Easton Press Pics (2)

Share some more pics of beautiful Easton Press books!

Here are images from volume 1 of Richard Burton's The Book of Thousand Nights and a Night (aka 1001 Arabian Nights). Enjoy!

Hmm I initially did not want to buy 1001, but these pictures are beautiful. It is strange why EP does not include more angled pictures of their books like FS does.

What other sets do you have?

2: thanks, the 1001 is one of the most beautiful EP sets I have ever seen!
I'm not sure why the EP website suck so much. This has been a long standing question...
At any rate, I would consider the 1001 one of the EP gems. From what I've seen, the 100 Greatest Books is also great, especially for the price, but I'm not always a fan of the art they include. You're unlikely to go wrong with the Famous Editions, however I understand those are OOP and EP is discontinuing the series (unfortunately).

cheers,

-astropi

A few pics of Asimov's "The Foundation Trilogy" which just came yesterday. Overall, I was somewhat disappointed with this book. At $65, it had a much higher price tag than the "100 greatest..." collection, yet it really skimped on the extras. No moire endpapers, no frontispiece portrait, only 3 illustrations in the book (though they are gorgeous) and a rather generic (maybe even bland) front and back design. For EP's flagship sci-fi book, I think they could have done a bit better, but here it is, in all its glory. (sorry for the poor color in the photos, I will work on better lighting next time)

Now, one of my favorites: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. This book is great...from the compass/guinea logo on the cover, to the aqua-seafoam blue color, to the wonderful illustrations throughout, this book is a winner. They used a different kind of leather on the cover, which is unusually supple to the touch, and free of any bumps or roughness. Almost feels like vellum. I particularly like the thick paper stock, the wonderful saxon fonts, the generous spacing and margins (which nicely fill out the book) and the fact that nearly every other page turn has a picture of some kind. There's even a map of the island in the back of the book. Not the mention, the book is a great read, too!

If you liked Easton's "Treasure Island," I'd recommend their "Robinson Crusoe" too. It also has a nice nautical feel. Not as many illustrations as Treasure Island but a healthy amount with a nice multiple spot-color treatment.

Love the illustrations in that Foundation Trilogy edition. I fondly remember them from the paperback covers I read as a kid.

The illustrations on the Foundation Trilogy are indeed gorgeous. They are done by one of my favorite illustrators, Michael Whelan. He has won a whopping 15 Hugo awards! Thanks for sharing :)
Now, we need more pics!! I'll add some later...

cheers,

-astropi

Thanks for the pics Astropi, I really like your posts and pictures on the FS and EP groups. Keep up the good work!

Decided to post some more pics. This time around it's Little Women, by Alcott. I chose this book because it is one of the rare white cover editions of this book. I am not exactly sure HOW rare this is, but it is my understanding that EP did one run of 1000 of these in white, before changing to other colors. I have seen them in everything from orange to purple, but the white is rather unique, as there are few (if any) other EP books that have a cream white cover. (except the Kelmscott Chaucer, but who can afford that!?)

Anyway, the book is lovely, and contains many wonderful illustrations by Henry C. Pitz. Some are black and white, some are color, and they range from small doodles in the corner to full two-page spreads. Overall a lovely book, and aesthetically speaking, one of my favorites. Enjoy!

What the heck, I'll post one more tonight. Not much to say about Robinson Crusoe, except that I bought it on a recommendation from Katsin above. It's got a similar look and feel to Treasure Island, with a very nautical feel in colors and texture all around. All of the illustrations save the Frontispiece portrait were done by Edward A. Wilson.

There are several covers of this book, but I was insistent on acquiring the anchor cover, with the initials RC inscribed. I am glad I did, as the book is extremely handsome. I cannot wait to give this one a read. Enjoy the pics!

Stunningly beautiful books - particularly the Arabian Nights and Treasure Island. I would love to subscribe the Arabian Nights but I note it's not currently available on the website.

I have noticed that many of these beautiful books state "Collectors Edition" on the Title Page.

What is this? If one subscribes to the 100 greatest are these "Collectors Editions" ?

Thanks. As you can see I am learning the ropes when it comes to Easton.

That's a big question you've asked, Quicksilver. If you take a look in this thread we pretty much beat this topic into the ground. The short answer to your question is that we are pretty sure that older books from the "100 greatest" collection do not say so on the title page. They do, however, mention this on the copyright page. Starting sometime in the mid '90's, the "100 greatest" moniker was added to the title page. Very old volumes (late '60's and '70's) may even say "limited edition" on the title page, though, again, they may be from the 100 greatest.

EP is pretty inconsistent in this regard, and it gives us groupies a lot to talk about!

