Amaranthine Books

I was looking for a consolidated thread here discussing Amaranthine Books (https://amaranthinebooks.com/) in general, but all I unearthed were specific threads about each title. Anyway, here's a place for general news should one wish to post or view it.

The main thing that sent me looking for such a thread is the new email from them today, in which they intimate that their forthcoming Sherlock volume will also be their first letterpress book. There will be two editions (as with Frankenstein) and pre-orders are slated to be announced this month.

Meanwhile design work and illustration continues of Catch-22 for a potential pre-order early next year. More to come, as they say.

>1 Shadekeep: Will Catch-22 be printed letterpress?

>2 ultrarightist: Well, according to this, they'd been planning Catch-22 as their first letterpress edition, so I would say they've likely decided to start a bit smaller with some Holmes.
https://amaranthinebooks.com/about/production/

I hope this betokens a move into letterpress consistently in future as well.

Catch-22 would be hard to pass up in a letterpress edition. I've been meaning to revisit it and that would be a great way.

>4 Shadekeep: They invested in a Heidelberg for in-house letterpress printing, so unless these two editions go very poorly, letterpress should be the standard going forward.

I'm quite excited to see what they come up with for the letterpress Catch 22, however I worry that given the significant upward trend in their pricing (even before letterpress) that it will be outside my budget. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for now though.

>6 NathanOv: Excellent, looking forward to the results!

A lot of news just posted on FB. These are some interesting points to me.

There is now a discount for those who have matching rights from the prior book during the preorder phase. I think this is a good idea - it's sort of like a subscription - except you can jump off at any time - and makes rights more meaningful when they are no longer necessary in most cases (in the current market) to actually get a copy of books. Not sure how much the discount will be. Any thoughts on this?

There will "library" editions (520 limitation) which are inexpensive letterpress options, like the standard editions offered by other publishers. I think this is a good idea for customers but not too sure what the market would be. It didn't look like the standard edition of Peter Pan sold too well, and I suspect that in the current market copyrighted books do best with 3 states (for example Lyra's Classics only has 2 states while Lyra's Press has 3). But it sounds like this will be tried for Sherlock and only continued for future books (like Catch 22) if it sells reasonably well - although I'm guessing there would be the most demand for a library state of Catch 22.

>9 punkzip: In the essay they mention books without rights don’t sell well, and are now essentially offering almost all their books at a discount, with the matching rights reduced prices, aren’t they?

Also, with a price reduction on matching rights, it’s commodified rights to an even higher degree than Suntup. Now a book for sale with rights can demand a premium due to the promise of reduced prices on all future books.

Waiting for astropi’s insight!

>10 What_What: Not sure I understand the issue you have. It sounds like what Amaranthine is offering is comparable to a subscription program, just using rights. I don't know what the discount will be (probably less than most subscription programs) but it's more flexible than most subscription programs as you have no obligation to buy future volumes (like you do with Arion and Barbarian), you just have the opportunity to buy at a reduced cost. The point I was making was that this is actually a good use of rights, since at this point given the market downturn the majority of books from most publishers can be obtained without rights, so they don't mean much unless you care about matching numbers.

>11 punkzip: No problem, just an observation.

The Amaranthine newsletter is out now with details about the upcoming Sherlock pre-order. Some of it has been discussed here already.

https://amaranthinebooks.com/newsletter/elementary/

>13 Shadekeep: No pictures?

>14 Dr.Fiddy: Haven't seen any yet. Since they are deferring the live video presentation until after pre-production, that's probably when images will be made available as well. It sounds like they want to get some solid proofing done before showing anything off.

Sherlock mockups are out! But ordering is only available at the moment for matching rights holders:
https://amaranthinebooks.com/shop/

I like the illustrations, but ... they just don't convey "Sherlock" to me. The same style but with more obvious Sherlock features would please me. Pricing for the Library is not bad and I look forward to more Library titles in the future.

200€ for a letter-press book of 350+ pages sounds amazing. Please, share your thoughts on the quality of Amaranthine's printing, when you get the book.

I like it! The Library Edition does seem a very fine bargain, hoping to secure one myself.

>17 AMindForeverVoyaging: The artwork is interesting. I would like to see it in person but overall from what I can see, I think it's a step-up from some of Amaranthine's cheesier choices in the past.

>20 wooter: The art is, to me, a pleasing departure from the typical and still evokes the works. They are like miniature mysteries themselves, wordless puzzles to study and work out.

>21 Shadekeep: Agreed. I imagine they are even more fun when you read the story and have the context.

I really love the illustrations and how they summarize the story beats by location. I can't wrap my head around the gimmicky stuff they do though, the high end Clue version has a magnifying glass stuck to the cover? Really? Seems like something a book for children would do.
That said, the Library edition is very appealing and actually within my budget.

>23 A.Godhelm: Haha, yeah, no doubt. I chuckled when I saw that. Amaranthine is the publisher I wish I could like. At least there isnt any human blood on this one...

>24 wooter: I suppose it could have been worse. They could have mounted a syringe and a vial of the seven-per-cent solution. :D

>25 Shadekeep: haha just wait and see. They might still do that

>25 Shadekeep: Addict Edition?

>27 wooter: ROTFLMAO!!!!!!

>27 wooter: Ha! Produced in a limitation of 1. Price: $7,000 plus a 5-10 years prison sentence for possession.

>25 Shadekeep: Hahahaha

This looks great! Will be my first Amaranthine book! It's so exciting to see publishers (Suntup, Amaranthine, etc) all producing these wonderful books letterpress... just warms the heart :)

My only suggestion to Amaranthine, is to consider having the Library Edition signed by the illustrator. I think most patrons would like that and would pay a few dollars more to have the signature.

>31 astropi: I'm thrilled too at the prospect of finally adding an Amaranthine book to the collection. And while they've done fine work, this is the one I am most excited for yet.

And I agree, if they could persuade the illustrator to sign the Library Editions, that would be worth some extra scratch. I can understand the artist not wanting to do a further 500+ sigs, though.

Is there a list of the stories?

I think I see:
- The Redheaded League
- The Final Problem
- A Scandal in Bohemia
- The Devil's Foot (maybe)
- The Dancing Men
- The Priory School (maybe)

The Library edition might also be my first Amaranthine. Like some others I've been put off in the past by the gimmicks and sometimes unappealing illustrations, but it seems like the Library editions will be Amaranthine without the gimmicks and at a lower price. So it's win-win in my book. Very nice illustration concept too.

However, I really dislike the subtitle 'The Adventure of a Dozen Favourites' and it might be enough to put me off buying, given that it will be visible on the shelf, taunting me forever more. And I hate to be a nitpicker, but I hope they're not planning to write 'The Adventure of a Scandal in Bohemia' and 'The Adventure of the Final Problem' (among others) in the final book.

>33 Jobasha: Yes, here's the list of included titles:

The Adventure of the Speckled Band
The Adventure of the Red-Headed League
The Adventure of the Dancing Men
The Adventure of the Final Problem
The Adventure of a Scandal in Bohemia
The Adventure of the Empty House
The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips
The Adventure of the Second Stain
The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
The Adventure of the Priory School
The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual
The Adventure of the Reigate Squire

EDIT: Corrected a title

that a lot of "The Adventure ofs"

>36 wooter: Aye, and a number of them don't appear to be the original title structure. According to a couple of sources (one, two), the "The Adventure of ..." formulation didn't kick in until "The Adventure of The Blue Carbuncle", after which it persisted largely without interruption. Two notable deviations from the pattern are "The Problem of Thor Bridge" and "His Last Bow".

So going by the original titles, the list would be more like:

The Adventure of the Speckled Band
The Red-Headed League
The Adventure of the Dancing Men
The Adventure of the Final Problem
A Scandal in Bohemia
The Adventure of the Empty House
The Five Orange Pips
The Adventure of the Second Stain
The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
The Adventure of the Priory School
The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual
The Adventure of the Reigate Squire

But I can't fault Amaranthine for making them more consistent for this compendium.

The Adventure of The Hobbit
The Adventure of the Lord of the Rings

In other words, don't mess with the friggin' title!

>38 Glacierman: You mean "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again". ;)

Incidentally, I would have sworn that both "Silver Blaze" and "The Final Problem" had titles without "The Adventure of ..." tacked on. One of the lists does have "Silver Blaze" in that formulation, but both have the longer title for "The Final Problem".

>39 Shadekeep: Precisely!

>40 Shadekeep: "The Final Problem" was the title of this story as published in the UK. In the US, it was published as "The Adventure of the Final Problem," thereby explaining the apparent confusion.

