue Bradbury, and illustrated by Ian Ribbons with two-colour drawings in the text. Quarter dark brown cloth, yellow paper boards patterned in brown by Ribbons, brown endleaves.
Woman in white, poems by Emily Dickinson. Selected, edited and introduced by J. D. McClatchy. Wood-engravings by Jane Lydbury. Typographical design by Bernard Roberts. Quarter dark green cloth, cream paper boards patterned in green by Lydbury, dark green endleaves.

The series had begun in 1987 to mark the Society's fortieth anniversary but was not sufficiently popular with members to run to more than 20 titles - although to persevere in producing 20 books to such a high standard in just five years is, if a failure, a damned glorious one. And a score of books is a temptingly manageable Folio sub-set to think of collecting.....

>7 phoenixmemnon:

These are lovely editions. I haven't systematically sought them out because they often attract inflated prices, but I have picked up 12 of the 20 over the last few years when I have come across them at bargain prices. Here are a couple of photos if anyone is interested.

>9 EclecticIndulgence: Well whether a price is "inflated" or not is a matter of personal opinion I guess (I should choose my words more carefully), but the most common price I see these selling for is between £50 and £100 a volume (typical Ardis prices dependent on which title), which are prices I won't pay. All of mine are in Fine condition with the original plastic jackets and all of which cost between £12 and £30, with the average between £20-£25.

That isn't to say they are not objectively worth more potentially. From what others have posted, they will have sold for c.£35-£50 a volume when originally issued, and they are limited editions after all. But I like a bargain and I am patient (well, sometimes anyway!).

EDIT: Looking at the records for my most recent purchases this is what I paid, including postage where applicable

Anglo-Saxon Elegies £28.80
The Aspern Papers £17.78
Barrack-Room Ballads £17.78
The Wonderful Year £21.79
Love Poems by Robert Graves £26.00
Dorset Poems £26.80

Should the books listed by phoenixmemnon (7 above) and pictured by conte_mosca (8) be included in the list of FS limited editions on the group website page?
See http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Groups:Folio_Society_Devotees where the LEs are listed about half way down the page.
They look like very desirable publications.

I can add comments about the four Folio Fine Press editions (excluding the "last hurrah" of Rochester's Perfect and Imperfect Enjoyments) that I've managed to acquire (so far).

De Profundis, Barrack-Room Ballads, and Motley were all published in 1991 and are as described in the transcription from the booklet in (2). My brother, who works in printing (albeit paperback books, and these days via digital files) cast a professional eye over the typesetting of Motley (this was by Sebastian Carter). He was complimentary, and basically confirmed it was the expert job that one would expect in a book that has been marketed as equalling the output of a private press.

I'd point out that where the FS booket from 1992 says "The patterned paper sides have been designed exclusively for each book by the artist who has illustrated the text, and each incorporates a title label.", the title label is part of the printed paper side.

On The Tower, the only one I own from an earlier publishing year, the title label is stamped buckram pasted onto the marbled paper side. The title is not stamped on the spine. The spine is in fact blank, although I suspect (looking at some of the books pictured in the booklet) that it may originally have had a printed paper label.

Some leaves in my copy were unopened (not uncut - the ABC For Book Collectors is very clear on the difference, although no doubt I'm preaching to the converted in mentioning all this here). They're opened now, as in my view books are supposed to be read (or at least readable).

> 11

It's a good idea to include them identifying the series as special publications since they are not strictly what FS calls limited editions.

>11 wcarter: Drasvola,
I have added across-reference to this post at the foot of the LE entry in the Group Website page. I think that is probably sufficient.

> 14

Thanks, wcarter, good choice. It's helpful to have that extra information for potential devotees.

>16 EclecticIndulgence: That was indeed how it was produced. Mine is the same, as you can just about tell in the second picture at #8 above (fifth from the left).

My collection of these has grown slightly since that post, having been able to add four more to the collection, taking me up to 16 of the 20 from the series (including most recently the rather rare Emily Dickinson volume).

>17 Conte_Mosca: Would you please post some photos of the rather rare Emily Dickinson volume when you are free? I'd love to see them.

>1 Conte_Mosca: ''I would also be interested in how FS marketed the nine books published between 1990 and 1995 which were special editions of standard publications, limited to 100 copies, signed by the illustrator, quarter bound in leather with Ann Muir hand marbled boards. How were they marketed and how were they priced relative to the standard editions?''

Anyone have any info about this? What were the nine books published to begin with?

>18 HU2013: Sorry for the delay in responding HU2013. I am afraid my work and studies have meant I have been less active here recently than usual, and I missed your post first time around. I will happily take some photos, and try and post them up over the weekend.

