Easton Press book quality vs Folio book quality

Unfortunately, Easton Press quality is not up to Folio Society standards. I recently purchased LE Aeneid and LE Motomorphoses from Folio and can say that I would never purchase another LE edition from Easton Press again. Folio has beautiful font, excellent leather, beautiful illustrations and so on. Their LE are not much more expensive than those of EP but much better made in every respect. I'm not surprised that people here complaining about the books quality. It's an ongoing thing with Easton Press that probably would never be resolved. Unfortunately, for Easton Press the market is tough and I'm not spending my hard earned money on EA anymore.

I am new to EP. While I love FS, I also love leather. So I'm not sure what to do about that, since my recent first purchase of new EP books is a bit of a mess. I've been wondering about their DLE, too. Are they higher quality, or just limited production? I guess that question goes for both companies and their LE products. Though I suppose it varies from book to book.

What weirds me out is that of all the basic hardcover books I've bought in my life, I can't think of any which had the problems my EP books have. I'm all about spending $100 for a signed and leather bound version of a $30 book, but not if it's going to be creased with dangling threads.

But then there's the feel of the leather. I love it. It would be hard to go back to paper bound books with dust jackets.

>2 SgtStryker0331:
The EP DLEs are a mixed bag. Some are very nice; some are almost regular books with a number. You may want to read the threads here in the group - most of the DLEs are discussed and there are pictures and at least descriptions for most. :)

I rarely have issues with their regular editions but I seem to be lucky in that regard - and I do not buy them that often anyway.

I am surprised over this since I have done much better. I have been an EP customer for at least 30 years. I have found only 2 problems out of about 600 books. One was missing pages in the 2 volume Famous edition of Count of Monte Cristo and the other was a cut in the gilt pages of an OOP book, Durant's Heroes of History. Easton gave me the single volume Count of Monte as a replacement since the Famous Edition set was no longer available and sent me a "I am sorry check" nearly double the price of the damaged book and let me keep it (Durant's Heroes of History).

My DLEs are absolutely fabulous (found one print error but that was in the original source book from 1888). And their customer service is unbeatable. If they don't have the info I am looking for they go direct to the product manager to answer my questions.

Don't be discourage. Easton Press makes beautiful books but at this point in my life I prefer trouble free books, whcih I get from Folio Society. See if you like their limited editions at Folio Society site. I have to warn you it's more expensive but they use much better leather than Easton Press and their limited editions just gorgeous. I don't wnat to discourage you from buying Easton Press books. I'm just sharing my experience with them. I kept exchanging Easton pres books because I kept finding scratches, dents, etc. I just got tired of it let's all. Plus, I found that Folio society LE are much, much better with its quality and materials. I still have over 100 Easton Press books and probably no less than 11 LE from them and I'm very proud of my Easton press books.

>1 ramboknows: Folio has its own issues. Shipping to the US is now $10 for the first book and $5 for each additional book. The sales are endless to the point of being maddening. You buy at book at full price or even on sale, only to find months later it is offered at half price. Of course then some sell out, so you are constantly guessing when is the best time to buy. I agree their print quality is high and consistent. The quality of the covers is another matter. Some of the cloth covers use dyes that are not "permanent" and easily rub off. I also generally do not like their modern illustrations, especially in the classics.

>2 SgtStryker0331: I agree about the leather. I prefer it to anything other publishers do.

It's tough to compare an EP or FS book to new trade books, most of them have glued pages - not sewn, and certainly not "hand made."

>5 ramboknows: I have ~200 EP books and almost 300 Folios. I've never been sent a defective book from the EP whilst I have had a few defective Folios. Both companies are great about returns and customer service. I don't buy many EPs anymore because I prefer typeset books rather than photo reproductions. Most of my EP volumes are reprints from the Heritage Press and LEC and I'm slowly replacing these with the originals because the originals have darker/sharper text and far superior illustrations. I'm not a big fan of EPs false grain embossed pigskin leather but their DLEs may be bound in cowhide leather quite nicely particularly if they're from the Kingsport bindery. I like some of the EP facsimile editions, some modern signed editions as well as their science fiction. The FS often does not have a comparable volume. Obviously, we all buy what we like and that may change over time. If you like an EP volumes and feel it's worth the price, why not buy it? The same goes for the Folio Society or any other publisher.