>42 Glacierman: Ah, thank you! I also credit/blame the excellent Granada TV series for leaving "The Adventure of ..." off the episode titles.

>35 Shadekeep:

How did they miss the best one:

The Adventure of the Silver Blaze

>44 Jobasha: Agreed, it's a classic. And apparently they just missed it, as it's the first on ACD's extended list of favorites. The Strand asked him for his dozen favorite SH tales, which is where the above list comes from. Then he appended seven further selections, of which Silver Blaze is at the top.

Silver Blaze
The Bruce-Partington Plans
The Crooked Man
The Man with the Twisted Lip
The Greek Interpreter
The Resident Patient
The Naval Treaty

I'm glad to see The Bruce-Partington Plans on here, in some ways it prefigures the Cold War thriller. And I'm not surprised at the inclusion of The Man with the Twisted Lip either, it's one of his most theatrical and emotional tales.

(citation)

If I read correctly, Amaranthine is hopeful of publishing all of the Holmes tales in time so perhaps with a bit of patience all Sherlockians will be satisfied :)

>46 AMindForeverVoyaging: I believe Marko specifically said he wanted to follow it up with the Sherlock Holmes novels rather than stories, but I would not be surprised if they did another story collection down the line if the series is a success.

>47 NathanOv: An interesting idea for a second volume of short stories would be to use the seven from ACD's supplementary list, and then have fans vote on the remaining five to include.

Got it, Library Edition ordered. Had a glitch with the credit card (fraud protection is pretty stiff on it), but finally got it placed. And one minute before it was technically to go public.

Ordered the Library Edition too. I think that's the sweet spot of the Sherlock Collection...

>48 Shadekeep: Not a bad idea. You should suggest it. Marko just posted on FB that this looks to be their best launch yet.

>51 whytewolf1: Thanks! I've sent an email to Amaranthine now suggesting the idea. Will let you all know what I hear back.

Got a lovely reply from Marko about the idea for the follow-up book, here's the relevant part of his response.

Your idea sounds very interesting and I definitely could see that happening if this Sherlock collection ends up being well received (and for now it seems it is definitely going in that direction). I especially like the possibility of “outsourcing” the selection of the last five stories, since people who bought this first collection would then have a say in it, making their purchase even more valuable. I’ll discuss it with my team in the coming weeks, so thank you for the suggestion!

So hurrah!

I was unable to resist ordering the Library Edition, it seems like an incredible value and I'm very much looking forward to reading it. This will be my first Amaranthine book, although I've handled and admired their black Jekyll and Hyde volume.

>53 Shadekeep: that’s great! Nice response from Mario. Good for you for following up on that. 😀

Looks like they sold the last of Frankenstein – The Doctor Edition. This leaves Dorian – The Peacock Edition as the only remaining title in the "back catalogue".

Did we know Amaranthine is planning to do 2001: A Space Odyssey? They claim it was announced last year but I don't recall hearing anything about it.

>57 AMindForeverVoyaging: This is from the most recent email I received from them last week. It focused on the Sherlock release but covered other titles as well.

As announced last year, we're looking into 2001: A Space Odyssey. We have finalised the terms for the rights, but we're just waiting for one big confirmation in order to sign the terms. That means that we're planning something extra special for this one and we've decided that we either do it the way we imagined it or not at all. However, everything is pointing towards a successful outcome.

>58 Shadekeep: Oh, interesting! Do say anything about the production methods, e.g. letterpress printing, original illustrations, etc?

>59 SebRinelli: No further direct details, they seem to be keeping schtum in order to maximize the excitement of their plans (and minimize the disappointment if it doesn't happen). A few further items in the email probably will impact the title however, so here are those paragraphs:

Beyond that, there are two other big changes that might happen. The first one is that although most of our books are sold out already, we're thinking about reducing the print run for our editions. This is mostly to make it easier for us to produce all of our books letterpress and to properly focus on the overall quality. Therefore, the new print run would be 200 for the numbered editions and 400 for the library edition, which is more than enough to cover our current demand. The old print run of 260 and 520 would still happen occasionally for the most popular titles, especially when we are certain that we can set aside the time needed to do it properly.

The second one is almost beyond exciting—we're starting our very own marbling department! That also means that both numbered and lettered editions of Sherlock will be getting marbled endpapers, as opposed to only the lettered edition.

So it should be letterpress ("make it easier for us to produce all of our books letterpress"), there may be a scrum for 2001 if it's in a short print run, and it could feature in-house marbled papers.

Sherlock Holmes/Catch-22 Prototype stream ended a few minutes ago. Doesn't look like it's available on YouTube yet but you can watch it on the Facebook page.

High points:
* Sherlock Holmes shipping in August
* Catch-22 is now up for sale and shipping in October/November
* "Library Edition" is now "Essential Edition" to reduce naming confusion
* Contract is almost complete for 2001: A Space Odyssey. They got verification on "something big" and are expecting to sign an updated contract in the next few days.
* Planning on doing a Sherlock Holmes novel (not sure if they said which one) after 2001. And they're aiming for 1 Sherlock Holmes novel a year.
* Not clear what else is in the pipeline. They'll be polling the newsletter sometime in the future on what next titles should be.

One really cool design detail they revealed for their Lettered editions (at about 16:20 in the Facebook stream, although I don't think I can link the timestamp directly): the ribbon on the inside of the case serves a dual purpose. First it's used for retrieving the book, but if you pull on it a little harder it'll pop out a secret compartment on the side of the case that contains the art portfolio. Seems like a really neat way to store press ephemera! Anyone seen something similar before?

Happy to see this company using letterpress.

The Catch-22 "Essential" edition lives up to its name. I'll be buying as soon as public orders are open

>62 jskalitz: I'm wondering what they're planning for the Lettered edition of the Sherlock Holmes novel. I can't imagine that it'll be easy to outdo their current Sherlock Lettered!

They note that their books are "Smyth sewn" (aka Smythe sewn) which simply denotes a sewn binding rather than an adhesive ("perfect") binding. This means that the sections are sewn together along the fold (as opposed to through the side--a "stab" binding) and is a method readily accomplished by machine and usually is. It does not imply hand sewn (although it can be accomplished by hand), and the sections are normally NOT sewn onto tapes.

I have enquired of the Press as to whether these are machine or hand sewn and am awaiting their reply.

The Sherlock Clue edition has finally sold out! I’m surprised it remained available for as long as it did.

>68 Glacierman: Frankly, I would be shocked if they were hand-sewn. My experience is that the practice is extremely uncommon, outside of high-end chapbooks.

I heard back from the Press. I'll let them speak for themselves:

"We’re currently using an old sewing machine that has to be manually operated in order to sew the book block. This ensures that each book is treated well and given enough attention to detail. Our plan is to transition to fully hand-sewn books for the lettered and numbered edition in the (near) future, it just takes a little bit of time before we have the manpower to do so."

I think that pretty well explains the sewing. When they do transition to hand-sewing for the lettered/numbered editions, they will be able to sew on tapes for additional structural strength.

>70 AlexBookshelfFrog: Fair enough! I don't think any other edition has taken my breath away to this extent. 😄

>72 Glacierman: It’s a machine that is manually operated. As opposed to what?

So it’s machine sewn. But on an “old” machine, to give it some of that hipster charm.

>74 What_What: A manually operated machine as opposed to a motor driven machine, that's all. And there's nothing "wrong" about a machine-sewn, Smythe style binding, per se, whether the machine is operated by hand or by motor. You can also hand sew a Smythe binding. However accomplished, it is a vast improvement over stab-sewn and adhesive, aka "perfect" bindings, but not as strong as one hand sewn on tapes. I am of course, speaking of case bound books which are the vast majority of books today, whether commercially or manually done. By and large, the only books sewn on cords are bespoke designer bindings. And the quality of Smythe sewn bindings will vary from excellent to mediocre, the former of which is what we are looking at here and the latter of which are usually commercially bound trade books.

I might also note here that Smythe sewing is probably not the best choice for a thick, heavy book, as they tend to sag on the shelf. Folio Society books are a good example of this. Their bigger volumes sag badly as demonstrated by those residing on my shelves, one of the reasons I stopped buying FS books (unless they're fairly thin). For example, see the FS two-volume Icelandic saga set. While lining the spine can reduce the amount of sag, for a thick, heavy volume, one runs the risk of making the spine too stiff, resulting in a "bear trap" that doesn't open fully. Attempts to force open such a stiff-spined volume may well result in a broken spine.

I applaud AP for wanting to move to hand-sewing for their higher end editions. Letterpress and hand-sewn. Excellent!

