Recent Acquisitions (3)

I paid $40 or so for my copy of The Oresteia, and I believe that you weren't horrendously overcharged for any of those based on that average. You will want to look into the set of plays of Euripides as well, since Michael Aryton also illustrated that on top of The Oresteia. :) And yes, this is a fairly expensive road, but one rich in many other ways, too!

>1 EclecticIndulgence:, congrats, very good books all!

> 1
Congrats, I have all those except Tender Is The Night, which should be the most expensive, averaging closer to $100. The others seem reasonably priced in that range. Obviously you can always pick up one of them for less money if you are willing to sacrifice condition. I have all of them except the Fitzgerald. Ben Hur is easily my favorite amongst these. I really like the overall design.

If purchasing in Canada is anything like purchasing in the UK, lack of familiarity with the LEC will persuade some dealers to grossly undervalue and some over-value. I'm up to about 80 LECs now in just over three years (be warned Eclectic!) and despite their relative rarity over here, here is where I have managed to acquire the majority and I think in most cases I've done reasonably well with the prices. The downside is having much less choice of copies and consequently having to sometimes accept a VG rather than Fine at a similar price point in preference to paying the postage.

For these books, that is pretty much the standard price for Fine Condition with slipcase. Tender is the Night, which is one of the most beautiful books the Club produced in the post-Macy period is normally priced at $100--$150 in my experience. I agree with everyone who says the Ayrton Oresteia illustrations are the best ever done for a Greek tragedy, and with you in thinking The Sea-Wolf is vastly underrated. (There was a film version done in the 1940s with Edward G. Robinson as Wolf Larsen that is also underrated. Robinson's performance deserved at least an Academy Award nomination.)

> 7
Well as I'm sure you know, eBay prices and quality are very hit or miss. Clearly there are sometimes "bargains" but just as often there are copies overpriced for the quality.

I have to agree with Django when he talks about Heritage vs LEC. The HP Oresteia is a beautiful book with the Ayrton illustrations raised up somewhat from their appearance on the LEC and placed on the front and rear boards. The red cloth spine though has faded due to the color. Mine has never seen the sun, but it is considerally faded. The large Ayrton illustrations on the covers are dramatic and outshine the LEC version which is much plainer. While I don't like to put the cost of rebinding an HP in my budget, the cover illustrations are exceptional.

>1 EclecticIndulgence:
It took me quite a few years of collecting before I made my goal clear. There can be different sets of requirements for quality, different plans - to collect Macy's books only, 50-60-70 ies books, and/or Shiff books. There are collectors that will not go below F/F quality, and this limitation costs them additional money and effort. I started my collection in 1999 with Moliere's Tartuffe, published in 1930. I remember paying for this book $70 and for a long time I had a feeling that I was paying too much. After "digesting" this price 3 months later I came again to the same book store and was way more confident in determining what was cheap and what was expensive.

Now everything is organized easier. You can make a research online about the prices in abebooks or AddAll.com. But first - you should decide, what you want to start with. If I were you , I would focus on the books released during Macy time, 1929 - 1955. Good idea could be - to create your own vault for money to accumulate BEFORE the purchase. Some of the books are really hard to find in a decent condition, most slipcases of those old good times were not created with sufficient accuracy etc. Finding a rare book with decent price happens and requires fast action. There will certainly be overpayments, but if you start being well prepared, your successes (i.e. buy below market) will significantly exceed the failures.

One more way to think about, is the create your own trusted set of sellers that provide you with description that is reliable and clear. One of them is Tom Toth from Different Drummer Books, I cooperated with him for many years. Bargaining is fine, there is no need to be shy. Many sellers set initial price 25% higher than they expect to get. When you buy a book via Abebooks.com, the seller pays 10% of the price to the Abebooks, and therefore the seller may be quite easy about decreasing price for 10 - 15 - 20%, which in some cases can be quite a sum.

So welcome to the Club.

>10 skyschaker:

I agree with skyschaker, it's pretty helpful to have a coherent set of rules before you pull out your credit card.

Also, and this has been covered elsewhere on LT, but I think it's important anyways: don't feel like you have to abide by the standards of some other book collector. For example, my tolerance for the condition of the binding is generally a function of how integral a part of the book presentation I think the binding is. If a book is bound in plain cloth with an unelaborate spine title, I don't mind much if it's all beat to heck, so long as the insides are in good shape. But if it's quarter vellum, with marbled boards and gorgeous titling, I'll probably insist on a Fine copy. Figure out what matters to you!

I started to collect LEC this April , 76 titles at the moment. about time to slow down, thinking about strategy and narrowing the target area .

Like skyschaker said, I contact with dealer and get some discount by avoiding ebay. making notes of dishonest and reckless dealer who would never pack with enough protection.

My recent acquisitions

An Iceland Fisherman
$30
The Last Days of Pompeii
$44
Sense and Sensibility
$49
Oedipus the King
$36
Notre-Dame de Paris
$46
History of the Conquest of Peru
$47

>12 kafkachen: Looks like good prices to me assuming decent quality. What's this slowing down you're talking about? I'm, up to 164 LECs and can't seem to stop. Since I'm unlikely to ever acquire a collection on the level of Don's, I was thinking of trying to get a least one book from every year up to the Shiff years. Looks like I'm covered from 1929 through 1985 only missing 1950. Hmmm, Don Quixote just moved up on the wish list.

>13 kdweber: " Don Quixote just moved up on the wish list"

Definitely the 1950 volume to acquire--unless you can afford The Complete Poems of Robert Frost. Ah, 1950--a very good year to have been a member (when these volumes probably cost the subscribers less than $20.....)

#12

Notre-Dame de Paris

Was it bound? I'd love to find the original paperbound edition, but um, for something considerably less than the hundreds of dollars the few such existing copies command.

Lola, I'm fairly sure kafkachen's Notre Dame de Paris is the 2nd printing from 1955--a much less elaborate single-volume presentation, and one that normally sells for less than half the price of the 1930 edition, issued in two volumes with paper wraps and Franz Masereel's woodcuts.

I have to say, and it's not sour grapes though it may sound like it, I prefer the later edition solely because I believe Bernard Lamotte's illustrations really caught the soul of Quasimodo. I love Masereel's art deco-ish style, the wonderful rag paper and the wonderful presswork of the 1930 edition, but his Quasimodo owes too much to the silent Lon Chaney characterization--more horrific and not so touching human as Lamotte's conception (gorgeously reproduced in intaglio). Another instance, like the two LEC Don Quixote editions, where both are indispensable, if you got the gelt.

>kdweber
Slowing down because the rate is not sustainable to me, sometimes I need to buy lunch too. :D
Instead of buying anything that looks good, I need to compile a list of the most collectible of the 500+, and focus my limited resource on them.

>Lola ,Django
Yes , that is the 1955 editions. I like its illustration.

>12 kafkachen: I wanted to pick up The Last Days of Pompeii on ebay (purely to coincide with the BM exhibition - really must take a trip to London to see it) but decided against. The volumes you describe were from one seller and going at cheap rate with one bids on all. Congratulations on a great haul.

>16 Django6924: I'd love to get the 1933 Don Quixote. There is one listed on eBay, but it is an ex-museum copy with markings. I have never seen a 1930s LEC in the condition I would like it to be in. When you go back that far, it seems that fine copies are hard to come buy. In all my searching over the past few months, I have only seen a few early LECs come up for auction anyway. I have been buying mostly '70s and early-1980s LECs, but I would love to get back into the early series. I'm willing to wait for the right copy in the right condition though.

My recent acquisitions:

Dubliners
A Lost Lady
The Captive Mind w/ lithograph print

All in very fine condition with letters. I'm only missing two monthly letters in my collection, but luckily they are both in the dropbox (one provided by Robert; thanks!).

#16

Yes, it's actually mostly because of Masereel that I'd like to get this (I doubt I'd read, or re-read in this case, Hugo in English...) I have a reprint of his Passionate journey with Thomas Mann's introduction and some other books illustrated by him; love that period in graphic art. But mainly I got imprinted as a kid on my grandpa's copy of Till Eulenspiegel with more than a hundred Masereel woodcuts, in my mind Masereel is imbued with some rough, earthy medievalish quality.

But... heh, Lon Chaney, you say. Well, I love him too (The Unholy Three, He Who Gets Slapped are some of my all-time favourites. So mad that Warner won't restore them, or even sell them in anything but DVD-R format! Lucky I got to see them on the big screen), but I can see where too strong a film influence could make it a bit cheap "photoplay"... Hmmm.

Must look at those Lamotte illustrations. I have the second Camille that he did and I think his take there harmonised nicely with the story.

#17

Seventy-six titles over four months is astounding, kafkachen! Good on you!

Kafkachen, did you get those from stick figure books on eBay sometime last week?

>21 aaronpepperdine:

Yes, that last 5 books are from them .

Good haul. I bought several others from them at the same time.

>23 aaronpepperdine:

Perhaps we could cooperate and not to bid against each other next time. :D

>24 kafkachen: That's why I am always hesitant to brag about my latest acquisitions. I'm pretty sure that at least one or two members here might have been bidding on the same title, and I don't want to rub my bidding victory in. :-)

>20 LolaWalser:

Well, I love Lon Chaney, too! Those you mentioned were some of his less grotesque roles, but I relish his more demented films with Tod Browning--especially "West of Zanzibar," and the ultra-creepy "The Unknown."

Here are some pictures of the 1955 Notre Dame de Paris LEC edition:

>24 kafkachen:,

Haahaa I just bid $17 on each of stick figure's offerings, so I don't think I made you pay too much extra!