>18 HU2013: HU2013, I had some quiet time on the train this morning so managed to upload some of my pictures. I hope you like them.

19> Here are the titles in that series Syd:

Brideshead Revisited : Evelyn Waugh (1995; illustrated and signed by Leonard Rosoman; 100 copies)

Mr Norris Changes Trains: Christopher Isherwood (1990; illustrated and signed by Beryl Cook; 100 copies)

Nursery Rhymes (1994; illustrated and signed by Paula Rego; 100 copies)

Of Gods & Men : Frederic Raphael (1992; illustrated and signed by Sarah Raphael; 100 copies)

Peter Pan : J.M. Barrie (1992; illustrated and signed by Paula Rego; 120 copies)

The Art of Love : Ovid (translated by James Michie) (1993; illustrated and signed by Grahame Baker; 100 copies)

The Wind in the Willows : Kenneth Grahame (1995, illustrated and signed by James Lynch, 100 copies)

The Loved One : Evelyn Waugh (1993; illustrated and signed by Beryl Cook; 100 copies)

Doctor Faustus : Christopher Marlowe (1993, illustrated and signed by George Tute, 150 copies)

Our very own Dr Carter (wcarter) has done a great job cataloguing all of the FS LEs and other "special editions" on the FSD Wiki page, which you can check out here:

http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Groups:Folio_Society_Devotees

These publications are (obviously) ultra-rare given their very limited numbers, and as a consequence they tend to be very expensive on the rare occasions they come onto the market. When they do come up for sale, they are typically in the £200-300 price range. As housefulofpaper said at >2 housefulofpaper: above, these were originally priced at around £200 each. The only one I have is "Of Gods & Men" which, being one of the least well-known (and therefore least popular), tends to be much more modestly priced. I paid £40 for my copy.

>22 Conte_Mosca: Thanks....sometimes editions get muddled together, hard to make sense especially for a newbie! Again your knowledge is much appreciated. I was particularly interested in:

-The Wind in the Willows : Grahame (1995, illustrated and signed by James Lynch, 100 copies)
-Peter Pan : Barrie (1992, illustrated and signed by Paula Rego, 120 copies)

I have a '92 Pan edition....I assume there must have been a regular run of this edition aside from the one mentioned above. I'm sure I don't have a signed edition, but with all the books I've purchased maybe this one......no!!

As far as the former, I "hear" the illustrations are quite inferior to Mr. van Sandwyk's....any one have this edition who can comment?

In my opinion you are correct. Mr Van Syndwyk's are much more appealing, and get to the heart of the story much better. I also really like E H Shepard's illustrations.

>23 crazysyd: Yes, all of these were limited editions of standard publications from the same period, so I suspect your Peter Pan is the standard edition. I am sure you would know about it if it were not!

I agree with Aaron that the Van Syndwyk illustrations are exceptional, and I too prefer them to the Lynch illustrations.

>25 Conte_Mosca: Was keeping watch on one, but for 200+ dollars think I'll save those funds and put towards the centenary edition and keep fingers crossed one appears in the not so distant future. Last one I seen went for 1200 on eBay! Ouch

Can anyone who has these editions tell me if each book has the title on the spine? I have 8 , 4 without titles and 4 with.

> 27 The edition of Edward Thomas's poems, These Things also are Spring's, has a paper label glued to the spine.

27 The four from 1987, Milton Hogg Bronte Yeats, do not have titles on the spine. The other 16 from 1988-91 do have titles. The four from 1988 have paper labels, the rest are blocked.

Only one I possess is the "Lays of Ancient Rome". I love the paper feel and also the marbling. Also, axiomatically enough, I love these Babington Macaulay lays. They are the sort of pieces I occasionally pick up and re-read with enjoyment. Definitely not a tsundoku book for me.

Bought it about a year ago on Ebay. Honestly can't remember exactly how much it was, but in and around the £50-60 mark, not exactly cheap, but I really wanted it.

Aside/Mise en Scene- While being aware and having read the Lays of Ancient Rome more than 20 years ago, my interest was suddenly re-ignited in it in a most unexpected way. I went to see the Tom Cruise/Morgan Freeman movie..."Oblivion" and in this movie Babington Macaulay's magnum opus excerpt..."Then out spoke brave Horatius, the captain of the gate, to every man upon this Earth etc.. etc....." was spoken by Tom Cruise.
The old buffer, Babington Macaulay, cropping up in a hollywood movie, lol, I was pleased. The fire in my Roman Lay loins had been stirred.
Next day, literally the next day, I went on Ebay and much to my surprise there was a FS Fine Press edition for sale. I bought it immediately. I seem to have been lucky, for I check Ebay/Folio Society books generally on a regular basis and I don't think I've ever seem another one for sale.