>76 AlexBookshelfFrog: "Didnt every heavy book has the potential of saging? If its perfect bound, hand sewn or Smyth Sewn bound?"

Properly rounded and backed, such a book hand sewn on either tapes or cords with a properly lined spine and the boards attached flush with the joint should not sag.

I've been interested in purchasing one of their books for some time, and I think I'm finally sold on Catch-22.

However, I had a question for those in the US who have already purchased direct from the publisher. Are you had to pay any additional customs fees? Thanks!

>79 skubrick2899: None for the Jekyll and Hyde two book set, the only books ordered/received from Amaranthine (so far). In fact, none for any books received from the UK, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand… Maybe I’m just fortunate to have a post office serving 3562 residents.

>79 skubrick2899: No

>80 EdwinDrood: >81 dar.lynk: I appreciate your responses. Thank you!

My only experience with publishers outside the US is of course with Folio Society. But since Amaranthine make a point about customs, I thought it prudent to check with the group. I'm glad to hear there's nothing to worry about.

The limit at which the US starts charging customs fees for individuals is quite high.

>84 AlexBookshelfFrog: I think that is a good price, I notice the seller won’t ship to the U.K. though!

The Detective Edition : four left.
I have just secured mine together with the Mission Edition.
Now awaiting the postman.....

>89 AlexBookshelfFrog: Thanks! I ended up buying this

This is random but I kind of wish either the numbered or lettered edition of Catch-22 had a case which was a miniature wooden, green weapons crate and inside was some sculptural hay, and in the middle of the crate there was a space to hold the book. This is the extra-ness I crave from Amaranthine.

these books look really really really nice. i am excited to see what else they publish. havent seen one in person but love the designs.

I have both editions of Dorian Gray from Amaranthine and Lyra's. I definitively prefer the Amaranthine, which design is more innovative and the typo a big bigger, hence more readable.
Each book from Amaranthine has something new and different: cover, illustrations, design, material, etc. And after receiving the Dorian Gray, I am looking for the previous titles (especially Alice) on the secondary market. Of course I am now on the list of their matching rights and expect to receive the Sherlock Holmes (only 3 left for the detective edition) after the august's break!

>95 Maretzo:
Nice.
I like the Lyras more to be honest. I do not like the magnet tape "slipcase".

I would low to own an Amaranthine Alice too. The illustrations are gorgeous 😍

The Amaranthine and Lyra's editions of Dorian Gray can be compared in the following reviews.

Amaranthine here.

Lyra's here.

I think both the Amaranthine and Lyra's edition are superior to the LEC edition -- and I love the LEC! However, they have a number of editions which are a bit "uninspired" and their Dorian is one of them. Lyra's is beautifully letterpress so that is always a big win for me, and the illustrations are very much in the style of books published during the Golden Age of book illustrations.

There's a poll of potential upcoming titles in the latest Amaranthine email. Only one of interest for me, but likely quite a few other folks will be happy to see considered.

>99 Shadekeep: Similarly, only one title of interest to me, and I’m skeptical that the press did any research on whether rights would be attainable or not.

In fact, many of the titles on the list seem a little over ambitious, and include authors who already have homes for their limited edition publications.

>99 Shadekeep: I signed up for their email list recently but didn't get the poll email. Which titles are on the list of possibilities?

>101 LeBacon: Here's a cut-and-paste job. They did say in the email that some are deliberate fakes they aren't planning on trying, and some are ones people have suggested that they might like to do.

No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Martian - Andy Weir
Snow Crash - Neil Stephenson
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Library at Mount Char - Scott Hawkins
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Delta-V - Daniel Suarez
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
The Three-Body Problem - Liu Cixin
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Krampus: The Yule Lord - Brom
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
Daemon - Daniel Suarez
Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer

EDIT: And not a single female author in sight, which is disappointing. As NathanOv pointed out, it seems a touch top-heavy on titles already in print elsewhere, or ones they may not be able to secure.

>102 Shadekeep: well, two years into Arete's Brave New World and still another year away, I'd be mighty pissed if Marko does that book!

>103 marceloanciano: Perhaps you can cajole him into doing After Many A Summer Dies The Swan instead. I'd much prefer a fine press edition of that, rather than a second Brave New World.

>102 Shadekeep: From that list, here is what I would be interested in --

Snow Crash - Neil Stephenson
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer

My #1 pick would be Lord of the Flies -- I think it's high time there was a beautiful fine press edition of this classic!

>102 Shadekeep: What would be the point in including titles that they genuinely wouldn’t do?

>106 What_What: social media engagement and buzz.

>106 What_What: Amaranthine seems unable to pass up gimmicks.

I like 80% of the titles in the poll.
Would he happy to see no land for old man, Lord of the flies and snow crash .
Those titles would deserve to get an Letterpress fine press treatment.

Iam not so hyped for 2001:Odyssey tbh.
Anyone here read it ?
I only know the movie, which is great and the book Childhood's Ends from the same author, which was semi good.

>109 What_What: it got you/us talking about the press on LibraryThing, so seems like mission accomplished to me.

Most customers won't think about it at all beyond the invitation to share opinions, which is generally pleasant.

Social media marketing 101 top tactics to drive engagement are:

1 "ask questions" and
2 "prompt product- or service-relevant self-expression"

>110 Ragnaroek: I like 2001 more than the movie version actually. It's not really an adaptation or a novel work as Clarke was working concurrently with Kubrick and their ideas started to diverge. The Odyssey series as a whole are especially interesting because Clarke adapts to the then quickly changing information landscape about space - active satellite missions and new telescopes changed what we knew about the universe and our solar system between books so he updates the sequels to move with the state of the science. The book gives you more answers and less "you figure it out" symbolism is the long and short of it.

>102 Shadekeep: Many of these will have competitors but I'd still be interested to see what they do with the McCarthy titles for instance. I'd be most interested in a Snow Crash adaptation. There's a SubPress version but it doesn't look that appealing.

no country would be my easy favorite and also a great one for them to release since itll all sell out

>112 A.Godhelm: I'll second your opinion and I enjoyed the book of 2001 significantly more than the movie. To me they are both great, the movie had stunning visuals that make it a classic, but the book has a lot more depth to it. I read the Folio Society version and enjoyed it thoroughly.

They added one more Sherlock Clue edition back if anybody wants it.

I'm so impressed with the books I've received from Amaranthine, the presentation is phenomenal, I hope they continue to have a lot of success because I am a big fan of what I've seen.

They have a lot of trouble with head bands though. Always a problem with that on my books.
I hope they will master it

It seems there’s been a couple cancellations of that highest tier book.

I just saw one right now.

The Sherlock Holmes arrived today, and it doesn't disappoint. Hefty without being unwieldy, attractive, faultless printing from what I've perused, and handsome illustrations. A quality addition to the library, and one I suspect that Folio Society folks would like just as much as fine press fans.

Many Folio Devotee wouldnt like to see it bound in paper I would say.

Iam waiting eagerly for my copy ro arrive.

Are youre Headbands okay ?
All my Amaranthine Books have some minor problems with them. It's the Amaranthine weakpoint 😅

>120 Ragnaroek: I don't mind paper sides as long as the quality of the paper is good. I do, however, object to paper spines.

Some of the finest press books are bound in 3/4 goatskin and 1/4 high-quality hand-marbled paper. The FS Letterpress Shakespeare series comes to mind - beautiful binding with paper sides.

>121 ultrarightist: Yeah that's true, the Spine is always bound in Leather or Cloth though.
The Sherlock Edition is completely bound in paper if iam not mistaken?

The appropriate paper can be a strong material too.
I have no objection to well made full paper bindings, and paper takes printed images better than cloth.

>119 Shadekeep: Mine arrived yesterday as well. My impression of the book is the same as yours; I think the Essential Edition, which includes (overnight in my case) shipping, is great value for the money :)

Was hoping someone would post some pictures of their Sherlock. Pretty sure I’m going to buy this, but would love to see some pictures!

>125 Evelyn2108: Pics below. I received my copy yesterday. 24 hours from Croatia to the UK. Impressive!

I concur with >119 Shadekeep: and >124 Dr.Fiddy:, a lovely book, and excellent value. Clearly the product of a lot of thought and attention. The illustrations are attractive and clever. I'd be very happy to add more volumes to my collection if they can continue the series.

I love that they wanted to start producing letterpress editions, but instead of outsourcing the printing, bought themselves a Heidelberg Press!

The binding is quarter cloth with paper sides.

How were the pictures printed?

>127 marceloanciano: Not letterpress, but I'm not sure if offset or digital. The quality is good, very sharp.

