Folio Archives 9 : Miniature Poetry Series

Miniature Poetry Series - 1991-1997

THIS REVIEW WAS INITIALLY PUBLISHED IN 2017, BUT HAS NOW BEEN REDONE TO A HIGHER STANDARD

Between 1991 and 1997 the Folio Society issued a series of its smallest books, one each year. These gems were all poetry, 32 pages long and a mere 11.8 x 8.4cm. (4.7 x 3.3 in.)

They were printed letterpress by Bath Press and bound by Hunter and Foulis in moire silk (which tended to fade if exposed to light for prolonged periods) and enclosed in thin cardboard gold slipcases embossed with the FS logo. The moire silk changes its pattern depending on the angle of light.

Each of these charming tiny volumes had different illustrated endpapers and included numerous wood engravings.

Most were given away as additional joining incentives but were also available for purchase for £7.95 each.

The seven books in the series, in chronological order, were:-
The Lady of Shalott : Alfred Lord Tennyson 1991
Pied Piper of Hamelin : Robert Browning 1992
The Garden and Other Poems : Andrew Marvell 1993
Sir Patrick Spens and Other Ballads 1994
The Raven : Edgar Allen Poe 1995
Fifty Folio Epigrams 1996
Fifty Folio Love Poems. 1997

I have six of these volumes, as illustrated below. The joining leaflet for 1997 is shown in the last three pictures.

Two of the volumes, and The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Raven, have been photographed in detail as examples of this series.





















































































An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.

There is a seventh, Fifty Folio Love Poems, which was issued in 1997.

>1 wcarter: They’re gorgeous!
From what I’ve seen, it looks like these books quite rarely appear on the secondary market.
I suppose, this is the case of the notorious enablement I’ve read so much about on this forum. I’ve run and bought "The Raven", faded spine or no faded spine.

>2 affle:
Thank you - edited above to include your information.

Of the 5 I have, all but one, The Garden, resist fading quite well if kept out of the light. The original aquamarine of The Garden fades to a sickly puce no matter in what corner you hide it. It's a shame, because Harry Brockway's illustrations won it a Designers award that year.

I've managed to collect all seven. I bought all but The Garden when published - I have no idea why I didn't immediately buy that one. It took some time to find a reasonably priced copy in the secondhand market.

I can only find three but was sure I had more...
Fifty Folio Love Poems (creamy white cover)
Fifty Folio Epigrams (yellow)
Sir Patrick Spens (dark blue faded to mauve, even the part that is hidden within the slipcase - exactly as in the photo in the OP)

>3 shelob: From what I’ve seen, it looks like these books quite rarely appear on the secondary market.

I have all of them, all bought second hand, all cheaply (I can't recollect exactly but I'm fairly sure I didn't pay more than £10 for any of them) and I didn't have an especially difficult time in locating them. Maybe I was just lucky.

>3 shelob: Patience and perseverance as always is the key. I recently bought a set of 4 of these charming books in good condition for the grand sum of £10 with free postage.

Hello if anyone has a copy of the raven which they would sell please let me know. I saw one in Tunbridge wells last year and didn't buy it and I have regretted it ever since

These posts are a wonderful source of information, thank you!!! I have just been inspired to buy my first two and will be hunting the rest now!

This post was originally written over three years ago. I have now collected all six of these books (with the help of a fellow FSD member) thus:-

>12 wcarter:

There were seven books in this series. You're missing Fifty Love Poems from 1997.

(I hope it's only missing from the picture and not from your collection!)

>13 housefulofpaper:
Ahh, I forgot there were seven. I will have to resume my hunt!

This review was initially done in 2017, but has now been redone to a higher standard.

>16 wcarter: Wonderful books!

Here is a video review of the entire set:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g7r0X3mUsc