I find that *most* of the problems I have with EP books causing me to send them back are due to USPS mishandling.

Well, nothing is perfect, but my Folio LE are much better than my Easton Press LE editions and of much better quality. I know they're much more expensive but I'm willing to spend more on quality product. FS uses Nigerian goatskin leather vs EP cheap pig leather or cow leather for EP's LE. I tend to stay away from FS cloth covers and prefer collecting limited leather editions and buckram bound editions.

>10 ramboknows:

Isn't buckram a cloth?

To those who have several hundred EP without flaws, check out my thread from this morning. Check out the four pics in my profile. I admit to some OCD, but I don't think I'm overreacting with all of them. Like the comment someone made in my thread, maybe someone at EP was just having a bad day. But four out of seven books is disappointing.

Anyway, I want to love EP and will not give up on them so soon. I've only just come to discover fine press after decades of book love, after all.

>12 SgtStryker0331:

Noone says that you do not seem to be the victim of a singularly bad luck. I've just never received a book from them in such a bad condition - so decided to mention it. Had I received these books this way, I would be on the phone with EP immediately.

Good luck resolving this with them!

I have had to return a couple of Folio Ltd Editions...and a couple of EP DLE for quality issues. However the EP books were 1/3 less in price than Folio. I think both products are extremely nice and problems do happen. EP is easier to deal with. Like today I emailed Folio to ask when a book might ship. They replied "I had a chance to take a look and it shipped today." Thats all good but what the heck kind of reply is that haha. EP is always friendly..as if its some long time friend you know personally. "Sure thing we will get that ($500) book right out to you....Absolutely we will go ahead and send a replacement and postpaid label...etc etc etc" "Im sorry this book does not use hand marbled end pages...I hope this doesn't disappoint you?"
EP is the larger company ($300MM +)...they are a bit more mainstream...but have steered a bit towards the more core / niche market with the DLEs.

It would be cool to see EP develop a book using one of Folio's cottage vendors.

There's no argument here.

Penguin is the highest quality in the land...

I have no complaints about either FS or EP book quality. I have purchased a few FS books in the past and was not disappointed with the quality. I have close to 30 EP books and have never sent any back or have been unhappy with any of the book qualities. I will continue to purchase and collect EP because as others have said EP customer service is outstanding and they will do what they can to keep you happy.

>11 cpg:

Yes, buckram is a cloth. Seems to be impregnated with something when used on books.

>11 cpg: >17 Studedoo:
American Heritage Dictionary:

buck‧ram (bŭk′rəm)
n.
A coarse cotton or linen fabric heavily sized with glue, used for stiffening garments and in bookbinding.

Well I am a big fan of buckram. My 2nd favorite book covering after leather. It's durable, resistant to moisture, cleanable if need be, and feels good, and can be artistic.

I like Folio's buckram, too, though maybe a little less than leather. They usually have interior pages that are superior to Easton's in terms of typeface, illustration reproduction, and translations, but their exteriors often leave much to be desired. When they don't use leather or buckram, they use another cloth or even paper, and heaven help those who spill something on them. When Folio books have a spine of leather or buckram, they look good shelved with Eastons.

Easton does a lot of reprints, so they can afford the leather. It's not like they have to typeset anything, or pay illustrators (90% of the time).

I have a number of buckram FS books shelved right next to my EP stuff. With a solid background and gold lettering they blend in really well together.

The old GA&U deluxe Hobbit, LOTR and Poems & Stories are all black buckram. looks better than over-thickly painted leather, IMHO. Doesn't look as good as nicely tanned and dyed leather with a proper fine grain, though.

For those interested, the FS is going to publish a new limited edition:

http://www.foliosociety.com/book/ALA/alice-in-wonderland

It's going to be a beautiful edition. But, I will certainly pass. First, it's $865 + shipping -so for those that like this kind of thing, that amounts to over $5 a page (before shipping). Secondly, the book (Alice in Wonderland) already has been printed in numerous limited editions. Do we need another? Well, I do adore Charles van Sandwyk's illustrations, but I'm just not that excited. That said, I do love the FS's letterpress edition of the poems of Rupert Brooke. That I can wholeheartedly endorse (and it's at a reasonable price)

http://www.foliosociety.com/book/WRB/rupert-brooke

>24 astropi: $70 shipping to the US.