>128 GardenOfForkingPaths: Thanks, you couldn't get that detail of dots with letterpress, nice pics though

>126 GardenOfForkingPaths: Beautiful photos, thanks for posting! And I do hope there's another volume. I suggested to them that the second volume might another dozen, but this time voted in by the fans. They seemed very receptive to the notion. If they go this route, I'll likely agitate on behalf of The Adventure of the Six Napoleons, though there really are still too many good ones left to choose from.

I passed on that. Hated the illustrations. Essential edition? Amaranthine books tend to be very gimmicky.

>130 Shadekeep: They said they're gonna do a novel next, but they're planning on doing ~1 Sherlock Holmes release a year so there's definitely the possibility of another short story collection being released.

It sold very well in my opinion. Just ~180 Essential Editions left.

The Heller book doesn't sold quite as good. Maybe when the new book gets released and they show some mockup on the live broadcast

>126 GardenOfForkingPaths:

Thank you for the photos. I really like the illustrations.

I received my copy as well, definitely impressed with the quality and printing. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is still on the fence about it.

Iam very interested how the numbered will turn out and how the quality will be, compared to the older Books.

The books should get an huge upgrade in general if iam correct informed of course:
1. Letterpress printed
2. New Mouldmade Paper made especially for Amaranthine
3. The books are all bound in house now ? Should or hopefully is an very big plus.

Received the Essential Edition of Sherlock. Book is nice, excellent choice of paper, font, very readable, etc. I confirm it is a very good value for money!
The only thing that is somewhat disturbing is that the "Final Problem" is in the middle of the book! Amaranthine should have respected the chronology as much as possible! So I shall keep the pages 111 to 135 until the end.
I ordered as well the Detective Edition, as I had forgotten the order of the Essential!
A small priviledge of being aged!

>137 Maretzo: Nope. Firstly, Holmes was famously resurrected after the events of the 'The Final Problem'. Secondly, I think they're presenting the stories in the ranked order Conan Doyle himself gave. What is slightly irritating, however, is that Amaranthine insist on 'The Adventure of the Final Problem', when it should just be 'The Final Problem'. Same goes for 'A Scandal in Bohemia'.

Partly exact, and if I list the 12 short stories as put in the Essential Edition, they have been first published in :
1892, 1891, 1903, 1893, 1891, 1903, 1891, 1904, 1910, 1904, 1893, 1893.
The Final Problem is the last story of the "Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes".

>138 Levin40: Please don’t tell me they called it “The Adventure of A Scandal in Bohemia.”

>140 What_What: they do

Interesting! I've always known it as "The Adventure of A Scandal in Bohemia" and believed that "A Scandal in Bohemia" was just a shortened, punchier title. I just checked the Folio Society multi volume set and they printed it as "The Adventure of A Scandal in Bohemia" too.

Online pictures of the UK First Edition (George Newness, 1892), show that it was printed as "The Adventures of A Scandal in Bohemia" -note the 's'. Alternatively, the US First Edition (Harper & Brothers, 1892) titled it "A Scandal in Bohemia". For its first appearance in the Strand Magazine (1891) it looks like it was titled "Adventure 1 - A Scandal in Bohemia".

Looking at the Amaranthine edition I have in front of me, it is listed as "A Scandal in Bohemia" on the contents page, but all the chapter title pages do have the "The Adventure of" prefix in small caps above the large title in red.

>142 GardenOfForkingPaths: Interesting! Great work on the research. Easy to see why they shortened it, but also can see why AP chose the title they did.

The detail is shown on the Amaranthine web site and a list was put up on post 35.

https://amaranthinebooks.com/product/sherlock-essential-edition/

>126 GardenOfForkingPaths: Thank you so much! I'm very excited, just purchased it. Would love to see a follow up volume. I'm really glad they are offering books at this price point, hope it is something they continue. It's nice to have an option that is better than Folio but not at $500+.

Got an mail from Amaranthine.
Sherlock numbered should ship next week and following:
1) In keeping with the spirit of the great detective, we are preparing something special this time for all of you who purchased your copy through our webshop. Your book could become a key tool in an exciting treasure hunt we’ve created, but only if you’re up for the challenge!

Should you decide to embark on this adventure, your book will receive some extra attention from us – we’ll inscribe tiny markings throughout the pages, guiding you to the potential prize. 
If you’re ready to embark on this treasure hunt, simply reply to this mail to let us know you’d like a customised copy. If we don’t hear from you, your book will remain untouched.

Not sure I'm in for an adventure .

Anyone will do this?

I'm gonna give it a go. Seems like it could be fun and I'm not too worried about the resale value of my copy.

If the puzzle is something that would persist, in that any owner could choose to undertake it at any time, I could see it potentially adding value to one's copy. But if it's something evanescent, like it leads to a website or some such outside the book, then it's likely to be of less interest over time.

I am hesitant. This will be my very first letter press book and I don't want to screw it up. I worry these tiny markings may detract from my enjoyment of the book for what might prove to be a trivial benefit. On reflection, Amaranthine must know there will be negative publicity if they unnecessarily spoil the book. They can only be trying to provide a positive experience so I am inclined to trust their intentions and execution and go for the challenge.

Nobody asked about the treasure so far 😅

I, for my part, accepted the 'extra care package', whatever use or fun it may bring. I cant imagine that Amaranthine would harm my or other books with some ugly scribbling all over the top of the pages.
We will find out soon enough I guess.
I expect it to ship next week. ( They said so much at least).

>151 Libri_mea_vita_sunt: I went for it too. They seemed happy that I did and wrote to say "The markings will be as non intrusive as they can be."

Anyone already has an shipping notification for Sherlock Detective edition ?
I see on social media that some people already have their books. 😵‍💫

>153 Libri_mea_vita_sunt: Heard nothing yet. A couple of people have posted reviews on the Amaranthine website. Both gave it 5 stars.

>154 Pendrainllwyn:
Good, then I dont panic, for now.
Iam really looking forward to have this.
I hope the headbands are fine this time. That's the only problem I had with Amaranthine so far. Unclean, wry assigned headbands. ( Not as bad to sent the book back, but my eyes tend to see such stuff and leave an bitter tasting)

>153 Libri_mea_vita_sunt: Mine arrived last week - in the Netherlands. Really liked what I saw.

Maybe they only sent out those without the "alterations" ?

Received mine last week!
Took 17 hours from Croatia to my doorstep in Switzerland !!

Excellent binding, paper and illustrations.
I look forward 2001 !

>158 Maretzo: Did you receive an altered copy or a regular copy?

>158 Maretzo:
2001 will first be published when catch 22 is sold out, because 2001 is an "especially complex project". So they said to me atleast.

>159 jskalitz: I requested a "pristine" copy. Maybe the preparation of an altered copy takes longer and they will be shipped later!

>160 Libri_mea_vita_sunt: Do mean “sold out” or simply after it’s been finished and shipped?

>162 NathanOv: they said Sold out. I'm not sure if it's only the numbered and lettered, without the standard though, or really everything.

I'm not sure that's possible though.

I wrote an mail to Amaranthine, soo...
Every "Treasure hunt copy" of the book will get sent out all together. We aren't forgotten 😁

Got my Detective Edition today. Loving the various textures -- all the leather/suede, cloth, and paper feel great. It's definitely a book that just feels satisfying to handle!

Hello everyone,

Has anyone else received their Sherlock Holmes Edition with the changes for the "treasure hunt"?

So far, I've only found one clue—really well done, but I'm still unsure of its meaning. To avoid spoiling anything, I won't mention specific pages or details.

I'm curious about what you think of it.

I'm glad I agreed to participate in the treasure hunt and will start reading the whole book in the next few days. Perhaps more will be revealed to me then.

I've only flipped through it so far, but maybe my eyes aren't very good. Who knows.

>165 jskalitz:
Couldn't agree more.
The book is top-notch. The 100% cotton paper feels and looks extremely well.

>166 Alan_Wake: I just received mine too, a beautiful book. It is my first letter press book so I am a touch excited. I am a little nervous that not everyone shows your discretion and the clues and their meaning will be revealed on social media before I have gotten around to reading it. I may avoid this Amaranthine thread until then!

I thought there might be some explanatory note included explaining how the clues work and wondered whether I had received an unmarked copy until I see you have experienced the same. Enjoy the hunt.

If anyone has already solved the riddle, I would be glad to chat privately with you for some hints, maybe. I don't know how hard this riddle is in particular, but I can't find any solution. All the 'obvious' hints are found, but I can't get any further. I think about it all the time. It seems that I am not on the right track.