Thank you sludgetrough. I have had a close look through the thread (rather than just ogle the pictures) and I see what you mean. There seem to be inconsistencies in the appearance of volumes as well, with different colour leather used on different printings. Confusing but variety, as they say, is the spice of life.

I am (or was) a Burton fanatic so needless to say I was subjected to a crippling bout of booklust when I first laid eyes on that set. Besides price (not outrageous, but for me and the types of books I own, much too much) the other factor was space. I must say that EP makes an incredibly durable book. The bindings, the thick leather, haven't a parallel. FS books, their pretty gilt detail and printed tooling are easily rubbed off. I saw the EP 1001 Nights in the Strand once (the morons slapped price stickers inside each one) but had already purchased the Heritage Press 3 Volume edition for much less a few months before and had resigned myself to the hard, cold fact of never owning them. I must say that the HP edition is a great compromise with nice, understated illustration by Valenti Angelo. Now I just have to make time to read it all!

Nice pictures -- I particularly like your Little Women. I recently purchased (very cheaply) a damaged copy of this same edition (with the white cover) just so I could compare the color of the cover with that of the Kelmscott (I am such a dork).

At any rate, I'd easily pay $200 for a fine copy of the earlier Limited Edition Little Women (like the one wailofatail has). I found these pictures of a copy that was once sold by a gallery whose web site appears to no longer exist (I can't find other copies of this edition for sale anywhere at the moment -- maybe someday...)

Wow, I have to admit, when you put my book next to the one from your links, it is very clear that mine is not pure white. It's got a bit of tan in it, but light is so tricky...it always looks a different color from different angles. I wonder how old that "limited edition" book is?

On the topic of Arabian Nights, here are a few pics from the beautiful Sindbad the Sailor and other Tales from the Famous Editions library:

Gone with the Wind - 2 Volume Special Edition

Pics from volume 1. Several double and single page illustrations with black and white illustrations throughout.



Below is a slideshow of the remainder of the pics I took. Best to open link in a new window:

Gone with the Wind slideshow

I received my first Easton Press book today - The Grapes of Wrath in the Greatest Books of the Twentieth Century series. Illustrated by Thomas Hart Benton, I am blown over by this magnificent book. My photographs do not do it justice - I am a lousy photographer and the colour of the green binding is off and everything looks drained of its true colour,particularly in the second photograph where the green binding has turned turquoise! But anyway, enjoy -

It starts...

I also received my copy of the I Ching from the Readers Choice non-fiction selection. The I Ching has always been a personal favourite of mine, which is why I chose it. With the exception of the frontispiece it is not illustrated and is the classic Bollingen edition of the I Ching (by far the best version) but on superior paper. This book is not as tall as I had imagined from the photograph on the EP website (it's about the height of a new series Everyman's Library hardback). I'm not complaining though - it's a great book, although I am not sure if I find the lettering on the spine a litle heavy. I am happy to have this in my library and my old Bollingen hardback is on it's way to the charity shop.

> 20

But does it ever finish ?

>22 Quicksilver66:

I'll assume that's rhetorical

> 23

Entirely rhetorical. I would never wish an end to my bibliomania - although my wife would.

It all started for me with Huckleberry Finn. I absolutely adored the volume! I actually cancelled my membership after receiving it because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop. Within weeks, I received a card in the mail asking me to come back. At that point, how could I refuse? Years later I have a bookshelf full to show how I couldn't refuse.

>25 acidneutral: uuuhhhh, only one bookshelf?

The only one I will confess, at least. :-)

>19 Quicksilver66: Wow, Quicksilver! Thats a beautiful book! I am going to ask Easton to send that next month as part of my subscription! Did you opt for the expedited service over the postal mail after all? You received that quickly!

> 28

Glad you like it acidneutral. Yes, I opted for airmail so it came very quickly. The money only showed as debited to my card on tuesday and the book arrived Thursday !!! The I Ching has not yet shown up as being debited to my card so I was not expecting to receive it at all yet - I expect the debit will show up in my account today.

The madness never does end. I started with my 100 Greatest books back in '92. I collected all of those a few years back (after slowing down and speeding up shipmennts at various times based on my guilt over my addiction). I've since gone onto other various small collections and one off orders. I tell myself I can quit at any time I just don't want to right now. It never does end...