That is an insane price for one book! I could purchase 10-15 EP collectors edition books for that price.

>26 Tolkienfan: Agreed but I think there's a market for it and will most likely sell out as Alice is pretty popular and these particular volumes are usually popular with The Folio Society. If you think that's expensive you should see their book about Pears and Apples lol still puzzles me on what the target market is for that. Anyways Folio usually cost more but you truly do get what you pay for. The craftsmanship and the luxurious materials used are of the finest no doubt. The Alice is a beautiful volume but agree it is pricey and I'm still on the fence. It's also all relative, you could purchase 10-15 EP books but then you could also purchase 10 paperback and a couple of hardbacks for a new EP book. But anyways much like EP they have a wide variety of books at different price point http://www.foliosociety.com/limitededitions and each one I've bought I've had no regrets.

>27 JuliusC:
Beauty and luxury are what distinguish both publishers. Otherwise, we would read everything on our Kindles.

The thing about the FS edition of Alice, I would be tempted to say it's worth it if it was letterpress. Letterpress has a look and feel that you just can't emulate with modern printing. And I say that as someone that loves Easton Press :)
Still, both EP and FS do produce wonderful books. I wonder if EP will ever produce a letterpress edition? I don't think so, but who knows.

I got my first FS LE and first EP DLE both within the past month - FS Toilers of the Sea and EP's peacock Pride and Prejudice. Of the two, FS definitely feels more luxe. The leather for the spine is supple, the pages are the softest paper I've ever touched and fairly thick. The EP feels pretty much exactly like a standard EP, but the size of everything on the internal pages is only like 3/5th as big as you would expect from looking at the book, which feels disharmonious to me (the illustrations/text take up a proportionally smaller part of the page than on the original peacock edition). So between the two, the FS wins out... but a sample size of two is not exactly a representative sample.

>30 katielouise: I think a more fair comparison would be EP's DLE of Toilers of the Sea which uses "imported" leather. But you're right there's a lack of consistency in EP's DLE as some just have an added slipcase and labeled as such.

Also, the DLE Pride and Prejudice is one of EP's less expensive DLEs. Not that a less expensive DLE should be cheap, but it's just not printed to the same standards as the Psalter or Froissart. On the other hand it's far more affordable, so there is a bit of give and take and if you really want a "luxe" limited edition, purchase FS's new Alice (of course, you'll pay about $900 after shipping :O

>30 katielouise: Congratulations on FS Toilers; if I was wealthy I would get this too. This was a difficult decision for me; I had the Famous Editions version. I ordered the EP DLE version with no regrets since it also includes the art work of Hugo + others. Your bonus is the FS version includes the charming archipelago of the Channel Islands (not included in the EP DLE set). Both are missing the PROFOUND essay on the wind and the sea which EP wisely added to their Famous Edition. Thus I kept my Famous Edition because it had these additional 90 pages not found in the EP DLE. I stayed with EP DLE (Toilers, Les Miz, Notre Dame) since I wanted the Victorian Routledge Hugo profusely illustrated triptych on extraordinary heroes fighting injustice in the world: Valjean (Les Miz), Quasimodo (Notre Dame) and Gilliatt (Toilers).

Tell me about the Peacock Pride and Prejudice...I am intrigued. Was it worth the price? No problem with FS Toilers.

>33 HugoDumas: If we were all as wealthy as we would like, I'm sure we'd each have a copy of every fine book we wanted!

I honestly am not sure the Peacock P&P was worth the price. I love the cover and have it on a tote bag and sweatshirt ( http://www.outofprintclothing.com/collections/pride-and-prejudice ), and I quite like the book (though Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel), so I bought it. I do not think the interior is particularly luxe compared to quite a few of the DLEs, though it has many illustrations and they are nicely done. If it is a choice between this and another, you may be happier with the other. But I loved the cover and have been slowly collecting a nice mismatched Austen set (I don't like my sets to match unless they're in a series!) so it was a no-brainer for me.

Here are pictures of the original: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1895-PRIDE-and-PREJUDICE-Jane-AUSTEN-Thomson-FINE-BIND...

And here is the EP version: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRIDE-AND-PREJUDICE-Jane-Austen-Hugh-Thomson-PEACOCK-EDI...