How goes the treasure hunt?

2001: A Space Odyssey preorders will be available from 27th Jan. A roman numeral edition will also be available.

Why didn’t I guess they’d be literally launching a piece of the books into space for their Roman Numeral edition.

I’m quite content with the numbered edition though. It appears to be their most refined and elegant looking book to date, and has some of the most promising artwork from the one sample they shared.

Ordered the Essential Edition. Great value with DHL shipping included!

I’m hoping there will be some Tycho editions leftover, I would feel very happy for this to be my first numbered edition from Amaranthine, it really looks great. Worst case, I will be happy with the essential editions as I am for Sherlock and will be for Catch 22!

TYCHO ordered for me too. Looks lovely. Their essential editions look good too. Really impressed with what Amaranthine are doing.

Ditto on the Tycho edition, this was an easy instant buy.

(I like the cover design of the Hal edition, but the encasement is... a bit much, for me anyway. The Tycho and Essential editions are the only ones I'd feel comfortable actually reading.)

The monolith edition has beautiful marbling. However I’m not so sure the other elements work that well. I like the concept of the HAL edition. The Tycho book looks great, but the case doesn’t look that attractive. I’m not a fan of the cave book, but the slipcase works well on it.

I’m not quite sure what to order. I think I will wait until the public order is available and see what is remaining then. I think the pricing for the cave and Tycho are excellent. I’m not sure that the extra money Hal costs over Tycho can be easily explained.

>177 DMulvee: Agreed. It looks like the page block is the same across all the editions, so the step from the numbered to the lettered is quite a lot just for the binding. Won't get into the ridiculousness of sending a piece of plastic into space and back for the Roman.

>178 What_What: the page block is not the same across all editions. The Cave paper is Fedrigoni, like the Essential Sherlock, whereas Tycho is Hahnemuhle.

I had to ask Marko that - the paper for the Cave was inadvertently omitted from the website description

>179 jsg1976: Thanks for the correction. The Roman, lettered and numbered all had the same description of the paper when I read them, so maybe the cheapest one is the only odd one out.

If that’s the case, the point about the increase from numbered to lettered still stands.

>180 What_What: Looks like only the Tycho and HAL are the same

Cave: Fedrigoni
Tycho: Hahnemuhle
HAL: Hahnemuhle
Monolith: Amatruda

Gotta say that I like the HAL Edition. Amaranthine has a penchant for gluing things to the front of their books with varying degrees of success, but it works beautifully in this case.

I concur with what seems to be the consensus of the moment that the Tycho Edition represents the best balance of aesthetics and practicality. Probably the one I'd get if I were to get any of them.

>178 What_What: Is the monolith a piece of plastic? That's disappointing.

>178 What_What: >184 Inceptic: My first reaction also was that it's definitely disappointing; for such a stunt I'd have expected some kind of exotic sounding metal like iridium, niobium or palladium but then I realised sending stuff into space isn't cheap since it's based off weight so 99% of metal, barring maybe magnesium or titanium, is a non-starter. That said I'm not sure exactly how much any of these metals would cost in themselves never-mind the admission into space. But at listing price I'd rather have an exotic sounding metallic monolith that didn't go into space than some plastic that did.

Really liking the design work on these, in particular how each edition is so distinct and how each represents a separate and progressive section of the book. I know that some like to collect multiple/all editions of a particular title - if there ever was an argument for doing that it's probably with this title, assuming you're a huge fan and have mounds of spare cash of course. The Tycho is probably my favourite, but I think I'll go for the Cave, which represents great value and will offer me a discount from my Catch-22 Essential edition purchase.

JFI does anyone know how much the Monolith Edition is? I can't see it on the website. >185 wongie: I agree. If I was in the market for this (which I'm not :-)) I would also prefer some exotic material rather than lightweight plastic which has been into (suborbital) space. It's also hugely gimmicky - on a par with the soil from Dracula's Castle. Plus, if I had that kind of money to throw on a book I'd have probably already have booked a ticket into space myself!

>183 Pax_Romana: Please don’t be irritated! Booksellers will do everything they can to promote what they’ve done. If one of the books doesn’t say it’s handbound, then it’s safe to assume it isn’t. You can always email to ask, but that’ll likely be your answer.

>188 Pax_Romana: This makes the difference in price even more difficult to understand. I realise there is an art portfolio, and that the case is therefore wider to accommodate this, but I’m struggling to justify going for the Hal version based on the current information

>183 Pax_Romana: >189 DMulvee: I had the same thought on Hal vs. Tycho. At first glance, I thought maybe they followed the recent trend of mounting some expensive gemstone on the cover, which would not have made it any more appealing to me but would have at least explained the price.

So that leaves the only upgrades that I can identify as 1) nicer (though very similar looking) leather, 2) hand-marbled end-papers, and 3) a more extravagant, though in my opinion less attractive tray-case.

The Tycho is the easy winner for me.

>190 NathanOv: "The Tycho is the easy winner for me." Agreed. Me too.

Another "upgrade" is rarity. 26 vs 200 which appeals to the investor community presumably. Naturally, there are fewer people to share production costs with and post, packaging and insurance must all be more expensive.
I suspect for those who love to show off their books and want to solicit "OMG your collection is amazing!" type comments (it's not hard to find them on youtube) the extravagant tray-case is worth a lot.

Amaranthine are hitting the sweet spot for me. Gorgeous books I want to read but not coming out so frequently they break the bank.

Just got an email, pre-orders for 2001 are now open to all.

I was lucky in checking the the Tycho page a few hours ago and noticed I was able to add to my cart and pay for a copy. Definitely the most appealing edition for me, I was just too attracted to those magnetic marbled papers.

Even at a price of Euro 10,000 five of the seven copies of the Monolith Edition have sold already.

>196 Pendrainllwyn: I expected it to sell, but I’m surprised that only 16 lettered rights holders exercised. I wonder if some upgraded to the Roman instead.

I figured if lettered collectors didn’t snag them, they could probably offer them to passengers on the flight.

>197 NathanOv: Your math is almost correct - 8 copies of the lettered Catch-22 book are still unsold (edited to correct), so there were 16 rights holders, and it seems they all purchased the lettered 2001 as well.

What’s more notable is after quite a few hours, no one else - members of the public non-rights holder crowd - has purchased the lettered 2001.

>199 Pax_Romana: Thanks for the correction.

And for sure, lightning fast sellouts are not the norm, just the exception.

>199 Pax_Romana: Consider me also surprised by how slowly it's selling. I would've expected the Cave and Tycho editions to sell like hot cakes and the limitations are hardly high. But as you say, I guess that's becoming more and more the norm these days - combination of simultaneously a reduced economy/demand and more competition cropping up. In this particular case, I don't think they're helping themselves by not showing more of the art, which would be important to sell the Cave edition as it can't rely so much on the binding wow factor. On a more general level, I think a lot of these new publishers have an issue with marketing. They're very good at preaching to the converted, through newsletters and social media updates, but have far fewer ideas on how to attract new customers from outside the existing pool of buyers. And unfortunately, the pool of fine press buyers - already tiny - appears to have shrunk recently. Hopefully things will turn around soon and I hope that these new publishers (all doing wonderful work!) can hold on until then.

>200 What_What: Interestingly, in the case of Suntup it seems the reverse: lightening fast sellouts the norm, slow sellers the exception. Plus they release a book every month. On face of it, one might expect the high release schedule to work against them, but in fact it probably does more the help than to hinder then, providing continuous momentum and visibility to the company.

>201 Levin40: I’m not sure how good they are at preaching to the converted. If you own the previous book then you get a 3 day window to buy the same state for a discounted price.
However if you wanted to buy a higher state, you have to wait three days and you don’t get any discount.

Whilst you should wait three days (those with the previous state should have first right of refusal) that there is no discount for loyal customers to buy a higher state is odd, and doesn’t make you feel valued. Other publishers allow the switching of states (Barbarian, Greenboathouse, Old School).

>202 Pax_Romana:

Thank you, that's interesting.

A friend was interested, but was not too impressed with the one illustration that was shown so didn't want to risk buying the Tycho edition. Understandably enough, there are very few books in that price range in particular that I would buy blindly.

>202 Pax_Romana: I can see why they drip feed illustrations, I'm just not sure it's the best way to do it from a sales perspective. As we all know, the vast majority of sales in this market occur in the first day or so, when hype and FOMO are at their peak. Miss this window and you risk customers drifting away, moving on to other titles and never returning, especially if rights are lost.