>25 andrewsd: We should start a thread where we can dibs eBay auctions. To get started, I call the Cupid & Psyche that's at $4 right now. If it goes up from there, I'll know that I was betrayed ;-)

How about a George Macy Devotee auction ring? (An auction ring is a group of buyers at an auction who collude not to bid against one another in order to keep the auction price low. The items bought at the first, legal, auction are later sold at an illegal private auction, called 'knock out' auction, and the resulting profits are shared among the members of the ring.)

I really enjoy the 1955 edition, but will be the contrarian in saying I do like the 1930 edition better holistically. The print and paper are wonderful, and I love the French binding in this case. Certainly both are nice.

>27 aaronpepperdine:, 28

This is complicated matter, but I have been thinking there might be some positive way to share this information.

>25 andrewsd:, andrewsd
If it sounds like bragging to you, I am very sorry. but everything here was below 50 . people could have easily out bid that, at 62.93 will be bragging, even something like 69.05, that will piss me off. or 75, that will be foolish .
Beside, Perhaps that is a way to avoid ending up paying 50 more for an item that could have been settled with 30. perhaps not, I do not know.

#26

Oh, thanks very much! Fine classic style; I love that dramatic red accenting. (Chaney--I have seen West of Zanzibar--mad melodrama at its finest--but not The Unknown. It's on a DVD set I've had in my Amazon basket for ages, but I kept hoping for some new, fancier reissue, even Criterion maybe... sigh... not happening... He was truly unlike anyone else. Only once I saw a transformation similar to his in contrast and power, Jean-Louis Barrault in Jekyll & Hyde-inspired "Dr. Cordelier's testament"--probably not a coincidence that Barrault too was a consummate mime artist.)

#29

Yes, the paper (Arches), delicious! *more sighing...*

>26 Django6924:

I love that kind of brush stroke. hopefully it was hand pull from block.

>31 LolaWalser: "Jean-Louis Barrault in Jekyll & Hyde-inspired "Dr. Cordelier's testament"--

Ah, Renoir! Of course Barrault was great in everything, even in a minor part such as Drôle de Drame, where he nearly steals the show from the likes of Louis Jouvet and the incomparable Michel Simon.

Perhaps Chaney's most famous on-camera transformation was the one in "The Miracle Man," where he is a con man whose twisted limbs and body are "miraculously" cured by a faith healer. This scene is the only surviving one from the film, an enormous hit in its day. The amazing transformation in it is not the scene where Chaney straightens his body, but his shock when he sees the young cripple really healed.

>28 parchment1: An auction within an auction. Inception

>30 kafkachen: Oh, I wasn't complaining about you kafkachen, I was just using 'bragging' as a figure of speech. I actually think that members of this group should do more 'bragging' on this forum as more information (titles, prices, sellers, experiences) gets shared that way. Also, the discussions that result from people presenting large hauls to members helps to validate the buyer's outlandish spending or the great deal he or she managed to score. Take, for example, the Folio Society Devotees group—and association of book-buying enablers. You can tell that people use the acquisitions page to get applause from the crowd about their purchases, and there is nothing wrong with that! I want people to convince me to buy more, ignore the expense, and keep the ultimate goal of obtaining rows and rows of beautiful books in mind. :-)

Sharing low prices on titles would also give us ammunition for future sellers we haggle with. You could say, "Magic Mountain for $175? I know someone who got it for $96 recently." Every seller is different, but sometimes that will work.

>34 andrewsd:

Yep, I think people are more reserve in sharing price information.

Someone got the Fairy Queen for 50 USD, from the same dealer, in very good condition, only a bad jacket. that one had just slipped through my finger.

> 35
That is way too low a price for the Fairy Queen unless there were substantial issues with it. Near fine copies go for at least $200 (as did mine). Don't tell me I paid 4x what I could have! LOL

> 27, 28
Keep on "bragging" kafkachen. I always like to learn what members have acquired, the stories behind them (if applicable, i.e. why the book is important to them), as well as prices paid if only as a gauge on the current market.

Yes, I suspect there are oftentimes LT and GMD "friends" who are bidding against one another inadvertently, which is unfortunate. But, as much as I hate to lose auctions while the prices remain reasonable, I would much rather loose as a good sport to a fellow devotee than to the handful of dastardly resellers that seem to be gobbling up every LEC they can get their hands on to replenish their inventory and to possibly corner the market on certain titles.

>36 UK_History_Fan:

Here is the link of that 51 USD Fairy Queen :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LIMITED-EDITIONS-CLUB-The-Faerie-Queene-/181180476221?nm...
I was chatting online with a friend when the count down was approaching 30 seconds, and I didn't even managed to bid when switching back to the windows.

"rather loose as a good sport to a fellow devotee than to the handful of dastardly resellers "
I am thinking the same, if someone seriously want to win an item , I could just pass . instead of making them pay 69 USD. just saying, it will be hard to come up with a smart plan.

> 37, kafkachen wrote: "I was chatting online with a friend when the count down was approaching 30 seconds, and I didn't even managed to bid when switching back to the windows."

Recommended: auctionsniper.com or bidnapper.com

I always knew there is a reason behind all my losing bids at the last second !

#33

Haven't seen Miracle Man. Fantastic that you like Drôle de drame, I've never come across an "Anglo" who knew it! More's the pity, as it is such a deliciously comic French "take" on England... the crime writer, the temperance societies, Jouvet the Scottish cleric with twelve children...

> 38
I looked into some of these on line services briefly, and determined that I have limited options with a Mac OS. Those that exist are costly.

It doesn't matter if you have a Mac. These are no softwares but online services.

BTW. I have just today installed Parallel Desktops and now run Mountain Lion as well as Windows 7 side by side.

Oh god, I wouldn't want Windows anywhere on my Mac.

>43 UK_History_Fan:

Forgive them, they know not what they do!

>40 LolaWalser:
Well, here's at least one other Anglo (Anglo-Celt really) who remembers Drôle de Drame! I mean, Carné, Prévert, Simon, Rosay, Barrault, Jouvet, Aumont and the music of Maurice Joubert/Jaubert (who like Simon had worked on Jean Vigo's wonderful L'Atalante)...what's not to like about such a collaboration of all the talents?
(Although according to the liner notes with my DVD it was not so much a collaboration as a collision so far as Jouvet and Simon were concerned - they hated each other. Which could explain the intensity of Jouvet's performance).

> 47
All yours. I already own it :-)

Forgot to say: good luck.

Also, nice job on the Conrad. I've never had a seller take such a large discount before (in percentage terms).

>49 the_bb:, GREAT pick up, I love that edition, fantastic design and presswork from Deep Wood Press for Chester River. For those who have not seen it, look here: http://booksandvines.com/2011/07/14/heart-of-darkness-chester-river-press/

I just picked up another one from them, The Intruder: http://booksandvines.com/2013/08/02/the-intruder-robert-travers-john-d-voelker-d...

I just got that broadside recently to frame and put in my stepson's room. I like Kipling and it is a nice looking broadside, so am glad to have gotten it. If you get it, let me know what you think!

>47 the_bb: No love from anyone helping out someone in Denmark, where the shipping is around $50 or $60 from the US LOL

>49 the_bb: I'm working on acquiring Childhood, Boyhood, Youth from an off-eBay seller, so you won't get any competition from me :-) Same for MoB.

>47 the_bb:

I will not bid on it, it was not on the radar.

> 49
Yes, I have never picked up the buying pattern of that one. I assume given the large number of transactions that whoever m***m (2959) is, he/she is a reseller. Also a bit of a bottom feeder. Bids frequently on most LECs that come up but generally puts in a lowball top price. Usually bids first and then comes back later with a "final" bid amount. I really hope you beat this one just on principle. I show the range of recent (past few years) sales on MofB to be in the range of $40 to $80 so if you end up getting it at the low end of that range, you'll be doing well.

>57 UK_History_Fan:, 58 Yeah, his bid history is exclusively from the antiquarian books category. Must be a reseller. Based on my experience thus far, the LEC market doesn't seem to be plagued by resellers as much as the Easton Press one is. Of course, EP resellers have new LEs and subscription editions coming out that they can snatch up; the LEC market can only recycle.

> 59
I think it is much harder to make huge profits as a reseller of LECs since the pricing is generally within a fairly narrow range on each title. As you point out, its not like buying multiple copies of the Easton Press Deluxe Limited Edition Atlas Shrugged for $117 and then reselling them for $500 each, which people are apparently willing to pay. My experience has been that the LEC books don't have that large of a variation in pricing, unless it is due to condition. Sure there are lots of "bargain" LECs I could have snapped up at much lower costs but at the sacrifice of either a slipcase or book condition or both, not a trade-off I often make. I prefer VG to NF to F condition at market prices rather than overpaying for the very best condition or getting bargains and then being disappointed with my copy later.

