1dar.lynk
I present to you a book, which is special to me for many different reasons.
This edition does it justice, in my humble opinion.
The transparent wrapper is an additional protection while handling the book for photo session :)
It is quarter bound in charcoal cloth and textured old gold paper, with foiled-in author name on the front and book details on the spine:
Gilded on all three sides, nice red and gold headbands:
The nuclear shelter logo is foiled on the right side of the slipcase
While on the left there is a cross cutout:
The case is red inside and has a logo of science with a light bulb in the middle
Red and gold endpapers:
Transparent , painted window-like picture on the first page, I could not capture it properly but you can see through it:
Tipped in illustration on the left, title is illuminated with gold, as well as the logo of the press
Here are the illustrations for 3 main parts, note that first letters in each chapter are illuminated as well. Red thread was used to sew the signatures, you can see it a bit in the photo of the last part.
My copy is numbered 42 - the number and the writing below seem to be a reference to other well known sci fi works.
The number itself is a cutout and made of small pieces of colored paper.
There is a map at the end of the book as well !
I found this book to be very well made, design seems to work perfectly with the story and all materials seem to be of the high quality.
It was a present for my birthday last week.
The friend, who gifted it to me, promised some future surprises.
The said friend did not have any details to share about WYSIWYG press... so your guess would probably be as good as mine.
P.S. - I liked the logo so much, I got myself some flying pigs for home decor - talk about dreams coming true !
This edition does it justice, in my humble opinion.
The transparent wrapper is an additional protection while handling the book for photo session :)
It is quarter bound in charcoal cloth and textured old gold paper, with foiled-in author name on the front and book details on the spine:
Gilded on all three sides, nice red and gold headbands:
The nuclear shelter logo is foiled on the right side of the slipcase
While on the left there is a cross cutout:
The case is red inside and has a logo of science with a light bulb in the middle
Red and gold endpapers:
Transparent , painted window-like picture on the first page, I could not capture it properly but you can see through it:
Tipped in illustration on the left, title is illuminated with gold, as well as the logo of the press
Here are the illustrations for 3 main parts, note that first letters in each chapter are illuminated as well. Red thread was used to sew the signatures, you can see it a bit in the photo of the last part.
My copy is numbered 42 - the number and the writing below seem to be a reference to other well known sci fi works.
The number itself is a cutout and made of small pieces of colored paper.
There is a map at the end of the book as well !
I found this book to be very well made, design seems to work perfectly with the story and all materials seem to be of the high quality.
It was a present for my birthday last week.
The friend, who gifted it to me, promised some future surprises.
The said friend did not have any details to share about WYSIWYG press... so your guess would probably be as good as mine.
P.S. - I liked the logo so much, I got myself some flying pigs for home decor - talk about dreams coming true !
2wcarter
>1 dar.lynk:
Very, very nice!
Cannot find anything about WYSIWYG Press anywhere. Do you have further information about the press?
Very, very nice!
Cannot find anything about WYSIWYG Press anywhere. Do you have further information about the press?
4Sorion
Cannot find anything either. Intrigued to say the least!
>1 dar.lynk: That being said what a lovely edition.
>1 dar.lynk: That being said what a lovely edition.
6Jobasha
>1 dar.lynk:
This is wonderful. Does it say what year? Did she say where she bought it from? How much?
This is wonderful. Does it say what year? Did she say where she bought it from? How much?
7dar.lynk
>6 Jobasha: year is 2084 :). I think it has a hidden meaning as well
8dlphcoracl
WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get.
9EPsonNY
>7 dar.lynk: 2084 may be a possible reference to another dystopian sci-fi title, The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming. "So say we all" is a quote associated with Battlestar Galactica...
It appears to be a recent printing; perhaps a mock-up of things to come - a Kickstarter campaign perhaps? If so, sign me up :)!
It appears to be a recent printing; perhaps a mock-up of things to come - a Kickstarter campaign perhaps? If so, sign me up :)!
10ChampagneSVP
What are the odds your friend commissioned this for you? It seems full of hidden jokes. What You See Is What You Get. Located ‘somewhere over the rainbow’. When pigs fly. 42 (hitchhiker’s guide). That plus no illustrator named makes me think that tris was an incredibly thoughtful private commission.
11dar.lynk
>9 EPsonNY: Or, maybe it's a book from the future ;-)?
12dar.lynk
>10 ChampagneSVP: It could definitely be the case!
13EPsonNY
>11 dar.lynk: or 100 years from Orwell's 1984 :D...