>203 DMulvee: I was really talking about marketing communications - they only seem to reach out to people already within the bubble. However, I completely agree with you and I'm a case in point. I was considering upgrading to the Tycho, but in the end went for the Cave due to the lack of discount. On a practical level there are some issues with what you suggest - if the previous title sold out then they would need to wait the full three days to allow all customers of the previous title/state to buy and match numbers. But, in this case, Catch-22 hasn't sold out so I'm sure it could have been managed somehow. As it is, they lost a customer for the Tycho edition.

>204 SF-72: I checked out the illustrator's website (https://www.annasagadin.com/illustration) and am actually really looking forward to seeing the rest now. Very much like her style and it seems as though we might be in for something a bit different than just an attempt at illustrating the movie version (see e.g. the Folio Society edition).

>201 Levin40: I enjoyed their previous routine of having a live facebook/youtube presentation where they could showcase the products (and answer questions live) before posting photos etc on the website after the presentation. There’s much to be said for seeing the books in the round rather than just as a still image.

If I remember correctly the Sherlock - Clue edition (in the 221B Baker St box) sold out quickly after people had a chance to see it ‘in the flesh’ rather than just a photo & realise how nice it actually looked - something a still image didn't capture

>208 antinous_in_london: I agree the videos help, especially with the enthusiasm the creators show for the books they've made. Marko shared on Facebook that they're working on a series of more professionally produced video since they kept having technical difficulties with the live streams. Then after all book videos have been released, they'll do a live stream Q&A on them.

It was great seeing the intro video for the base edition. I love the thought that Marko and team put behind the production of each work. Really excited to see the Tycho edition and additional art posted soon.

Tycho Promo video is now out! I'm quite excited about this one.

https://youtu.be/GnbUylqtU6M?si=0e4Ykjcw2f-EViUR

I love the visual effect from the Tycho cover so much, it completely breaks my brain every time I look at it.

Between this and Curious King's Hyperion, it's already looking like an amazing year for my SF collection. :)

I just found out about and picked up a Tycho. Very late to the party and surprised it was still available (and still is after my purchase). Excited about this one in general, but wish I'd been able to preview more of the illustrations since I'm not sure the style will be a good match (for me).

These new editions are really beautiful. I think the product/style of these books is very fun. Well thought out, beautiful, the quality is definitely there but I think the market around fine press has just gotten really tight. Bookshelves only have so much face, and some of these editions are really expensive. 2001 is really cool although I'm not a mega fan 1 so I will pass. I did get a copy of Catch 22, despite the fact that it's a novel that has received a lot of fine press prints.

I probably would've bought a No Country for Old Men lettered if they did that because I'd really like a super fine edition of that title (not the Folio).

>215 ClarenceBodicker: BE Trice did some signed copies.

>215 ClarenceBodicker: I have liked Folio's editions from McCarthy because they give a nice introductory fine press edition to some of his best works (not to mention their own really nice edition of Catch 22). I would like to see Amaranthine tackle Cormac but am not certain his works are quite on brand with what they do. I have a feeling Suntup may get the next crack at him again since Paul has done such a great job with The Road and Blood Meridian. As someone who has had 2001 ordered for quite some time, I am looking forward to whatever Marko and team announce next!

>217 NotSoSlimShady: I could see Amaranthine come up with an interesting design concept for either a western like All The Pretty Horses, or for a post-apocalyptic novel like The Road.

I do think there are noteworthy authors who are less prevalent in fine press and limited editions who they could explore first, though.

>218 NathanOv: I am definitely open to their creative vision!

I actually recently received a secondhand copy of the Holmes Detective Edition and am absolutely blown away by the production. The tactile feeling of the Hahnemühle paper is out of this world. I hope that remains the standard for future works even after 2001.

HAL Edition video is posted!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLAG9F67b-g&ab_channel=AmaranthineBooks

New Book Poll from Amaranthine for 2025.
Very interesting titles there...
Even more interesting how far they would go and try to obtain publisher rights for the Harry Potter series. Not sure, but I have a feeling this title will be clicked alot.

>222 Ragnaroekk: Where is the poll?

>102 Shadekeep:

Just linking for current reference -- the linked comment contains the titles in the last poll. Interesting to see how the possibilities have changed over time -- maybe some of the removed works have already had rights acquired??

One other thing to note is that in the last poll they specified there were some red herrings, but they didn't say anything about that for this poll.

>223 Nightcrawl:
Its a link in theire last Newsletter.
Iam really interested what the two new titles plus a new Sherlock Book will be.
If I understand it correctly they will announce 2 more books this year which should be shipped this year aswell.

Titles of the new Poll:

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

Solaris - Stanisław Lem

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

Dark Matter - Blake Crouch

The Art of War - Sun Tzu

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

Semiosis - Sue Burke

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

The Ruins - Scott Smith

The Thief of Always - Clive Barker

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

Harry Potter series - J. K. Rowling

Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

The Three-Body Problem - Liu Cixin

Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

Library on Mount Char - Scott Hawkins

>225 Ragnaroekk: Solaris and Snow Crash would be amazing. I've talked about nice upscale versions of 'trash lit' like Palahniuk and Hunter before too, it'd be quite a surprise if it's Amaranthine that comes through there first. Probably too late to become a voter now but I'm getting the newsletter from this info at least.

Got the poll, and nice to see that The Thief of Always is on there, which I suggested elsewhere. That gets my vote along with Solaris. I do think some of the titles are deliberate non-starters, and a far slew have already been done before. Granted, so has Sherlock and they did a good job with that, but I'd really like to see something not yet done in fine press.

Which translation of Solaris is the key question. The Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox is pretty terrible; I haven't read the Bill Johnston translation, but it's supposed to be quite good. It's also never been published in a paper edition because of rights issues, only ebook and audio. If they could get permission to do a paper book release of the Johnston translation, it would be quite the event, even with a small print run.

>225 Ragnaroekk: Surprised to see a lot of retreads of recent small press limited edition.

I'm not sure the title I'd most like to see, Beloved would be a good fit for this press though I'd be happy to be proven wrong. Solaris or Semiosis would be fun to see, though.

I would like to see Dark Matter again by Amaranthine. Suntups version was underwhelming in my opinion.

Fight Club would be fun to see. I love the book and the movie.

Overall I would agree with Shadekeep, it's always good to have new titles that haven't seen the fine press treatment already.

I'm not a fan of having 4 different versions of a book. (Maybe LoTR is an exception here ;) )
I want the ONE definite Edition of each book/author I like.

>223 Nightcrawl: I don't see a link here to the current poll (apologies if I am missing it and this is redundant), but if anyone wants to weigh in here is a link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5QXlsAWJ_-wkNdUzeyVzFa4DMZr5v1Zq1XFnC...

>231 abysswalker:

Thank you for the link.

>231 abysswalker: Ah fantastic I get to have my say after all! Thanks.

Cryptic notes in the newsletter regarding the next production include negotiations with an estate (dead author), and it being long enough that splitting it in two might be necessary. Catch-22 wasn't split at 450 pages despite some girth in the production, so something thereabouts or beyond.

Looking back at the poll most of those books are slimmer, and if not they have now living authors.

A quick question for those with experience of the Amaranthine editions: is the artwork the same for all states or do the more expensive versions have more/different artwork?

>235 cyber_naut:

Same artwork for all editions.

>236 jskalitz: thank you! I saw a comment earlier in this thread about the artwork being important to sell the cave edition and wasn’t clear if that implied it is different.

artwork is similar but papers and bindings are different.

Anyone pre-order Space Odyssey, and if so, which edition?

>239 astropi: I have the Tycho edition on order. In retrospect, I probably would've been just as happy with the Cave edition and may still try to downgrade.

The Tycho edition has enough upgrades to be worth the extra cost, but the more I look back at that red and black leather cover, the less sold on it I am.

>240 NathanOv: I hear you. The question becomes do you feel you're getting the extra $400 worth from your book? I think the "HAL" edition is the most striking, but at $2400 that's just not doable. Although, I do think the Tycho edition has the most attractive clamshell :)

>239 astropi:
Iam going with the amazing Tycho Edition. I think all the upgrades are worth the money. Iam not sure how much the DHL Express shipping + packaging would be, because it's already included in the 500€ , but I bet it's minimum 50€(depending on the country aswell).
7% VAT is included aswell which can save alot of money, if the package goes internationally. (On my Suntup books FedEx always adds the 7%VAT on the book price and then 19%VAT on the 7%... Germany I guess...)
Back to the book itself.
● full grain leather binding with amazing foil stamping in a beautifully red
●100% custom made cotton paper from the german mill "Hahnemühle"
●marbled endpapers
●solander box
●fully bound by hand

You get very much book for youre money in my opinion.
Of course it's a big difference whether I pay 500€(550€) or 170€(150€?) - better ask youre wallet :)

>239 astropi: Cave edition here

>242 Ragnaroekk:

It's 7% on books. If they do add 19% on that tax, it would be illegal. What they do in my experience is charge a fee for collecting the tax and then make you pay their tax on that fee, too. Maybe that's the 19% you mentioned? If not, I would have a word with them (or the relevant customs station) if I were you. There are companies that charge 19% when that's not the correct tax. It's happened several times with Kickstarter / BackerKit (not sure which it was, maybe both) and they refuse to correct that, so some sellers have decided not to collect tax in advance through them to avoid that issue.