Thanks that explains why mine don't. I have those four from 1987.

Aye, and a fine selection they are. My Yeats does have a small tasteful spine label of the author's name applied by conscientious librarian who thought it would not be read if it could not be identified. The perfect condition of the book makes me think it remained unread.

Here is a link to the series:

http://www.librarything.com/publisherseries/Folio+Fine+Press+Editions

>33 ironjaw:

I set that publishers series up, Faisel, and botched the title. As I have just acquired my twentieth - and last - of these nice books, I thought I'd correct it. Here's the new link

http://www.librarything.com/publisherseries/Folio+Press+Fine+Editions

For some reason beyond my fathoming, one book remains under the old title.

>34 affle: Congrats on completing the series Alan! I am still stuck two short of a full set (metaphorically as well as literally some would say!)

>35 Conte_Mosca:

Thanks, Michael. I confess to losing patience and paying a little more than I thought right for number twenty, The Anglo-Saxon elegies, for the sake of getting finished - but it is a good member of the series, and incidentally, another for the list of parallel text books we were assembling on another thread a while back. Just as well, as I find reading Old English significantly harder than Middle English.

>36 affle: I just need Yeats' The Tower, and Wilde's De Profundis. I am in no hurry though. it took me about 8 years to collect the ones I have, and I will be quite happy if it takes me another 8 years to finish the set. I am very attached to these editions, I have to say.

Thank you so much for this information, and photos. I've just purchased Barrack-Room Ballads and am delighted with the quality of the edition, so will now be on the look-out for the other titles.

>38 bridportbookie:

Another good person set on the road to ruin. Welcome to the FS Devotees, bridportbookie.

Welcome to the slippery slope to financial ruin. I've picked up 10 of these over the last couple of years. I've taken a bit of a hiatus this year, the price seems to be creeping up for those that appear for sale. Still a lovely collection and great reads too.

Thank you both - I really enjoy this forum, it's comforting to know there are other addicts out there!

>21 Conte_Mosca:

Sorry I just saw your reply to me and pictures you posted. Thank you so much! It's a such lovely book!

For those in thrall to the special bindings mentioned above (>22 Conte_Mosca: , and btw where has Michael gone? Long silence from him), ardis has three for sale at the moment: Brideshead, Mr Norris, and the Loved One. Rather dear, but of course they are scarce.

Yes, where is Michael?

>44 drasvola:
>43 affle:

I am here :-)

>45 Conte_Mosca:

Oh, very good. I was beginning to fear you'd taken up stamp collecting.

>45 Conte_Mosca:

So glad to hear from you! Posted a comment in another thread read first...

>46 affle:

There's nothing wrong with collecting stamps. I've just slowly beginning myself. Going to collect all space related issues.

>48 ironjaw:

Philately will get you nowhere! And I have enough space related issues in the Shed.

And welcome back, Michael!

I'm awakening this slumbering thread because a couple of days ago, whilst idly sorting through a box of old Folio prospectuses, I found I still had the original marketing booklets for the Folio Press Fine Editions Series as well as some other forgotten gems ("Folio Miniatures", anyone?). It seems the best way to display these would be via pdf scans so I am now learning how that technology works. If anyone is still interested I'd be happy to make them available to all, once I've cracked how best to do it. And then, if the bug bites, I could maybe consider making all my prospectuses available in the same way. My earliest is 1960. I have a handful in the 1960's but then virtually a complete run from 1970 to date.

I can make a shared folder called "Folio Society prospectuses" through Google Drive. All you need to share is your email address and I can make it happen.

I too have many prospectuses from the 80's and 90's and thought about getting up too once I get settled in.

>51 folio_books: >52 ironjaw: Thank you both, that would be a wonderful resource for us all! (as if we needed further enablement persuasion encouragement...)

If anyone has useful hints and tips to share on the subject of making PDFs I'd be interested to hear them (i'm using a Mac if that's any help). There must be an easier way than I've managed so far. Anyway, an evening's tinkering and experimentation has resulted in scans (of sorts, @600 dpi) of the first Fine Editions booklet. I'll upload them somewhere if someone will give me a clue what to do next. And then, if they are going to be of any use, I'll turn my attention to the remaining booklets.