> 58
Since you are also looking at the Tolstoy, I can tell you I have only three data points for that one, none of which came with the Monthly Letter: $47, $48, and $64. So apparently a good example of what I was trying to explain in > 60 above, that there can be a narrow price range on LECs. It doesn't come up as often as Master of Ballantrae. I believe there are a couple of Buy-It-Nows at $50 so I certainly wouldn't bid much more than that if I were you, but you are of course free to follow your own strategies :-)

You bargain hunters! How about these offerings from Denmark?:

SAXO GRAMMATICUS. The History of Amleth Prince of Denmark. Translated into English by Oliver Elton. With a prefatory note by Henrik de Kaufmann. Introduction by Sir Israel Gollancz. Illustrated with original woodcuts by Sigurd Vasegaard. Copenhagen 1954. Publisher's half leather binding. 107 pages.
¶ Printed in 1.500 numbered copies - signed by the artist - for the members of The Limited Editions Club.
This copy is signed but not numbered. It is instead called »Trykkerieksemplar« (printer's copy).
USD~ 352 · se bilden · fråga Mandøes Antikvariat, København K (DK) · MAN48903 ·

SAXO GRAMMATICUS. The History of Amleth Prince of Denmark. Translated into English from the editio princeps of the Latin text of his Historia Danica by Oliver Elton. With a Prefatory Note by Henrik de Kaufmann, the Introduction by Israel Gollanz. Kbhvn., Printed in Copenhagen near Elsinore for the Members of the Limited Editions Club by C. Volmer Nordlunde, 1954. 108+(4) p. With 27 woodcuts by Sigurd Vasegaard. Bound by Bent Andrée, Anker Kysters Eftf., in orig. half pigskin, on the covers a decorated paper designed by Lilly Nordlunde. In orig. slipcase.
¶ Limited to 1500 copies for the members of The Limited Editions Club, this is number 521, signed by the artist Sigurd Vasegaard. The edition was designed by Ejnar Philip and printed under his supervision. The paper is a rag sheet, especially made... >>
USD~ 352 · fråga Aldus Antikvariat, Frederiksberg C (DK) · ALD18724 ·

SAXO: The History of Amleth Prince of Denmark. Translated into English by Oliver Elton. With a prefatory note by Henrik de Kaufmann. Introduction by Sir Israel Gollancz. The Limited Editions Club. Copenhagen 1954. illustration: Sigurd Vasegaard woodcuts. 107 pp s. In-4. Publisher's light brown half calf binding. In orig. slipcase. Printed in 1.500 numbered copies. Signed by artist. Instead of a number our copy is quoted Trykkerieksemplar (printer's copy). A bright copy, very much like new.
USD~ 295 · fråga Aabenhus Aarhus Antikvariat, Århus C (DK) · ABH112584 ·

(source www.antikvariat.net)

Yes aand I will never pay those prices

> 62
I paid $36 for my copy, Near Fine, including shipping.

I just nabbed the Fitzgerald Tender is the Night LEC that was listed for the past couple weeks at $95 and on sale at $67.45 as a BIN. The seller kindly accepted my best offer of $55 shipped. It's listed in VG condition, but the book itself looks fine in the pictures. Those black slipcases are always prone to show wear, but overall it looks just like rubbing on the sides, no tears or chips. Now I will own both Fitzgerald LECs illustrated by Fred Meyer.

As an aside, in case you've never seen this, there is an old Nintendo-style Great Gatsby game you can play on your computer! The game play is tied into the book/plot and is hilarious:

http://greatgatsbygame.com/

>43 UK_History_Fan:, 44. I thought the same, but I need Windows just for the book-keeping program for my business, and a couple more applications, and I hated having to work with my old plastic PC laptop.

You will laugh now: I can't figure out how to write "@" in Windows on my Mac. alt+2 doesn't work, cmd+2 doesn't work and ctrl+2 doesn't work! I called Apple support. They don't support Windows. I called Microsoft support. They don't support Macs.

> 67
That is an amazing price for an LEC that I don't yet own. Now I'm jealous.

>70 UK_History_Fan: Yes, I will count this as a small victory for my wallet. Tender is the Night is usually listed for around $100 to $150, with $300 being the high end. I own The Great Gatsby (both share similar dimensions and design), so I know it is going to be a nice book. Meyer's semi-cubist illustrations are captivating, and Fitzgerald is an author that should be in anyone's library.

> 69. I have now, but it didn't work. I still have to flip to OSX, write @, copy, flip to Windows and paste :-)

.

>73 parchment1: " If you read the FS Devotees, you will notice that FS efficiently market their new products to a group of shopaholics who probably wouldn't make any purchases of used books. A decade from now, they will probably realize that the going prices are 10% of the new price or so."

I visit the FS Devotees group to get my vicarious bibliophile fix by reading about people who buy huge amounts of FS books and LEs with abandon. The Folio Society does have great marketing, and it seems they've found an enthusiastic niche market to promote to. People are always chatting about the sales and rattling off lists of titles they have bought or want to buy. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, it's like a book-buyer's support group filled with enablers instead of sponsors. The anti-Book-a-holics Anonymous.

Standard FS books are nice, but they are just a couple of steps up from some of the higher-end trade hardbacks I own. Once I bought my first LEC, my desire to become a FS member was totally drained. I've sold a few of my FS editions (purchased on the second-hand market) to support my LEC habit, and I can report that I always lost money, $10 or so a book. LEs might be a different matter.

I use the folio society to get nice editions of the books I want to read but are not available as a lec. Like most recently the foundation trilogy and baburnama.

>74 andrewsd: I agree with Virion, I'm a history buff, and I use the society to get books from that genre which are not available from LEC. For example I got the LEC All Quiet on the Western Front instead of FS newest version. I'm sure the FS version is wonderful and would love to see some pictures.

Also I believe the majority of book collectors would buy from the FS as in new books rather than used books from ebay. Everyone has their own tastes and we're just lucky that the majority aren't aware of LEC books. It makes it easier and cheaper to collect. I know I'm selfish, but the fewer we are the better for us collectively.

I posted this on the FSD forum, for I like, quite a few here, are members of that group too - I happen to enjoy books as physical objects and some very nice books in my collection are lovely physical objects published by, yes, the Folio Society.

"This from Joe's latest Blog entry:

"Hugo clearly regarded The Toilers of the Sea as a combined literary and graphic project, and had 36 of his drawings bound in the original manuscript. Astonishingly, these original drawings have never been published with the text of the novel, an omission we hope to rectify next year."

Absolutely can't wait to see this one. It'll have to be something very special to compare with the LEC/Bodoni/Marangoni volume, but I reckon that this is one where both editions of this fabulous novel will sit very happily side by side on my shelf."

The FS is pretty much unique in what it does and I completely disagree with you when you state "FS efficiently market their new products to a group of shopaholics who probably wouldn't make any purchases of used books." I can't speak for those overseas who would have to pay inflated prices and p&p but when I can walk into a secondhand book dealer and pick up pristine copies of my favourite Thomas Hardy books, very nicely and sturdily produced and on good paper with extremely nice woodcuts (and, I might add, in a more convenient size for actual reading than many LECs) at a price less than that of a Penguin paperback edition then frankly I would be an idiot not to.

.

>77 HuxleyTheCat: Many FS members would undoubtedly purchase used books if the condition and price were right, but I'm sure there are a number of collectors who prefer FS editions because they are new, sealed in plastic, and fresh off the press. My wife, for example, can't stand the "old book smell." Some collectors have a thing about being the 'first' person to own and handle the book. FS gives them that opportunity.

You have to admit though, as Parchment points out in 78, FS does an amazing job with marketing, payment plans, vouchers, sales, and generally getting people excited about their books; although, I think the FS Devotees might have more to do with getting people to go on immense FS binges than the society does. Heck, they even invented their own acronym for a 'disease' they made up that compels people to buy haha.

Here's just one post from the "I have just ordered / received #9" thread that confirms Parchment's statement about used books:

"So far I haven't been tempted by FS titles printed before the late 80s, for the good reason that I like my books clean, crisp and smelling relatively new. There are a very few books that I'd like to have early editions of."

But again, it's all about personal preference. Some have pockets deep enough that they can demand brand new or mint editions.

> And there's a recent thread on this forum where members talked enthusiastically of how many LEC books they have acquired within the last few months - what's different? There is absolutely no rabid marketing department at work for the LEC save this very forum. I maintain that the books appeal to exactly the same type of bibliophile. Someone can like a good Bordeaux without being an alcoholic. Not everyone has the funds to pursue 'serious' book collecting. Recently I had a dilemma as to whether to spend £900 on one extremely beuatiful Gwasg Gregynog publication, or to pick up multiple volumes from a less prestigious and sought after press. Given that £900 is my book budget for many months and if I went down that GG route I would have to absent myself from bookshops / ebay / abe etc i.e. not be able to indulge my hobby, I decided to forego the GG book.

>80 HuxleyTheCat:

GG is a popular Internet shorthand for Good Game, but it actually mean game over. please leave the game now so I can claim the victory and start a new one.

>80 HuxleyTheCat: "And there's a recent thread on this forum where members talked enthusiastically of how many LEC books they have acquired within the last few months - what's different? There is absolutely no rabid marketing department at work for the LEC save this very forum."

The only difference is that there are a great deal more people on the FS forum, and there are no LEC sales, vouchers, or deals to talk about or go after, obviously. FS collectors are also a lot more avid about discussing their large hauls and bingers, unlike what I've seen here. But, you are correct, both forums serve to 'market' their respective books. I just enjoy the FS forum more when I want to read about exciting acquisitions and spending sprees :-)

>81 the_bb: Cheers to that.

Just replaced my EP copy of Tess of the d'Ubervilles to complete my LEC Hardy set (plus Heritage copy of The Return of the Native). Wow! I thought I was just going to get sharper Agnes Miller Parker illustrations and better production values - I didn't realize that many of the images were printed in color.

Given that so many individuals are members of both FSD and GMD, it might be wise to refrain from insulting and mocking the posts.

You would be incorrect to assume that a bibliophile collector could not find both Folio Society and Limited Editions Club books appealing, albeit for different reasons.

.

>85 UK_History_Fan: Please don't mistake my posts for mockery. I am a member of FS Devotees and love the conversations over there. I guess I don't view the term 'shopaholic' as a pejorative because I am one when it comes to books. People on FS Devotees freely and happily admit that they are 'addicted' to FS books. They, like I, use this term in jest to describe a passionate love for books and book collecting. I didn't mean it as an insult.

As I mentioned in 83, I love the enthusiasm of FS devotees when discussing large purchases. FAD/Book hauls are my favorite posts to read. I don't think pointing out a couple of differences between preferences in both forums (new vs used books), or acknowledging a certain attribute (like FAD), is divisive, and I didn't intend to use this make fun of anyone. I joined these groups because I love being around people who love talking about buying books, so I wasn't complaining about it either. If anything I wrote sounded that way, hopefully this post will clear that up. Apologies! :-)

>84 kdweber: kdweber, how many Hardy titles did LEC publish? I have been looking for Tess for awhile but can't find one in the condition I want. Congrats on your completion!