>242 Ragnaroekk: Letterpress as well of course (all A Space Odyssey editions are). I am in for Tycho too.

Being based in Croatia I imagine the majority of Amaranthine's clients are international. I think it's a smart move appealing to all clients regardless of which distant country they may be in by offering a bundled price including shipping. The downside is that at first glance their prices might look less competitive against presses that add shipping at checkout. I am a fan of Amaranthine. One area I think they have room to improve on though is the illustrations.

>244 SF-72:
Yeah, it's the tax (19%) on the 7% .I think that's weird... I don't have that, when Folio or Amaranthine charges those 7% at the checkout.

>245 Pendrainllwyn:
If they really do some of the books from their poll that would be freaking crazy.
Didn't they said in their last Newsletter that the production/year will move up and that there are 2 more books planned for this year ?

>246 Ragnaroekk: Didn't they said in their last Newsletter that the production/year will move up and that there are 2 more books planned for this year ?

Yes, they said "Not only will we publish and ship both Catch-22 and 2001, but we also plan to publish (and ship) at least two more titles."
As their investment in bigger premises pays off they will be able to increase their output.

>247 Pendrainllwyn: At the current rate of delays, I would be impressed if both Catch 22 and 2001 make it to collectors this year. It seems like Catch 22 has been plagued with delays despite seeming like a fairly straightforward publication.

Maybe next year we get two new titles + the next Sherlock volume.

Two of four new titles announced in the newsletter today: The Hound of Baskervilles and A Study in Scarlet, along with a recommitment to do another short story collection.

Other two non-Sherlock titles still being negotiated with ‘the’ estate (implies two titles from the same author?).

I recently received my Essential Edition of the Sherlock collection and it’s very nice indeed :)

Edit to add: there are still about 100 copies of the current Holmes essential edition for those interested. Unclear to me whether purchasing the edition at this late stage secures rights/discount the next edition. The FAQs mention matching rights for purchasers of the numbered/lettered editions but also a discount during private pre-order for purchases of ‘any state’. Anyone know if purchasing an essential edition gives access to pre-order and a discount on the next or is that just reserved for numbered/lettered?

Mission Edition received. Very nice wooden boards and paper. Who else ordered one ?

>250 Ragnaroekk: That's great. Mine hasn't shipped yet. The book looks very thick. I have been wondering whether it will be unwieldy to handle. What's your take?

ME received today! I love the texture of the paper, the feel of the letters..
We rarely see marbled paper used inside the back, very elegant too!

>251 Pendrainllwyn:
It's a monster of a book. The wooden boards are really thick and sturdy, plus the very thick but magnificent paper.
It's manageable to read it, though.
They have marbled papers between spine and book block, which is a nice extra.

>250 Ragnaroekk: I'm highly tempted by that one but I never spent more than 100 euro on a book so that is a big jump for me.
The number of copies left is not mentioned so I imagine I still have some time to think about it.

>254 David_Mauduit:
650 Euo is a huge amount. You could still go for the standard edition.

>254 David_Mauduit: I’m not a huge fan of the spine for that version which ended up pushing me towards the first tier edition. I’d recommend taking a look at the other photos of the store page.

>255 Ragnaroekk: The standard edition looks good, if it was the only version I would have considered buying it. But now that I have seen the mission edition I'm sure I would have regrets not going for the upgrade.

>257 David_Mauduit:
The upgrades are incredible, but costly. If you like the story and can afford the money I would recommend to buy a copy. There are still copies left, so no hurry .

New video presenting the finalized Bomber edition: https://youtu.be/8swtYJBRXKI

>259 David_Mauduit: Beautiful case, I didn’t really realize before but the book is absolutely massive.

>260 ensuen: Oh wow….I mean, it looks great and all but seems more like an objet d'art than a ‘reading copy’!

And to think I held off buying an essential edition because it looked a bit portly!

>259 David_Mauduit:

That's really creative, impressive.

Speaking for myself: That book is a bit of a whopper - not something I could read comfortably.

I am hoping to hear more concrete updates about 2001 production timeline very soon. End of Q3 is 2 weeks out and the title has already been delayed 1 quarter. If they are still waiting on paper to start all of production, there needs to be a status update regarding this timeline before it passes.

>263 NotSoSlimShady:
The paper should have arrived and they are full in production. That's what I have read at least. Could be wrong though.

2001: A Space Odyssey – Tycho Edition has only 5 copies left, if anyone is interested 😊

>265 Ragnaroekk: Ahh, I ordered a Cave edition but had been considering upgrading to Tycho assuming plenty left. Decision time!

I ordered a Tycho Edition. The HAL edition is too expensive for me, although I like the idea with the Discovery on the box and inside the red memory room. The Monolith edition is not really appealing for me, it is interesting, and of course the price.
I have the beautiful classic edition of Suntup The Last Unicorn and I hope 2001 by Amaranthine will be good too.

I see that Amaranthine have announced that their next Sherlock Holmes edition wont have an ‘essential edition’ (nor will any other releases for the foreseeable future) - bit unfortunate for anyone who bought the essential edition of the current Sherlock Holmes stories & would like to be able to build a matching set with future Holmes books.

>268 antinous_in_london:
They sold really really bad, so it's understandable, but sad at the same time.

>268 antinous_in_london: Can you drop a link to the post, not seeing it on the site. That’s a really obnoxious decision for a publisher to make mid-series. None of the other Sherlock editions really seemed worth it at the price points too. The essential editions seemed like a nice escape hatch if you liked the book, but not any of their more creative approaches.

Edit: Maybe they can really drop the limitations in the future or only do a run of pre-ordered copies?

>270 ensuen:
A New Case on the Horizon

The new Sherlock is just around the corner, and I’m incredibly excited to share what we’ve been working on. The development process is nearly complete, and we’ll be ready to open preorders soon. So, if you participated in our “detective case” challenge last time, now might be the perfect time to try and solve it again! The Hound of the Baskervilles may just include a special surprise for those who do.

However, there won’t be an Essential Edition of Sherlock Holmes this time around. In fact, we’re discontinuing it for now, making 2001: A Space Odyssey our final Essential Edition (at least for the time being). While creating three unique editions was a great challenge, I want us to focus on what we do best—extraordinary editions that push boundaries more often than not. Besides, this shift will allow us to have even greater control over the production process as we slowly but steadily bring everything in-house.

We’re hoping to announce at least one more title soon, but we need to sort out the paperwork first. Either way, you know we’ll knock it out of the park!

>270 ensuen: The essential editions seemed like a nice escape hatch if you liked the book, but not any of their more creative approaches.

I agree. An unfortunate timing of announcing such a decision with an already started series.

I think that they had previously announced that the essential editions wouldn't continue, but hadn't confirmed that this also applied to the Sherlock series. From my viewpoint, I'm not sure I like the press enough to move up a tier (though I did make an exception with their version of 2001)

>273 DMulvee: From my viewpoint, I'm not sure I like the press enough to move up a tier

That's exactly my thoughts too...

I guess they've lost me as a customer then. I really like the Essential Sherlock, but I find the higher tier books a bit gimmicky. The wait for the Essential Catch-22 has been frustrating - well over a year now. I suppose the truth is right there: bad sales and issue-plagued productions meant that they just don't think the Essentials are worth it anymore. It is a bit of mystery why sales have been poor though. Other presses don't seem to have much of an issue shifting 500-750 copies of the lower tier.

>275 Levin40:
It's the titles and design maybe ?
Catch 22 and 2001 sold barely over 100 standard copies in over 1 year.
Sherlock sold 302 copies, so not that bad, but not really a success.
That are 700 standard copies you need to store somewhere, maybe for years. Not ideal...

>270 ensuen: Is obnoxious really the right word? Clearly it’s not worth the effort for them to produce the book anymore - if it made financial sense, they’d continue to do it. Are you an older Folio Society fan by any chance?