14EPsonNY
>10 ChampagneSVP: Very likely a nice private print with art borrowed from deviantart (must be a good friend with deep pockets ;P):
https://www.deviantart.com/bolshiekiwi/art/A-Map-For-Leibowitz-564120810
https://www.deviantart.com/breath-art/art/a-canticle-for-leibowitz-847735785
https://www.deviantart.com/bolshiekiwi/art/A-Map-For-Leibowitz-564120810
https://www.deviantart.com/breath-art/art/a-canticle-for-leibowitz-847735785
15SF-72
What a beautiful book. I'd buy this one straightaway if it was regularly for sale, but it looks like it's unique. Congratulations, what a thoughtful gift.
16dar.lynk
Whatever the origins, I like the book a lot.
One more thing: I was told that there are some hidden aspects to the design, something that can only be revealed if the book is read under specific light. Candles?
One more thing: I was told that there are some hidden aspects to the design, something that can only be revealed if the book is read under specific light. Candles?
17elenchus
For me the design feels appropriately baroque but not rococo, not overdone. I like the details.
An example not already mentioned: in the slipcase, the way the light through the cut-out crucifix falls over the symbol of science printed on the inner panel.
An example not already mentioned: in the slipcase, the way the light through the cut-out crucifix falls over the symbol of science printed on the inner panel.
19marceloanciano
What a stunning book. How is it printed?
20ultrarightist
If this is a bespoke copy, then you have a real gem and a very generous friend. Very thoughtful design. Is it printed offset or letterpress?
21dar.lynk
>18 elenchus: I am going to try this! Will post if I find anything
22dar.lynk
>20 ultrarightist: Not letterpress, but I suppose you cannot have it all :-)
23dar.lynk
>17 elenchus: Yes, I loved it too - nice catch!
25laotzu225
I certainly share the mystified response to this volume as to who produced it and whether it is unique or not.
I hope someone will reveal the answer.
I do want to say that A Canticle... is one of the few books which transcends its genre and it deserves this special treatment.
I hope someone will reveal the answer.
I do want to say that A Canticle... is one of the few books which transcends its genre and it deserves this special treatment.
26dlphcoracl
>25 laotzu225:
>10 ChampagneSVP: has it right. This is indeed a unique, one-of-a-kind book that was specially commissioned for dar.lynk by a very thoughtful and generous friend, which is why I posted in >8 dlphcoracl:. There is not, nor has there ever been, a private press or publishing house named WYSIWYG.
That said, A Canticle For Leibowitz is a book that is literally screaming for the private press treatment, as are a handful of other books in the sci-fi/fantasy/apocalyptic genre, e.g., The Neverending Story, Flowers For Algernon, Neuromancer, etc., However, the only private presses really capable of letterpress printing works of this length are the Arion Press and the Thornwillow Press, and to date they have not shown any inclination to go in this direction.
>10 ChampagneSVP: has it right. This is indeed a unique, one-of-a-kind book that was specially commissioned for dar.lynk by a very thoughtful and generous friend, which is why I posted in >8 dlphcoracl:. There is not, nor has there ever been, a private press or publishing house named WYSIWYG.
That said, A Canticle For Leibowitz is a book that is literally screaming for the private press treatment, as are a handful of other books in the sci-fi/fantasy/apocalyptic genre, e.g., The Neverending Story, Flowers For Algernon, Neuromancer, etc., However, the only private presses really capable of letterpress printing works of this length are the Arion Press and the Thornwillow Press, and to date they have not shown any inclination to go in this direction.
27kermaier
>26 dlphcoracl:
Wouldn’t you say that Thornwillow have gone in that direction with Parable of the Sower? Maybe they could be tempted by Canticle.
Hand & Eye seem to be capable of longer works (Stardust, TWITW) as well.
There’s still hope….
Wouldn’t you say that Thornwillow have gone in that direction with Parable of the Sower? Maybe they could be tempted by Canticle.
Hand & Eye seem to be capable of longer works (Stardust, TWITW) as well.
There’s still hope….
28abysswalker
>26 dlphcoracl: +1 to Flowers for Algernon. The length is also highly amenable to boutique printing.
I have mixed feelings about fancy printings for Neuromancer. For fine printings, I think it's best when the media used and method of creation is somehow thematically appropriate to the work. Traditional fine press craftsmanship has no resonance with the themes or details of the story. (I am aware of the Suntup edition and am unimpressed. In my opinion, "circuit board" is a lazy and superficial reference to nothing more thoughtful than: hey this has something to do with computers.)
Maybe some crypto nerd art house shop could come up with something. Though anything that tries to be too tech savvy will most likely become dated almost immediately and anything that incorporates technology or actual networking would also probably not be particularly durable or robust. Which might be appropriate (content on networks tends to be rather transient in a cultural sense) but I don't know if it makes for a successful book-as-object. Maybe the "finest printing" of Neuromancer would be a bootlegged decrypted epub file found buried in some social media conversation.