>88 andrewsd: Tess, Far from the Madding Crowd, Jude and the Mayor of casterbridge. All illustrated (wonderfully of course) by Agnes Miller Parker. As Ken points out, there are several double page spreads in Tess that have been coloured. The LEC served Hardy well as these are all very nice productions: as well as the incomparable Miller Parker, the bindings are beautiful and really evocative too. Jude and Far from the Madding Crowd included separate signed AMP engravings, so you should make sure when seeking copies that the 'set' is intact. It's a shame that Return of the Native was never given the full LEC treatment, but the HP edition looks very nice. There are a few variations of that though as is usual with the HP.

#85

Given that so many individuals are members of both FSD and GMD, it might be wise to refrain from insulting and mocking the posts.

Echoing this. What is the difference between someone's happiness and enthusiasm about their FS order and someone else's about their LEC order?

May I add that, judging by the popularity of several threads about older FS books (take a look in particular at Conte Mosca's meticulous efforts to catalogue FS books from the beginning: http://www.librarything.com/topic/157268), the ones that can only be found on the secondary market now, it is patently untrue members of the FS group are only interested in new books. Not that that is any sort of failing anyway.

(P.S. @featherwate--it's great to find yet another fan of Drôle de drame! But I'm afraid the cinema talk is out of place here--I'll only mention that I recently saw Elise Cavanna, who illustrated wonderfully LEC's Looking Backward, in some W. C. Fields short films! Looks like a fascinating character.)

Apparently parchment reconsidered his FS posts, just when I was going to agree some, darn. But obviously his mention of FSD defensiveness, which has been brought up at FSD, has now reared its ugly head at GMD, shame.

Truly the enthusiasm for buying here is not the same as at FSD, where indeed various regular 'enablers' rabidly encourage newbies to embrace the 'disease' and 'addiction' of FS books and actually tell the prospective buyers that they will spend so much more than they want, where regulars commiserate the disease and addiction and poverty routine, what poor taste. Here I've read mostly good manners and true concern, hey, which is good for me because I'm more likely to be well-mannered and happy. At FSD I'm apparently more likely to be ill-mannered and pissed off. Thankfully over 99% of FS customers just get their books and are hopefully happy on their own. I was thrilled with FS before I went online.

Anyway, I don't post much anymore, but I would like to say that this has been a good year for me in building the small LEC section of the library. Favorites are Bataoula, Don Quixote II and Heart of Darkness. Best paper...The Captain's Daughter!

#91

But obviously his mention of FSD defensiveness, which has been brought up at FSD, has now reared its ugly head at GMD, shame.

Well, thank god you are willing to keep boorishness alive and well. Does it occur to you that some of us might object to copying absent people's posts just to snigger at their perceived habits out of decency and not "FSD defensiveness"?

At FSD I'm apparently more likely to be ill-mannered and pissed off.

Yes, "rearing ugly heads" was a charmingly well-mannered description of those of us who stepped in to defend absent posters.

>91 olepuppy: Paul, parchment has has made known their dislike and/or distaste for the Folio Society in the past, that's fine, but the fact that s/he has annoyed a few people in this thread is not surprising to me because s/he appeared to belittle people who collect Folio Society books. If that wasn't the intention then it's a shame because that is how it appeared. In many of the high end antiquarian dealers will be found those who sneer at LEC books. I find that offensive (and ill-considered) too, but book collecting certainly has far more than its fair share of snobs who value 'value' above design and quality of materials. I can't argue at all with your description of an element of the FSD forum, but I think it's wrong to equate that element with FS collectors 'en masse' which is what was apparently implied in the 'offending' post, and I think that the description of the FS marketing department as stated is wide of the mark too. Anyone familiar with the UK press would know that The Guardian newspaper (where the FS targets much of its UK marketing efforts) is the least likely form of media to appeal to "a group of shopaholics who probably wouldn't make any purchases of used books".

At the risk of being a patronising old fool - 'Pace' folks: life's too short.

>90 LolaWalser: "I recently saw Elise Cavanna, who illustrated wonderfully LEC's Looking Backward, in some W. C. Fields short films!"
Elise Cavanna Seeds Armitage certainly had one of the most interesting career arcs of any LEC illustrator - from dancer (an Isadora-Duncan-trained soloist) via the Ziegfeld Follies and W.C. Fields (on stage as well as in the movies) to respected lithographer, muralist and post-surrealist, and co-author of the the inevitable celebrity healthy living cookbook. Beat that, Agnes Miller Parker!
She was also a linguist. In 1934 she translated the captions in an acclaimed (by the New York Times 1/28/34) book of chromolithographs by fellow-LEC-artist Jean Charlot (he of the wonderful Carmen). The book was designed by her ex-husband-to-be, the larger-than-life Hollywood-based designer and dance impresario, Merle Armitage*, known to George Macy as "that-bull-in-our-china-shop" for his radical approach to typography, e.g.:



He also designed Elise's Looking Backward and one other LEC (I don't know which) and was commissioned to produce the Edward Weston Leaves of Grass. Unfortunately, George Macy took against his proposed design and following a long, acrimonious correspondence (available on-line) they parted company. Armitage was paid for his preliminary work and Macy designed Leaves himself. When the book came out, Armitage wrote Macy a classic congratulatory letter:
"My Dear George: I took Leaves of Grass home last night and have changed my mind in regard to my comments, as I think, in justice to you, something should be said.
You and your associates have succeeded magnificently in turning out the world's most deluxe grass seed catalogue. Sincerely. Merle."

* Armitage needed to be larger-than-life: Elise was six foot tall with purple hair.

92 Obviously not one but two medals are deserved, congratulations!

93 Fiona, thanks for the explanation. I responded only to the 'defensive' statement and other statements that said there's no difference between LSD and GMD enthusiastic book buys. In my opinion the FSD 'element'
transcends threads, permeates the whole forum, and makes the FS seem untrustworthy by association. So there's a big difference between acquisition threads on this forum and FSD. As to parchment, I have to wonder how much of what was written was due to the FS itself and how much was response to the FSD. And I guess we'll have to wonder since he/she simply deleted and split(again)

95 "Untrustworthy by association" And that's a shame, because since the cessation of the pricing and materials wars and despite the ongoing safe shipping and production problems some excellent threads about older editions and specific groups of books, many with fine pics, have been put together by simple book lovers to the glory of the Folio Society and for the enrichment of us all.

I've found some wonderful books in the last year: Weeds and Wildflowers(Two Horse Press) and thank you Fi, some selfishly unnamed small press' handmade editions of 18-30 copies, a Trianon Press Blake, about 30 LEC's and a couple handfuls of WEstvaco's, and the 2nd most perfect book I bought, matching style of make to content and a great read, was the FS Between Silk and Cyanide, truly one of a kind.

I have been very busy with work and just signed on this evening to catch up and was dismayed to see some disturbing elements in this thread. I left the Folio Society Devotees because of personal recriminations between certain factions, though I love FS books and really enjoyed a lot of comments by members there who are also members here. This has been a real pleasure exchanging thoughts and opinions with the members here, in an atmosphere of mutual respect. I certainly hope this site does not degenerate into a free-for-all of name calling and sarcasm. I don't know if there is anything I can do, as the site administrator to keep that from happening, but I hope the ill-will will just stop and I won't have to find out.

From what I understand, most of the "I take issue with what you said" rebuttals were directed at Parchment, but since I was involved in that conversation and had some key words from my posts repeated by others, I will make one last statement on this matter and then leave it be. I am not easily offended, so no worries about animosity, and I did not mean to cause offense if any was taken. I enjoy participating in forums in general because they are a great place to have a spirited debates over various issues with like-minded individuals. So, with that in mind:

1. It seems that just mentioning FSD or shopaholism struck a negative chord with some here, which is confusing as FS Devotees celebrate the concept of book addiction in their own wiki document and in an overwhelming number of posts. They have official glossary acronyms (BAD - Book Acquisition Disorder and FAD - Folio Acquisition Disorder) that they've made up to describe this happy condition. They, and I, do not use this in a negative way. When I viewed the FS Devotees forum for the first time, I thought: "Hey, this is a place where people come to talk about their book hauls and cheer each other on to make more purchases. Sweet!" This was just my first impression. Again, I'm not taking issue with it—I want to be a part of it! I love this concept.

2. Some things were unfortunately read into this conversation. Nowhere did Parchment or I claim that the "enthusiasm" to buy books was better or worse, superior or inferior, among FS or LEC collectors. There is a difference in the frequency of discussion about book hauls and acquisitions between the FS and GM forums (GMD membership is roughly 10% of FS Devotees); noting that difference is not intended to disparage or qualify one group over another. It is just a difference that exists, due to the current nature of the FS as a business. There are sales and vouchers and offers to be discussed at FS Devotees. Not so at GMD, aside from deals on the second hand market. There is a greater emphasis on this at FS Devotees.

3. The post I copied from the FS forum was used to serve as example of typical comments I have read on FS Devotees that indicate that many (but not all of course) FS members prefer new books to used. Again, this simple observation was not intended as a statement of controversy, and the author was unnamed.

Hopefully this will clear up any misunderstandings. I respect all of you as fellow book collectors and as individuals who are far more experienced in the world of LECs than I am. I hope to learn from and interact with all of you. I'm grateful for the information I have gleaned here. Differences of opinion will and should occur, but, on my part, no belittlement or insult is intended. The only problem I have with Folio Society and LEC books is that there aren't enough of them on my shelves.

#94

Thanks for that information--fascinating is definitely the word. "A Merle Armitage Book"--was he being 100% serious...?