I've created a shared folder on Google Drive called "Folio Society prospectuses". Do you have a Google account? If you send me a PM with your email I can then share this folder with you and any other that wants to be a part of this. Using a Mac, you can install the Google Drive (or access it through the website) and it will show up just like a folder on your Mac and you can drag and drop files there. I will probably create two folders, one for upload and one with the letters with no read or write permissions to avoid any other users deleting the files.

As for credentials, I manage the Limited Editions Club Monthly Letters folder the same way on the George Macy Devotees group where a handful of members here have accumulated a large portion of letters and ephemera related to the American publisher The Limited Editions Club. We have been doing this for 5 years now and used to use Dropbox, but after some scares of some users accidentally deleting some files we moved over to Google Drive as they allowed permission settings (a feature you have to pay for with Dropbox. Dropbox isn't good for backups, it's syncing service)

The Folders that Faisel (ironjaw) maintains for the GMD group are a superb resource, and to have something similar for the FS prospectuses would be very welcome.

>55 ironjaw: This sounds like a great idea - thank you so much. I've posted a comment to your wall (is that the same as a PM?) with my Google account details, and now I'll go in search of Google Drive. And then maybe I can even get around to turning the remaining Fine Editions literature into PDFs. Am I right in thinking this is the best way of converting these booklets? Or should it be JPGs? Is 600 dpi a suitable resolution? So many questions ... Any suggestions from you or anyone else with this alchemical knowledge would be hugely appreciated.

>57 folio_books:

Great! Superb, Glenn. I have created two folders: one for upload and one for the prospectuses. Anyone interested in joining is advised to send me a PM with your email address and I'll share the folder with you.

>54 folio_books:
Do you have Image Capture on your Mac? It's pretty easy to make PDFs that way with your scanner. You can scan multiple pages and if you have the box "Combine into single document" checked it will put them together for you. Let me know if you need help.

>59 withawhy99: Do you have Image Capture on your Mac?

Thank you. This is what I have been using so far, without realising it (i.e. just clicking on "Scan" brings this into play). I'm not sure whether scanning individual pages or combining a range into a single document works better for people, so feedback would be really appreciated. For the first attempt, which is the 1987 booklet for Folio Fine Editions, I've scanned them as individual pages at 600 dpi, which is working out at around 3.5 - 4 Mb per page. I can do bigger/smaller scans (by adjusting dpi), single pages or combined into whole documents, whichever users prefer.

>60 folio_books:
I suppose my preference would be to have each booklet as a single document. It would be easier to "flip through" that way and keep the pages in order.

And I think 600 dpi is unnecessarily high resolution. 300 should be fine even if people want to print the files, or much lower for online viewing.

Just my opinion! :)

>61 withawhy99: I suppose my preference would be to have each booklet as a single document. It would be easier to "flip through" that way and keep the pages in order.

Mmm, thanks, that's the way I was beginning to lean. I have sent my efforts so far to ironjaw. These include the aforementioned Folio Press Fine Editions booklets (all 5 from 1987 to 1991), all as single pdf files. I've made a start on the Prospectuses, too. 1960, 1964 and 1966 complete, now starting on the 1970s.

>61 withawhy99: And I think 600 dpi is unnecessarily high resolution. 300 should be fine even if people want to print the files, or much lower for online viewing.

Yes, I've been pondering this since I realised that any of the modern prospectuses would be enormous PDFs if scanned at 600. But what would be the optimal size? 300? Still enormous. At this point I discovered a little gizmo called PDF Squeezer which .. well, you can probably guess. To give an example, the 1990 Fine Editions booklet scanned at 600 dpi gives a pdf over 37 megabytes. Putting it through the squeezer reduces it impressively (I think) to 2.1 megabytes. More importantly, that reduction in file size comes with no obvious loss in quality that I can detect.

I'd be interested in any feedback Devotees may have.

>62 folio_books:
Yes, I wonder what others think - 300 dpi would be perfectly fine for me (and the file size could be reduced even further by "squeezing") but is there someone who would want super high-res files? To me it's the goal to have them as small as possible as long as the quality is acceptable.

I think 300 dpi is just fine. No need to use squeeze. I think that it will effect the printing quality. And besides have 10 GB of data available

>64 ironjaw: No need to use squeeze. I think that it will effect the printing quality. And besides have 10 GB of data available.

It's true I was thinking of much of your space this would be taking. How about if I scan at 300 dpi and then send you both versions (squeezed and unmolested)? That gives you and viewers a choice (thinking here about folks who may not be to date with technology and find loading the large files is taking too long).

I've started scanning at 300, anyway.

It's all up too you, but I don't want you to use unecessarily too much time on it. I think most people are able to live with 30 or 40 mb of pdf files these days. 300 dpi of course half of that.