And one additional note, this is exactly why I haven't started my Folio Society membership yet. I can't even trust myself! :)

>31 hamletscamaro: And oh yes, the Folio membership year starts very soon. That's when all of us have to buy 4 books. You get a premium for doing that, and the trick is waiting till the right offer. I have been buying mostly EP books lately and have been ignoring Folio for the very same reason you don't want to join :)

I don't think anyone has yet posted photos of The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. The frontispiece illustration (color) is by David Martin & the rest of the illustrations (black & white) are by Adrian Chesterman. There are a total of 5 illustrations in the book, all on glossy paper. The cover is one of EP's more impressive covers, in my opinion. I was not wild about the black & white illustrations because I'm not fond of Photoshop manipulations where photography & illustration are combined. I like the sword in the stone illustration, but not so much the ones with people's faces. I would be interested to know other people's take on that.

I concur regarding the faces, indigosky. They seem to have trance-like stares that are neither natural nor convincing.

33: I actually really like the B&W illustrations! Thanks for sharing the pics, I've been wondering what that book looks like! However, I'm not a fan of the cover... it's too ornate for my taste. Arthur looks like he's got glowing eyes on the cover... rather makes him look like a Goa'uld (if you know what I'm talking about :)

Here are some pics of the apparently somewhat elusive Idylls illustrated by Dore, as part of the Famous Editions library. Note that the pics do not do justice to the book!

God, those Dorés look so good.

#14 DanMat, re: Burton's 1001--I know what you mean. I have been plugging away at my Heritage Press edition for forty odd years, since ordering it from the club as a teen. It has been like a rich dessert I didn't want to gulp too quickly. You are right--the HP edition is a nice consolation prize if budget and/or availability put the EP editions out of reach.

So... anyone want to share more pics?

I can't remember if I posted these pictures before or not, but this massive tome is EP's edition of O. Henry. Believe me, you would not want to drop this one on your toes. There are no illustrations.

Day-um, that puppy looks to be as hefty as the 1611 KJB DLE!!

Indeed, that book looks massive! How much does it weigh? I do wish it was illustrated...

Here are some more pictures of books that I have recently received. Nothing unusual and most will be familiar to long time collectors, but I know I found these posts very useful when I was new to EP and deciding whether or not to buy their books -

The Jungle Books. I love the green binding and bamboo lettering. The end papers are yellow and not the standard EP orange blegh -







Brave New World - a really unusual and elegant design. The cover is very highly polished -





The Brothers Karamazov - I have mixed feelings about this volume. I am not keen on the double columns, but I have got used to this layout. Eichenbegs illustrations look a little grotesque but they are apt -

> 44
I am particularly fond of the wood cut illustrations for most of the EP 100 Greatest or Famous Editions books of the "Great Russians" (Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky).

I think we should play a new game: name that background book.

In the first picture of Jungle Book, I spy the 3-volume boxed set of Shelby Foote's Civil War, offered through but not by the Folio Society (ok, that one was easy). I also spy a corner of the 3rd volume in the John Julius Norwich Byzantium trilogy, which is a fantastic read. Finally I see portions of the solander boxes for the Folio Society limited edition version of Decameron and Aeneid. I am choosing to ignore the disturbing white kitty on fuscia background which appears to be some sort of greeting card.

I would love to see some pics of the Folio LE Decameron. Not sure why I passed on this (unless it was because it had a horrific cover like Les Miserables). If someone else has already posted in another thread, please provide the reference or link. Thanks!

45: I think most of the illustrations for the Russian volumes in the EP series are originally from the LEC and were done by Fritz Eichenberg.

> 46: I think you are right. A big fan of his work.

>44 Quicksilver66:, 45: Never mind about the Decameron. I found the photos within David's photobucket stream. I was not a fan of the cover. Made it look like some sort of native american or other aboriginal cave work and seemed very inappropriate to me for this Late Medieval/Early Renaissance work. I remember now why I passed.

> 44: David, what do you think of the Decameron interior illustrations if I can get past the cover?

> 47

I actually like the cover of the Decameron, but it’s not everyones cup of tea. The illustrations are gorgeous - quite sensual and, dare I say it, erotic. They are from the first FS edition.

You correctly guessed all the background books. And the card is my wife's - she is Thai and it’s one of those waiving cats that you see all over Asia. A disturbing piece of Asian kitsch - I love it!!!

> 46 It is Eichenberg. A great illustrator in woodcuts.

> 48
It is amazing how similar our libraries are...mine of course is missing the waving Thai kitty. And the LE Decameron though I have about 5 other copies.

> 45, 46

More on Eichenberg. I love his illustrations in War and Peace. So the grotesqueness of the illustrations in Karamazov was obviously an effect he wanted to create. As I said, it does seem appropriate for this dark and Dickensian novel.

Well, if y'all like Eichenberg, that's fine, but I find his illustrations cold, flat, and unappealing.

Just posted pics of the Faerie Queene here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/112383#3075360

I posted it in the FS group thread so we can compare it with the FS LE.