Armitage needed to be larger-than-life: Elise was six foot tall with purple hair.

LOL!

Too bad I'm not in the position to judge about the "grass seed catalogue". By the way, did that tidbit come from Macy's LEC letter?--if so, kudos to his sense of humour.

>26 Django6924: Django6924

A small question. on the colophon page of the 1955 Notre Dame de Paris , it says the illustrations was reproduced by intaglio, but on closer inspection, it looks more like machine print to me. any idea ?

Did George Macy ever signed on any LEC book ?

99 I once hoped to have a GM signed Tales of the Gold Rush, seller stated signed by Fletcher Martin and George Macy, and tho it was one of the lower priced copies available at the time, in NF condition, I thought that since the California seller was famed for autographed editions that GM's mark would be there. When I wrote to ask Where's the Macy oops was the answer...oh well, still have it, the price Was low, and glad to.

>100 olepuppy:

Thanks for the information !

>99 kafkachen:

No, he never signed any of the books he designed. There are a few copies of LECs for sale (at outrageous prices) with a G.M. on the colophon in lieu of a limitation number, but the only signed copies I know were individual copies given as gifts.

Edited to add: I forgot to answer your question about the Hugo book: yes, it was printed intaglio. Are you wondering about the diamond-shaped pattern of black ink under the color? That is a frequent characteristic of intaglio printing to give "tooth" to what would otherwise be a soft wash of color. It is sometimes called "hatching" and sometimes "stippling."

>81 the_bb: I, for one, love the smell of old books.

And I, for another! Though because I grew up in damp old cold England in damp old cold buildings infested by mouldering spaniels, cabbage and incontinent tripedal cats I was 18 before I realised that the 'recently disinterred from the crypt' smell (and appearance) of the books I loved represented what might be called the rough cider and bathtub gin side of biblioölfactorphilia, while its other side celebrated the joys of old dry volumes that expel only a manly waft of gun-oil and dead Cubans or fall open to the heartbreaking and slightly saline fragrance of pressed forget-me-nots once wept upon. I took to this side as being the more sociable (sociable as in 'you-too-can-love-books-and-still-have-a-friend).

I still hope one day to experience the Holy Grail of book-scents, bibliosniffery's equivalent to The Macallan 1989 or a great Romanée-Conti. It is described here by its creator:
“I had an ink made from an old formula I found in Savage's Decorative Printing, which called for balsam of copaiba instead of varnish. It was somewhat slow in drying, but has still a pleasant spicy aroma, on which many people have commented when opening the book.”
--Bruce Rogers, talking about his famous limited edition of T. E. Lawrence's translation of the Odyssey (Paragraphs on Printing, William E. Rudge's Sons, New York, 1943)

(Copaiba, from South American trees of the genus Copaifera, exudes a resin variously described as smelling divine; warm and honey-like; woody, earthy, and slightly sweet; slightly spicy-peppery, and modestly tenacious. Although it has little geographic relevance to Homer, Odysseus and his crew might have welcomed having some of the extract aboard for its curative and prophylactic powers - it is said to be useful for making soap, relieving inflamed joints, healing wounds and combating haemorrhoids, diarrhoea, bladder infections, constipation, bronchitis and insect-bites.

Edited to replace stretch-marks with insect-bites.

One day I must go through my old Monthly Letters to find the ink formula Macy included in one (I forget which), which consisted of boiling onions in oil until they dissolved and then mixing in lampblack and sundry other ingredients; I don't remember him mentioning balsam of Copaiba (or asafoetida or croton oil, for that matter), but he may have without explaining its odoriferous felicities. I do remember him describing that characteristic sound a good ink makes when correctly spread on the ink disk--sort of a tearing sound I used to hear back as a student working in a printing shop.

>103 featherwate:, 104 - Amazing. I've never heard of ink scents before!

I love the smell of old paper, especially in folio books where the boxes trap their scents. However, an important distinction should be made between what we have termed "old smells" and the smell of moldy/musty books. Trade paperbacks stored in your grandfather's dirt-floor basement, that miraculously made it through the floods of '68, '77, and '93, will have a very different "old" smell than books that are properly maintained. My wife's olfactory senses don't seem to care about this difference. Both smells are equally to her disliking. When ever I show her illustrations in an LEC, she physically flinches back when I flip through pages.

>105 andrewsd: "Both smells are equally to her disliking. When ever I show her illustrations in an LEC, she physically flinches back when I flip through pages"

Hmmmm.......

>104 Django6924:, 105
Audible ink! Wonderful.
Serendipitously I have just come across a small antiquarian bookshop in a smallish Yorkshire village that has a Fine copy of the original Lawrence/Bruce Rogers Odyssey. There were only 530 copies printed and this is one of the relatively rare ones that Lawrence himself signed (as T E Shaw). And, yes - the bookseller assures me that 80 years on the ink still retains its aroma.
Now all I need is just over $12,000....

My local library had its collectible book sale today, and my contact alerted me to the several Heritage books it would be featuring, and walked away with six. All are complete (save one) New York editions:
All Men Are Brothers (I've been coveting this for a while)
The Turn of the Screw (nicest copy I've seen, and while it didn't have a slipcase, I had one that fit it perfectly)
The Flowers of Evil (amazingly a New York printing)
A Tramp Aboard (I like Twain)
Madame Bovary (my Brissaud collection ought to be pretty close to complete now)
Essays of Francis Bacon (this is the one without a Sandglass. Lovely binding, with only a small chunk missing from the front boards)

Nice to get some new books! I think I spent $15-16 altogether on these.

>108 WildcatJF: "My local library had its collectible book sale today"

Your local library holds a collectible book sale? Truly, America is the Land of Opportunity! In all the British library sales I've browsed through - and there've been many - I've only found a couple of collectible items. And they were both LPs, so their value was in their rarity not their quality.
Anyway, congratulations on another fine haul. Particularly look forward to seeing All Men Are Brothers on your blog. I hadn't realised there was a Heritage edition of this.

109) Aye, four times a year. I've been surprised by the two libraries I go to; for a rural area, they do get some gems from time to time. I've picked up a signed Salman Rushdie at the one where I live. It's not one of his big books, but it's still signed! I also snagged a signed copy of this year's Pulitzer Winner before he won, which granted me enough credit to get my Captain Cook LEC last time I visited Monterey.

I wish my local library--the Huntington--had collectible book sales: "I'll take the Ellesmere Manuscript, and the Gutenberg Bible, and the First Folio--oh yes, and originals of William Blake's illuminated Songs of Innocence and Experience and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell...." Oh to have been a railroad baron back in the laissez faire days of the Gilded Age!

> 111 All excellent choices for your fantasy library collectible book sale. "I'll have that four-volume Don Quixote printed by Ibarra that's just lying there in perfect condition. $100 you say? Sure."

>111 Django6924: I visited Huntington Library only once, 9 years ago, and it was the end of the day, I could not completely enjoy the glamour of these and many other books collected there. One day I'll go there again - not too far after all, from SF to LA. That was the most exciting emotion!. I cannot dream that they will offer these books on sale. I'd rather rent a room there for a few weeks and stay there all day long.. Getting sentimental.....

>114 the_bb: A pretty good price too, Congrats! I also like the limitation number.

114) It's neat having the last copy, isn't it? My Crime & Punishment LEC is #1500.

This week I received six LECs that I have been wanting to acquire for some time. All are in mint condition, and only one is missing its Monthly Letter.

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka $130
The Trial by Franz Kafka $70
Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke $40
Childhood Boyhood Youth by Leo Tolstoy $40
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton $30
The Stranger by Albert Camus $95 (missing ML)

I love Ben Shiff's design for Metamorphosis, and the illustrations are fantastic. Definitely a great example of fine press work. The Trial and The Stranger are both leatherbound and done in that unmistakably early '70s, post-Macy style that you can either love or hate. Camus is a favorite author of mine. Selected Poems of RMR is a smaller volume when compared to the other Shiff-era LECs that I own, but it is very well designed. I read Rilke in a literature class and remember being haunted by his Sonnets to Orpheus. Childhood Boyhood Youth adds yet another Eichenberg-illustrated title to my collection, but I must say I am disappointed by the unusually small font size used for the text (perhaps I've been reading too many LECs with size 14 font lately). I've never read Wharton before, but I liked the summary I previewed of The House of Mirth and decided to give it a try.

I'm now up to 24 LECs. I think I might cool off on the bulk purchases for awhile so I can save up for some of the more expensive sets, like Don Quixote and the ultra-fine Anna Karenina that I know will eventually be listed just for me ;)

>118 andrewsd:, great pick ups! Like you, I love the metamorphosis.

Just picked up Ficciones today, along with Kingdom of this World and Pensees. Oh, should finally be receiving Wind and the Willows tomorrow. Excited for that. Couple weeks ago picked up Poems of O'Hara. Monday got American Indian Legends, The Virginian, Age of Fable, jonathan wild, twice told tales and plays of Ibsen. Expecting soon Streetcar Named Desire, Faust and Les Mis. Have on multi month pay off Everything that Rises Must Converge and Declaration of Independence.

That is it for my major splurge, now need to pay it all off!

>117 the_bb:
When you have the time, would you consider showing more photo of the illustrations , what a nice bargain !

>118 andrewsd:
Good price on Metamorphosis. I have problem finding one below 200 USD. let alone in mint condition. Price of The Trial is a bit high though.

My recent loot: (Most don't have monthly letter . sad)

Spoon River Anthology $105
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship $30
The Education of Henry Adams, an Autobiography $40
Back to Methuselah $30
Crainquebille $30
FRITHIOF'S SAGA $30
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON $65
ORESTEIA $65
MASQUE OF COMUS $50
the iceman cometh $100

>120 kafkachen:, great stuff and good prices. I love Henry Adams, and Spoon River, Back to Methuselah, Wilhelm Meister, Swiss family, Iceman, Comus...all great stuff. Good haul!