And here are a few I took that show the sheer amount of MARGIN on each page: http://imgur.com/a/s4uO7

The same publisher had a nice Sense & Sensibility as well and if EP produces a similar version of it at a similar pricepoint, I would buy it as well. I will hope for a little less margin though... the sheer amount of white is pretty overwhelming, especially when you're pint-sized like me and the book is as big as your torso. They could have made it significantly easier to handle just by chopping the edges off!

I'll have to look up this essay on the wind and the sea that you mentioned. Hopefully it will be available online somewhere.

>34 katielouise: you bring up a major issue. Massive margins, to make the book seem more impressive. Admittedly EP did increase the margins on my Victorian Routledge books of Hugo and Dumas, but not by much. I know because I have some original 1888 versions to compare. As I recall some books like Alice look like they have 4 inch margins. Not attractive. You have talked me out of the Peacock Pride and Prejuduce even discounted as we see on Rush Hawkins site.

>35 HugoDumas: If the size of the printed area had been increased, it would have been fine, but with the giant margins and little block of text squished over to the side it just looks weird and discordant, especially with the fine design of the illustrations. If you look at the original you can see everything fits so much more pleasantly on the page. It's my only real issue with the book, but it's one that impacts the reading experience the whole way through, as well as just the aesthetic experience of looking at the book, and for a couple hundred dollars you'd think they could bother to think about that.

>36 katielouise: "for a couple hundred dollars you'd think they could bother to think about that."

This, in a nutshell, is Easton's biggest deficiency - lack of typographical design and due consideration.

>36 katielouise:

Out of interest, are there any pages, such as illustrations, that make use of the full page size or does every single page have the giant margins? Just trying to understand if there is any justification for the sizing of the book.

>34 katielouise: a huge issue we must grapple with. I do not mind a 1.5 inch margin...beyond this we have serious problems.

>38 Studedoo: Every single page has the giant margins. There is zero reason for them that I can see except to make the whole book larger. It is a reasonably thick book, but I'd rather have a small fat book than extra margin, though the small fat book would look more ungainly on the shelf. Or what was printed on the page could have been increased in size with very little loss of resolution, I'd imagine, given that EP's facsimile is miles ahead of the others I've seen in terms of clarity of text and images. But if most people are buying solely for shelf candy and never opening them, I suppose it doesn't matter since we are in the minority of purchasers.

It is so frustrating to me because I think this book could have so easily been PERFECT, and I know EP was capable of reaching that perfection and just... didn't. While it may be one of their less-expensive DLEs, $200+ is still a lot for a book, and they often come out with books half the price that don't have wacky issues like this.

>40 katielouise: I am in agreement. There are a few I took a pass on because the book was diminutive in size or the font too small. With digitalization of these classic printings, I just do not understand why some books were not simply increased in size 125% to make them more attractive to the reader.

Are you sure it isn't just a case of EP catering to ancient standards of luxury? In the old days, when paper and ink were expensive, large margins were a huge luxury. Today, I think most find them wasteful and annoying.

Apparently, the tastes of people dead for hundreds of years are more important than us living, breathing, reading, paying customers. !!

42: You are correct. This has been discussed substantially before. Large margins are indeed signs of luxury and the royal treatment for a book. Also as I've said before, you can't please everyone. That's OK, don't like a book, you don't have to purchase it.

The traditional margin ratios don't really bother me but what katielouise described (40) sounds to be a bit excessive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canons_of_page_construction

>43 astropi: It would be one thing if it was a book designed to have large margins - it is quite another when it is a facsimile of a book that had smaller margins, and clearly laid out to look nice on smaller pages.



vs

45: I don't know where you got that second image from, but it's NOT from the original 1894 edition! Here is an image from the 1894 edition and in terms of margins it is identical to the EP edition:

>45 katielouise: Okay, I do see now that EP specifically states that it is a facsimile of the large-paper edition with the addition of the peacock cover - the original limited run of the large-paper edition of the Hugh Thomson-illustrated P&P did NOT have the gilt peacock cover. The ones WITH the peacock cover were smaller and had approximately 1-inch margins, with the same illustrations etc internally. This is where the confusion comes in. Interesting to note, too, that the mockup image on EP's website of the book open shows similar proportions to the smaller one rather than the large one, which is part of why I was so confused about the page sizing when it came in.

Just shows that publishers did stupid things with limited editions to drum up sales, even back in 1894...

LOL