I could see possibly going backwards in aesthetic somewhat might work, like Cold War chic. Metal boards for the covers like industrial file cabinets, or all synthetic materials. Use dot matrix printers (that would be an interesting printing tech challenge, to get a decent paper fed into dot matrix printers), or something along those lines.
I have mixed feelings about fancy printings for Neuromancer. For fine printings, I think it's best when the media used and method of creation is somehow thematically appropriate to the work. Traditional fine press craftsmanship has no resonance with the themes or details of the story. (I am aware of the Suntup edition and am unimpressed. In my opinion, "circuit board" is a lazy and superficial reference to nothing more thoughtful than: hey this has something to do with computers.)
Maybe some crypto nerd art house shop could come up with something. Though anything that tries to be too tech savvy will most likely become dated almost immediately and anything that incorporates technology or actual networking would also probably not be particularly durable or robust. Which might be appropriate (content on networks tends to be rather transient in a cultural sense) but I don't know if it makes for a successful book-as-object. Maybe the "finest printing" of Neuromancer would be a bootlegged decrypted epub file found buried in some social media conversation.
I could see possibly going backwards in aesthetic somewhat might work, like Cold War chic. Metal boards for the covers like industrial file cabinets, or all synthetic materials. Use dot matrix printers (that would be an interesting printing tech challenge, to get a decent paper fed into dot matrix printers), or something along those lines.
29dlphcoracl
>27 kermaier:
Excellent points. Now that Thornwillow has dipped its toe into the water, a handful of the more thoughtful and literate books in this genre would be appropriate and may interest Luke Ives Pontifell. Phil Abel and Hand & Eye Letterpress have certainly demonstrated they are capable of a book this length as well.
>28 abysswalker:
Frankly, I would eschew all of what you have mentioned for Neuromancer with regard to metal bindings, tech-y trappings, dot matrix printers, etc. I would do Neuromancer in a very pure, pristine, private press manner with the following features:
1. A superb handmade paper that is extremely bright and VERY white.
2. A typeface that is sterile, bold and cold, such as one of the sans serif typefaces, e.g., the use of Stymie Light type in the Arion Press book of Jorie Graham poetry 'What the End is For'.
3. Illustrations which are NOT in color, avoiding the garish and cartoonish approach often favored by Suntup and Centipede. Black and white illustrations which are semi-abstract and evocative, leaving something to the imagination of the reader would work well here.
Simply put, the "Less Is More" approach would be a wonderful counterpoint to a book that is already over-the-top.
Excellent points. Now that Thornwillow has dipped its toe into the water, a handful of the more thoughtful and literate books in this genre would be appropriate and may interest Luke Ives Pontifell. Phil Abel and Hand & Eye Letterpress have certainly demonstrated they are capable of a book this length as well.
>28 abysswalker:
Frankly, I would eschew all of what you have mentioned for Neuromancer with regard to metal bindings, tech-y trappings, dot matrix printers, etc. I would do Neuromancer in a very pure, pristine, private press manner with the following features:
1. A superb handmade paper that is extremely bright and VERY white.
2. A typeface that is sterile, bold and cold, such as one of the sans serif typefaces, e.g., the use of Stymie Light type in the Arion Press book of Jorie Graham poetry 'What the End is For'.
3. Illustrations which are NOT in color, avoiding the garish and cartoonish approach often favored by Suntup and Centipede. Black and white illustrations which are semi-abstract and evocative, leaving something to the imagination of the reader would work well here.
Simply put, the "Less Is More" approach would be a wonderful counterpoint to a book that is already over-the-top.
30abysswalker
>29 dlphcoracl: re: Neuromancer: it could possibly work that way. Now just convince someone to try! I'd be skeptical of a sans typeface, as they just tend to be on average less legible for extended text. Something from the Lucida family might work. And those were developed for modern display modes, including digital. (A quick web search reveals that it came out the same year Neuromancer was published, too: 1984).
31jeremyjm
>20 ultrarightist: - Not to drag this thread more off topic, but Gibson's 'Agrippa' is is certainly a very art-meets-technology version of a Gibson work. An edition designed to encrypt itself as it's read (I'm oversimplifying here), resulting in an ephemeral experience. Heavenly Monkey has published a book about this book - 'About Agrippa'.
FWIW - whenever I've felt the need to quickly revisit some section of the novel, I've frequently used the bootlegged, OCR'd version hosted on some Russian website. The most interesting bit of that being just how long that website has been in existence - has to be 20+ years at this point.
FWIW - whenever I've felt the need to quickly revisit some section of the novel, I've frequently used the bootlegged, OCR'd version hosted on some Russian website. The most interesting bit of that being just how long that website has been in existence - has to be 20+ years at this point.