>121 busywine:

Thank you ; )
I like the etchings of Samuel Chamberlain, a single artwork of etching would have sell more then 100 USD. but here is a book with 12 etchings printed from plates. it is a pity that at the later era, many LEC only have a single original print , for example 'The Iceman Cometh'.

>120 kafkachen: Kafkachen, if I have time today, I will be writing a review of that book stand I ordered this week. In that I will include pictures of the Metamorphosis illustrations for you. I'm very happy I got such a good deal on it!

As you noticed though, I did pay a little over what I would consider The Trial or The Stranger to be worth. Yes, there are standard market values, but in my opinion, LECs from the late 1960s and 1970s are worth no more than $30 or $40 for their quality, which is much lower than Macy or Shiff era LECs. But, due to scarcity or condition, I am willing to pay more than this to get the title/condition I want. For instance, I've never seen The Stranger listed on eBay in the few months that I have been looking for it, and the only other Trial I've seen is listed at over $100, so $70 was a slight bargain. Luckily I found a seller who was willing to let me have most books from this era for around my desired price. He also gave me great discounts on other books that BIN sellers usually charge prohibitive rates for—like Metamorphosis, House of Mirth ($30!), Selected Poems of Rilke (I got this for like $60 less than all of the other listings I have seen for this book), and in a previous order I got A Lost Lady for $40 (this usually lists in the $90 - $100 range) and The Captive Mind in mint condition with laid-in lithograph print for $70.

>123 andrewsd:
Thanks , looking forward to it.
I too agree a good condition and a good seller sometimes worth the extra dollars.

>124 kafkachen: Here you go. "Drawings and etchings" by Jose Luis Cuevas.



All of them are portraits of Gregor with the exception of his father. There are also a few line drawings mixed in with the text that I forgot to photograph.

This is a beautiful LEC designed in fine-press style by Ben Shiff. The paper covering the boards is a mixture of what I can only describe as 'bug-like' dark and grey colors. I'm sure this is intentional. The leather spine and stamped lettering is nice, and I love the size/weight. Great LEC, but I'm not sure I would pay $200+ for it.

I just picked up two Shiff era books The Secret Sharer for $90 and The Diary of a Country Priest for $80 both in mint condition with newsletters. Great bindings and clamshell/slipcase. I've never read either book so I'm looking forward to that. I'm particularly delighted with the Conrad - Thai silk protected in a nice clamshell, two great etchings and a drypoint. Next week's primary read.

>126 kdweber:, both great productions, very nice books

>126 kdweber:

I agree with Chris that these are both fine post-Macy books, but in the spirit of the Macys and not livres des artistes.

I do think the Bernanos book was a much better deal--a wonderful story, with Eichenberg going out with a wonderful climax to his career as an LEC illustrator. The Conrad is very lovely, but somewhat of a slim volume--it would have been nice as a tête-bêche volume with the author's "Point of Honor," a very different story of the relationship between two men (and which was filmed by Ridley Scott as "The Duellists").

>128 Django6924: Robert, you don't think The Secret Sharer would be better paired with Youth? I agree that both books are in the spirit of the original LEC before Shiff's turn to livres des artistes.

> 125 wrote: "All of them are portraits of Gregor with the exception of his father. "

Not so. You can see the artist's own descriptions at: http://grabados.org/Cuevas/imagen.html

>130 parchment.: Interesting! You would admit though that they all look like Gregor with the exception of that one drawing of Gregor's parents, father in the foreground. Take for instance, the 'portrait of Kafka' and the 'portrait of Gregor's sister' that both look like, well, Gregor. I haven't gotten that far in the book, so no need to explain it to me. Perhaps Gregor's sister changes as well? Either that or the artist is making some kind of statement. But I stand corrected! Thanks for the link. And glad to see you back parchment!

>131 andrewsd:

Those artworks looks intimidating, what a way to draw a human face.

I have recently bought books from Maxwell's Bookmark (listed on Biblio not Abe or otherwise www.maxwellsbookmark.com) and can thoroughly recommend.

133 Bought plenty from Bill last winter and I think he still has a lot of $25 LEC's. Great guy to talk to about books. Wouldn't hurt to verify spine condition for slight darkening/fading.(Plutarch 75, Graves Poems 25, John Brown 25, Proverbs 50, rated fine, I kept the books and Bill compensated.)

>134 olepuppy: The highlights from your haul at Maxwells? I am interested in your opinion of Captain's Daughter - how many stories does it contain? I am not quite sure about Mozley - his women seem to resemble frogs.

>133 Felixholt: Felix, I am considering a couple of purchases from Maxwell's and wanted to get your input. When they describe a book as "fine," is it generally at or better than that description, or does quality vary? Does their "fine" description include a fine slipcase?

135 You're right about some of the Mozley women, especially in ''Queen of Spades"... The Postmaster, The Blizzard, and title story complete the book. I like the style and presentation of the illustrations, most full paged with side borders, but I won't know their fitness with the stories til I read the book. Absolutely love the paper-soft, supple, and fragrant, with a good story about it in the monthly letter.

I'm happy to have every one, but Bataoula and Heart of Darkness stand out, each fine. All Men are Brothers was near fine and quite nice. Other lovely copies with good prices include -50-Gone With the Wind, Don Quixote, and A Raw Youth-25- Toilers of the Sea, Panchentantra, The Renaissance, Undine.

>137 olepuppy: Fabulous book, Batouala! Congratulations on finding a fine copy.

>129 kdweber:
Ken, sorry to be so slow in responding, but I had a hectic last few weeks trying to finish a pan & scan on a feature (a nightmare job that I wouldn't do if I didn't need the work).

In answer to your question, "Youth" had already made an LEC appearance with "Typhoon" and "End of the Tether") in an attractive, albeit conservative, volume illustrated by Robert Shore--who did another Conrad for the LEC, one of my all-time favorites, the first Heart of Darkness. Even setting aside the fact that "Youth" had already been done in a very logical grouping with the other stories, the juxtaposition of the story about trust given without reservation, to a man guilty of a serious crime, with the appeal to engaging one's basic humanity (and the echoes of the Christian admonitions of forgiveness and "judge not, lest ye be judged"), with the tale of two men who are gripped in a murderous, and seemingly inexplicable vendetta over a legalistic point (and not even in civil law, but some unwritten "code of honor"), seems to be a more satisfying pairing. To me, anyway, since I don't have a fine copy of "Point of Honor."

>135 Felixholt:
The women seem to be quite attractive, except for a few crones. I think it's one of Mozley's better jobs. I'm in total agreement about the paper! (Any chance you'd like to share that Monthly Letter, olepuppy?)

Olepuppy may be able to amplify, confound, contradict.

>141 Felixholt: Much appreciated, Felix. I'm okay with a little slipcase wear, but I generally try to get books that are fine+ all around. Good to know about the inclusion of Monthly Letters as well. Most sellers will state a book as "fine" but never mention the letter or the slipcase. Glassines-intact is always a good sign as that probably means my book wont be spine faded.

I realize that booksellers have a large inventory to deal with, but I still think there is no excuse for not having photos posted of their higher-priced books. I'd say that 90% of the sellers on Biblio and Abe neglect to post images of their LECs. If I'm going to spend $300 on Brothers Karamazov set, I'm going to need a little more information than just "fine."

> 142
"If I'm going to spend $300 on Brothers Karamazov set, I'm going to need a little more information than just "fine."

Ah, you have hit upon one of my pet peeves!

Ok which of you bastards purchased House of Seven Gables before I could place my order with Maxwell's? :-)

>144 UK_History_Fan: Haha! Felix's post has us all on Maxwell's inventory. Not I though, Sean.

Well I was hoping that if I was going to miss out on it, I would at least have lost it to a fellow GMD, that would be so much better than realizing I could have had it yesterday (when I first put it in my cart), only to sleep on it overnight and see it gone this morning. It wasn't that specific purchase that I needed to sleep on, but a bulk purchase of six books.

> 145
Yes, I am sure they are going to wonder why there is a sudden rash of LEC orders from all over the world!

Well put my order in for Arabia Deserta and Pompeii, so it wasn't me Sean

> 148
Yeah, that was a really good price for both of those. Significantly less than I paid this year for both of them. Faisel, how much is shipping to Denmark?

Wasn't me, either; I haven't visited that page. I don't have any money to splurge at present. :(

Not me, Awful story , Finish it once and have zero intention to read it again.

My order from Maxwell's (thanks for the tip Felixholt!):

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The Iceman Cometh
The Short Stories of Oscar Wilde (I couldn't resist!)

Now I have 2/3 Joyce LECs, another title from the 1982 Forty-Sixth series which I have never been disappointed by, and a psychedelic LEC.

Oh dear , I need to catch up ( panic ! )

My order from Maxwell's:

Gallic's war and the Gibon's set.

Received recently : 2 sets of Sherlock Holmes. I could compare the illustrations with the Easton press reprint. No doubt that it is a reprint!!

Received recently: the white spider, and too many others to be mentioned here. They are all listed in my LybraryThing. Few months ago, Ulysse, Travels with a donkey ($20), Seven years in Tibet, etc.
On the way to my house: Herodotus, Pompeii, Carlyle, etc.

Targeted are: Ficciones and the Penal Colony.

I missed by a hair (or at least some days) Balthus/Bronte.

Quite a busy period!

(edited for replacing Garlic with Gallic! Smell too bad!)

>154 Maretzo: ULYSSES! My mind is blown. Dare I ask how much you paid, or thereabouts? I just looked through your LT catalog. You have a great collection.

I have been looking for In the Penal Colony for some time but haven't found it at a price I'm willing to pay. I'd like to get it for $100 - $150.

>144 UK_History_Fan: Sorry Sean.

> 156
Ah, the culprit speaks! LOL

Seriously, I would rather have the assurance that I missed out on it to someone here who will cherish and take care of it than to some reseller or random stranger. What else did you order from Maxwell's?

I have ordered:

Notorious Jumping Frog
Rose and the Ring (this was my replacement book when House of Seven Gables disappeared)
Three Men In A Boat
Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man
Poems of Robert Browning
The Charterhouse of Parma

Assuming the books are indeed in fine condition (I'm less concerned about slipcases provided they are at least present), I think these were definitely priced to move, substantially below market.

> 154
Congrats on the Gibbon. Please share with us some pictures of it when it arrives. It is nearly impossibly to find this set in fine condition or even near fine condition given the crumbly spines. Maxwell's price seemed low, but then it will depend a bit on condition.

> 152 Andrew, you are very welcome - I hope they don't disappoint.

>157 UK_History_Fan: Those $25 prices for "fine" books in their slipcase were hard to pass up. I also tried to get the Balzac but only scored Eugenie Grandet as someone beat me to the Old Goriot. Turned out for the best since Biblio then sent me a 20% off coupon which I used at Zubal to get a copy for $18 before shipping but after the discount.

Maxwells probably doesn't know what hit them. I think they owe Felix an extra discount. Thanks Felix.

>159 kdweber: Yeah, I count 13 LECs ordered from Maxwell's as a result of Felix's post.

138 Thanks then.

139 Glad to but don't know how to here and am pretty challenged at the PC. I do know how to turn on an iphone, and soon I'll be able to email pics...or maybe I'll just handcopy the letter here in my cave by candlelight.

142 Confound it...love that word, my dad used it around the house instead of godammit, don't see or hear it much.
Anyway I'll just chip in with a bit I know.

I found Bill's LEC's last December while looking for an Imprint Society book, Bellum, Two Statements on the Nature of War, comprised of Erasmus' essay and Otto Dix' WWI engravings Der Krieg, well done by David Godine and Meriden Gravure. I looked thru his inventory and wow, over 240 LEC's, the majority with glassine, over 100 at 25. I got Bellum and 4 LEC's and didn't look back for 2 months, every week/10 days a new order. When I saw that no one else was buying I nicknamed Maxwell's as my ...secret seller. I then told one special friend who bought a big boxful, otherwise mum was the word.

I had planned to buy Bill's books until they were gone, but other buys sidetracked me and my 'next week Maxwell's' never happened. Man I tell ya, so many books, so little time and money, but hey, I'm not complaining. I had a blast and I hope everyone else has one too. On Bill's homesite last year he wrote that locals should stop by for some vino and sale talk, how about that Django and Mr Weber.

I learned a valuable lesson about glassines during this experience, that darkened glassines may indicate lightly darkened or faded spines. I had thought previously that a glassine simply protected completely, from a limited experience with them, but a few of Maxwell's books, spread out from the '30's to the '80's, suffered from mild spine color change with darkened glassines. Normal glassines indicated a protected spine.

>161 olepuppy:

If you have an iPhone, you can take a picture and e-mail it from the phone (depending on where you are--find a member here who lives close to you because you do NOT want to pay roaming charges!)

I'd love to go to Mr. Maxwell's for some vino and sales talk (more for the vino than the sales talk, economic conditions being what they are). I haven't looked at his inventory because I couldn't afford to buy anything from him, but I am intrigued by such a collection--with glassines and Monthly Letters. Wonder where he got the bulk of them?

>161 olepuppy: I am not sure what one says on inadvertently springing someone's secret LEC source. But it sounds as if you had already drunk deep at the well, I hope so in any event.

162 An estate sale from a Stockton lawyer , John Hurley. Bataoula had no monthly letter and Philip Duschenes sticker inside the the back board. The newer LEC's had the letters, some in the mailing envelopes.

163 I'm glad you shared with the group, and am a bit surprised the discovery took so long. He posted his list last November. When I would search on viaLibri, which includes Biblio, for various LEC's regularly the first and lowest listing came from Maxwell's Bookmark, usually fine.

>149 UK_History_Fan: Sean, I paid the usually ca. $60 shipping. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrivals for these. Let's see if I get them though customs or not, or else it's 40% on top! Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

Now stop enabling me! It's too expensive being a Danish LEC collector!

Well, I finished reading my LEC Metamorphosis. The story was great, and the illustrations and design of the book certainly added to my overall experience. But I noticed something else during the time I spent with this book: the LEC translation of Kafka's writing is far superior to any other I have read. The Project Gutenberg ebook translation of this title is crap. I was reading this version when I was away from home for a day this past week, and it was as if all the beauty and poetry of Kafka's language was sucked out of the translation. It was like the translator had 'dumbed-down' the vocabulary, and he/she totally missed important emphasis on certain actions in the story. I finished the ebook and was quite unsatisfied with the last chapter. Then I reread it in the LEC version and was blown away by the differences. I read a number of negative reviews of Metamorphosis before I picked up this book, and I wonder now if those readers had just gotten the novella in a poor translation. The difference is really startling. So, if you are interested in the book or the illustrations, I can definitely recommend the LEC as second best to none. I would have liked a little more variation in the illustrations (they are all portraits), but I really can't complain.

>166 andrewsd:

The Muir translation used points up the problem of recapturing for a reader who doesn't speak the language, the impact of the author's meaning--particularly a writer whose meanings are as elusive as Kafka's. The opening sentence of Metamorphosis is almost a textbook example. Gregor has been transformed into an "Ungeziefer," which some (including the Muirs) translate as "insect" and others have translated as "vermin." The German word itself has no specific denotation but carries the connotation of disgusting, dirty, parasitical pests. Common consensus is that Kafka meant either a cockroach or beetle, and the first of these does indeed carry the connotations the German word elicits, whereas "insect" could also include bees and butterflies--neither of which fit the author's intention. But German has two specific words for "cockroach"--die Kakerlake and die Schabe, so it is unlikely that Kafka meant that specific insect. "Vermin" doesn't quite fit the bill either, as in English we often use that term to include rodents, foxes, weasels, etc. "Pests" or "bugs" would be better, as would "creepy-crawly," but these lack the tone of "Ungeziefer", which was derived from a term used in sacred rites to distinguish those animals unfit to be used for sacrifice.

Also, Kafka describes Gregor as "einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer;" the Muirs translate "ungeheuren" as "gigantic," and other translations render as "enormous," which is one correct translation, but which doesn't include the connotations it has in the German, where the word is also used as a noun and means "monster" or "monstrosity," particularly of a horrible and frightening aspect. I think the other common rendering of "ungeheuren"--"monstrous"--is better in this case, as it carries connotations of "large size," "unnatural" and "frightening."

I hope this gives you an idea of the difficulties faced by the translator when translating Kafka. I studied German for four years, but frankly have to read Kafka in the original with a translation alongside, as Kafka's German was not the German of Goethe, Schiller and Mann, and the Prague and Yiddish idioms that appear in his writing do not readily find English equivalents. Maintaining a balance between faithfulness to the author's meaning (when, indeed that meaning can be clearly discerned), and at the same time producing something that sits well in the ears of readers of a different language, is one of the trickiest tasks a writer can undertake.

>167 Django6924: Very fascinating. The difficulties of the translator are not lost on me, but, if you compare the Project Gutenberg eBook edition to the Muir translation, you will find that the problems go far beyond interpretation of single words or a desire to be faithful to the original text. Translators are given a certain creative license they can use to better convey a story; this particular ebook text is basically devoid of any attempt at this, making me glad I shelled out the big bucks for the LEC.

I agree that a translator's first duty is to convey the original story as effectively in his own language as the original author did in his, which requires a certain skill in picking up on the original author's distinctive voice. I looked at the Gutenberg text, and, while I don't think it is translated with any particular insight into Kafka's voice, it is faithful to the original. Compare:

Kafka: Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.

Muir: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

Gutenberg (Wylie): One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.

Django6924: One morning, as Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams, he found himself in bed, transformed into a bug-like monstrosity.

Not being familiar with the idiomatic speech of a Jewish resident of Prague in the first quarter of the 20th century, I have no way of knowing which translation catches the nuances of the original--if any of them do. I happen to find Muir's and Wylie's "transformed in his bed" awkward to English-speaking audiences, and though it follows the German word order, I think the dative in seinem Bett refers to where Gregor found himself, and not emphasizing where the transformation occurred. Again, Muir and Wylie may be correct, but it still sounds odd to me. I have also chosen to break the successive bits of information into shorter phrases because for me that catches the pattern of German syntax better than the more freely-flowing Muir translation. And while both Muir and Wylie went with more specific descriptions of what Gregor has changed into--"insect" and "vermin," I think putting the greater emphasis on the unnatural and horrible nature of the transformation by reversing the order of adjective and noun may be closer to the somewhat vague, but repulsive creature Kafka had in mind. I'm not happy with "bug-like," but I couldn't think of anything better.)

"a monstrous bug" ? "bug-like" is a weak construction whereas the sibilants in "monstrous" have an unsettling slithery sound. "monstrosity" is a weak word on which to end a sentence - single-syllable words like "bug" always have more impact as a climax ("I have a dream" "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.").
Bug is a particularly good stop word here, its impact coming both from its hard consonants and short vowel and from its contrast with the drawn-out "monstrous".

Listen in your head to Vincent Price reading the sentence, and feel a shock of disgust!

I agree that "bug-like" is not the most felicitous phrase, but I don't feel that "monstrosity" is a weak way to end the sentence. The word "bug" has connotations of commonplace and even comical that seem discordant to me, and not in the same tone as Kafka's use of the rather formal, even archaic "Ungeziefer." Also, "bug" is fairly specific, but Kafka did not want to be specific, even instructing his publisher to not use any art that would suggest a real bug.

>170 featherwate: Check out the last chapter (if you are so inclined) and see what you think. Thanks for your insight on this.

Ha, yes, "cute as Ungeziefer" just would. not. work. I'd say "vermin" is the accurate all-purpose translation--as far as meaning goes--but perhaps applying a collective noun to one person sounds a bit more odd in English?

"Monstrous insect"? I'm surprised nobody went for that.

I am done for August

THE FAERIE QUEENE. $95
THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER $95
THE POSSESSED Dostoevsky, Fyodor $50
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD Dostoevsky, Fydor $50
AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS Conrad, Joseph $25

Arrived today (my Maxwell's order):

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The Iceman Cometh
The Short Stories of Oscar Wilde

Ordered today:

A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Henry David Thoreau
Three Tales of Gustav Flaubert
The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White
Tales of East and West by Rudyard Kipling
($99 shipped for these four)

I am done for August too, only because today is the last day of August. But seriously, I need to give my Paypal account a little break. Luckily there are only a few more titles that I really want, and fine copies rarely come up, so I might be forced to wait awhile. ;-)

Have not had time to read that last chapter of the Gutenberg (Wylie) Metamorphosis, and am going to see an actor friend in a new production of Prometheus Bound tonight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrENONekEiY&feature=share

but I will read it tomorrow.

Picked up a few more from various places, including Maxwell's.

King Henry V
An Iceland Fisherman
Washington
Poems Heine
Government Inspector
Toilers of the Sea
Poems of Shakespeare (1967)
Travels of a Donkey
Oedipus
Roughing It
Candide
Prince and Pauper
Up from Slavery
Uncle Remus

Also a few Allen Press, Splendid Idle Forties, Temptation of St Anthony and The Diary of Patrick Breen.

Been a way too expensive month, need to put buying on hold for a month or two.

BTW, just read Death Comes for the Archbishop. Wish like hec that would have been an LEC, excellent book worthy of good treatment.

Congrats on everyone's latest purchases. I hope we're not driving up prices.

>177 busywine: The Allen's did a great job on the Splendid Idle Forties.

My august month has been:

Of human bondage
Arabian nights 1954
Song of roland

Also for me a bit more expensive this month then usual

Excellent titles all around.

>177 busywine: I agree, Chris. Willa Cather deserves much more than the single LEC release she was given. I own A Lost Lady, and it's great, but what about My Ántonia, Oh Pioneers!, or Death Comes for the Archbishop? These would have been fantastic LECs, especially if they were released in the 1930s or '40s.

Recent acquisitions, both LEC and non-LEC, with most recent at top and then descending in chronological order:

1. LEC The Georgics of Virgil. Another masterpiece printed by the Officina Bodoni.
2. Prayers Written At Vallima by RL Stevenson ( Melville Press).
3. Poems Chosen Out of the Work of Robert Herrick (Kelmscott Press).
4. The Shyp of Fooles by Sebastian Brandt (High Loft Press)
5. Pindar's Odes to Victory - 2 vols. (Shakespeare Head Press)
6. The Log of the Bounty - 2 vols. (Golden Cockerel Press)

I love the LEC Georgics, particularly for the softness of the paper (wait until you touch it!) and the beauty of the woods..

>182 Maretzo:

Apropo of Martezo's comment (justifiable, I might add):

ATTENTION ALL GEORGE MACY DEVOTEES !!

If you haven't already discovered this, some of the finest and most beautiful of the George Macy-era LEC books were printed and published by Giovanni Mardersteig's Officina Bodoni. Specifically do not miss out on:

1. The Divine Comedy
2. I Promessi Sposi (the Betrothed)
3. The Metamorphoses of Ovid (1958) - with fabulous illustrations by Hans Erni.
4. The Sonnets of Petrarch
5. The Georgics

This is my September public service message for George Macy Devotees :-) .

And you will all see "I Promessi Sposi (the Betrothed)" tomorrow on Books and Vines! :-)

...and don't miss out on S:t Francis and Erni's Plato.

Greetings, David from Stick Figure Books here. I have another 16 LEC titles that are not catalogued yet. I don't know the protocol for offering here (if allowed). In any event, I can always put them up on eBay but like the idea of working more directly with collectors here.

If interested, please contact me via PM.

BTW, I sell LEC, but collect HP for myself.

>157 UK_History_Fan:

Here is one image of the Gibbon. Not too bad a set. inside is fine. Boards and corner's board are perfect!



Like all the sets, the spines are crumbly, but the leather is still supple. I will strengthen the top and bottom of the spine with new leather inside the existing one, and will restore somehow the gilding where it is needed. Some leather dye here and there to unify the color and a good layer of Marney's conservation leather dressing should do the trick!

I will post again some pics once it is done!

Back from Providence RI and Boston MA and my Maxwell order has arrived. All in NF condition with Monthly letter included. A very good deal indeed.

Just added the LEC 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' by Thomas Gray with the superb wood engravings by Agnes Miller Parker and Virgil's 'The Eclogues', another beautifully designed book with elegant and appropriate drawings by Vertes. I am still puzzling over why it took me this look to add these titles to my LEC collection ---- they are both obvious winners.

Two boxes arrived today. The first contained The Complete Andersen, whilst the second held Ben-Hur, The Moonstone, The Three Cornered Hat, Bullfinch's Fables. Everything in very nice condition.

All purchased here in the UK and the price came to little more than the shipping only cost from the US.

Very happy.

>191 HuxleyTheCat:

Congratulations! Quite a nice haul, and especially since it seems you got an excellent price. One day I hope to find a Very Good or better Complete Andersen for a reasonable price. All the ones I've seen for the past few years are very pricy.

Thanks, Robert. Yes, it is quite strange that it has been possible to pick up some of the multi-volume sets at very reasonable prices over here. I haven't paid more than £90 for Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (in better condition than any other copy I've seen images of and it cost me £70), and now The Complete Andersen. Plus a very nice Freedman Anna Karenina for £80.

Hopefully continued patience will bring me Morte D'Arthur and I know that one day that £100 mint set of Shakespeare 'will' be mine!

Of the single volumes I received yesterday, Ben-Hur and The Moonstone are just as expected, whilst The Three-Cornered Hat is much nicer than I anticipated it being (I love the binding material) whilst Bullfinch is stunning.

ETA:

I was looking at the thread on multi-volume sets from 'gosh!' over three years ago now and found myself having written "I recall you mentioning something about some subscribers not being entirely content with Two Mediaeval Tales - I think it's a really nice volume though." Um, typical cat - completely fickle.

In that thread the Grimm's set was mentioned. I've seen this in a London dealer and was distinctly unimpressed, both with the illustrations and (more surprisingly) with their reproduction.

>193 HuxleyTheCat: " I haven't paid more than £90 for Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (in better condition than any other copy I've seen images of and it cost me £70), and now The Complete Andersen. Plus a very nice Freedman Anna Karenina for £80."

Damn--I should have bought a ticket to London! What I could have saved on the prices of these books compared to what I paid would have paid for the ticket (and tea at Brown's thrown in).

I admit the LEC Grimm's is a disappointment. Some of Ms. Corcos' art is lovely, some is perfunctory, but she was altogether the wrong artist to assign to this work. Too bad they didn't decide to print it while Steiner-Prag was still active.

>193 HuxleyTheCat: Totally agree on LEC Grimm - I think Corcos' illustrations are not "fairy" enough , especially if compared with Rackham's art.

But opposite is true for LEC Complete Andersen and I hope to get it someday in fine condition.

Meanwhile there is another attractive complete Andersen set published by Flensted Press in 1959, but I've heard nothing about them so far:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1959-60-Complete-Set-Four-Volumes-Hans-Christian-Anderse...

Received from Bill Majure:

In the Penal Colony
Huckleberry Finn (Benton)
Magician of Lublin
Book of the dead
Old Man and The Sea (ML is now in the dropbox : 1990 Hemingway)

In the traditional blast-proof box!

Bill is an excellent seller. I have bought quite a few LECs from him. The illustrations for In the Penal Colony are not to my taste, but I bought a copy from Bill because it was a Kafka. The Hemingway is a very nice book. I'm sure you will like it. All of the 1942 Huckleberry Finn books are in pretty bad shape, but at least Bill gives a fair price. Some sellers want $400 to $700 for a dilapidated copy. I rebound my copy in a butternut linen to match the original linen. This was the first LEC I rebound, and I didn't get along with the binder, but the book came out ok.

Bill says that this is his last hurrah, and he won't be buying any more LEC collections. If true, I will miss him.

Pity that Bill will stop his business, it is a pleasure to receive books from him. Let's hope he will keep a small core of faithful customers!

I read the Old Man and the Sea already twice, first in French and then with the cute Franklin Library Edition. I guess that the big LEC will be another experience.

Finn has a darkened spine, but it is still in one piece, and very solid. I have to make a slipcase.

I do not like the illustrations of the Kafka much, but I find that the slipcase + paper binding + paper + typography make a very handsome book.

Is Bill Majure closing his business all together, or will he still be selling online? I've been meaning to order a couple of books from him.

I don't know what bill's overalll plans will be. He mentioned to me he woldn't be buying another LEC collection after he has sold his current stock. I shouln't have mentioned it. Please keep it quiet.

Bill buys large LEC collections. He is not like most sellers because he deals mostly in LECs. If I had to guess, I would think he would sell his current inventory before quitting. This could take several months.

When you are dealing with only one publisher (LEC), it is hard to convince another seller that your offer is the wholesale value. Such a reseller must get the resale value or 2x what he paid for the books.

>200 leccol: No worries, I wouldn't mention it. I thought he might be closing a bricks-and-mortar location, but now I remember that he doesn't have one.

I'm not buying much at the moment since I have a feeling that the dollar is going to be much cheaper in the near future.