>276 Ragnaroekk:. Wow, I wasn't aware of those figures! That's crazy for books as popular and well known and Catch-22 and 2001. The likes of Suntup and Centipede routinely sell more than that in a few minutes! And also note that even the higher tiers of both books haven't sold out either. I think Amaranthine are suffering from the increased competition in the market these days.

Having bought and really liked the Essential Sherlock, this is very disappointing. This kind of thing really shouldn't be done with books that form a set. A lower number of books in the edition and a higher price would be fine for me and should help with issues if this edition didn't sell well enough. But being expected to upgrade to one of their much more expensive (and for me often too gimicky) editions so the books then form a set that doesn't fit doesn't work for me at all.

>278 Levin40:

One problem might be that they've been picking titles that already have nice (and often much cheaper) editions elsewhere, combined with a style that doesn't suit a lot of people. A lot of their titles have also been done by Folio Society, for example.

>279 SF-72:
The thing is. How will you be able to upgrade ? There are 200 books and 200 rights holders at the moment, that are waiting for the next releases.

>275 Levin40: Ditto and >280 SF-72: agreed

>277 What_What: Mid twenties actually. I don’t think less of the press for changing how they do tiers, but I like sets to match and I already got the essential of the first book. Not planning a boycott or anything, just annoyed.

If it’s cool I don’t mind spending the money for the edition, I got the leather version of 2001 for example (like everyone else ITT) and have gotten a couple higher end books.

My only Amaranthine to date is the Essential Catch-22. I tend to find their upgraded versions too uh ... gimmicky :)

>281 Ragnaroekk:

That's true, too. I really can't believe it. That's such bad form in the middle of a series. Ironically, I only just bought the first Sherlock and was looking forward to continuing the series. Now I'm frustrated I bought this one and really wish I hadn't.

>285 SF-72:
I wrote quiet a view times with Marko and Sunčica. They are a pleasure to write with and really helpful.
I highly recommend you to reach out to them and write the frustration of youre soul. Maybe one person won't change the system, but if enough people write them about this matter, I can't believe they won't listen and/or come up with a plan.
There is always a small chance, but I don't know how important the continuity of this series is to you.

It's not really a nice move. Even if there would be more Higher Tier Editions available, not everyone can afford 500€ for a book.

I'm another on the list who is unlikely to continue with the Sherlock line now. Still, they've saved me some money I suppose. Perhaps some future Non-Essential title will prove, well, essential to my collection.

I have not been attracted to their essential editions yet, finding the second tier far more attractive but out of my reach at the moment... The essential editions do not distinguish themselves enough from the FS editions (except for being letter pressed) that we can get for less.
I'm also wondering how much they are affected by being located in Europe. The great majority of their customers will be in the US and UK and have to systematically pay custom fees that represent a higher percentage of the total price for essential editions.

>286 Ragnaroekk:

I did write to them and yes, it would be good if more people did.

This has been a real blow. A friend of mine who also has the Essential edition definitely won't continue the series under these conditions. I doubt I will either, even if I could and copies of higher tiers were available. Paying so much more to get a set that doesn't fit together is not something I want to do. I'd be willing to pay more for an essential edition of future Holmes volumes, and if they can't sell as many of those as they thought they could in the past, a smaller number of copies would make sense, too. But just stopping in the middle of a series is a really bad move against customers.

>288 David_Mauduit: No fees or import duties on books to the UK.

The cost of shipping probably eats quite a significant proportion of Amaranthine’s profits of the essential editions. Free worldwide from Croatia on a £150 book.

Compare that to other publishers. Don’t want to pick on CTP but I had to pay $31 shipping on a standard edition, even though the books is already in the UK (shipping directly from Ludlow’s). That felt a bit excessive and makes me appreciate Amaranthine’s free shipping.

>290 cyber_naut:
Ha, I pay around 95$ for shipping and tax, for a standard edition.

>291 Ragnaroekk: Really? From where to where?!

>292 cyber_naut: I paid $45 for shipping of Foundation to Belgium and I expect as much for tax and fee.

>292 cyber_naut:
It was for Schindlers Ark AE (USA to Germany)

>290 cyber_naut:
"The cost of shipping probably eats quite a significant proportion of Amaranthine’s profits of the essential editions."

"That felt a bit excessive and makes me appreciate Amaranthine’s free shipping."

No company ships anything for free. It's either charged separately, or it's part of the price of the book.

I understand the disappointment of those who bought the Essential edition and now find that state discontinued. IMO Amaranthine would have been well advised to persist with the Essential edition with a lower limitation for the remainder of this particular series.

I would have thought Standard editions are a good way of broadening your customer base, some of whom will upgrade to nicer editions in the future if only for specific editions they like. There is a risk Amaranthine becomes out of sight out of mind to those customers and lose the pipeline.

I have bought a few numbered editions from Amaranthine now. Sherlock Holmes was a bit gimmicky. I don't care for the magnifying glass bookmark or the detective's note pad, neither of which will ever be used, but to me these are minor adds ons that probably didn't change the price of the book and are easily ignored. I may be missing something but I don't see anything gimmicky about 2001 Tycho edition. Amaranthine clearly enjoy being creative with their books although I would rather that creativity was focused on outstanding design in the way Conversation Tree Press does.

Amaranthine has its detractors. For me the more presses and options the better so I wish Amaranthine well.

I just noticed they have reduced prices. For example 2001 Space Odyssey (Tycho was Euro 500 - now 460) and Catch 22 (Mission was Euro 600 - now 550). Maybe this happened a while ago.

>297 Ragnaroekk: I thought the discount was already shown at €500. The full price is €550 and that's what it's still showing for me. If it's now starting to show €460 for some customers that's a bit of a mystery.

>296 Pendrainllwyn: Hmm very strange, I see the Mission edition at 650€ and Tycho at 550€.

>296 Pendrainllwyn: Are you looking at the prices in GBP? They are £460 and £550

>300 DMulvee: Mystery solved I think.

>300 DMulvee: Oh, Yes I am. Sorry for the confusion. I changed my shipping address from my Hong Kong address to a UK address and the website automatically started quoting prices in GBP rather than Euro (without me noticing) even though my billing address remained HK. Looking forward to receiving Catch 22 finally.

>297 Ragnaroekk: "If you're a right holder you save 50€".

Is that only during private pre-order or do rights holders always see a lower price in the web store?

The 2001 „Tycho Edition“, 550 Euro seems to be sold out. I don‘t see it anymore in the Amaranthine shop.

>304 Jeekelemental: I think I’m responsible for that ;)

It’s a strange decision for Amaranthine to completely remove sold out editions from their website* though.

For a small press with only a few editions under their belt I’d think an ‘in stock/out of stock’ filter would be a better choice so visitors can see more of their work.

*It is still there and can be found via Google search; it’s just not shown in the store section.

I am looking forward to the 2001 edition, I also ordered Foundation from ConversationTreePress (Collector‘s edition).

>307 Jeekelemental: me too, such a shame production has slipped to the end of the year but I know Amaranthine have had problems with the Catch-22 essential edition.

>306 cyber_naut: they have a section called "Titles" that showcases their previous productions but Catch and 2001 are not on it yet, probably because they are still in stock and also because they want to show the final version of the product.

The 2001 edition is now moved to end of this year: „We expect the production to finish by the end of Q4 2024.“

Looks like Marko is trying to figure out how to keep the lowest tier of Sherlock volumes going:

I would not like this to turn into some kind of an emotional rollercoaster, so this is just a discussion, because I've been banging my head against the wall for the past couple of days looking into ways how to "save" EEs, at least for the Sherlock books (the whole series). I know a lot of people have been disappointed just as much as (if not more than) me, so here's what came to mind and I wanted to hear what do people think about this idea.

2001 EE (Cave Edition) did not sell that well, but we already have the paper stocked and ready for printing (still waiting for Gangolf's paper). We have a little bit extra stock of that paper since we had some leftover from before and there are minimum order requirements. Also, you need to have extra stock because printing letterpress can sometimes generate a lot of waste. So I was thinking, if I lower the number of 2001 EEs by, let's say, a 100-150 copes, we could maybe produce about 200-300 copies of Sherlock EEs, which should be more than enough to satisfy the demand. This would lock-in future Sherlocks to that same number, thus pretty much allowing us to keep it rolling until the end of the the whole collection, while it would also allow everyone who has purchased so far to keep collecting. Again, this is just me thinking out loud, trying to come up with a solution that will be to everyone's benefit. But before making any decision, I wanted to discuss this openly with the community. Hopefully we can figure this one out together :)

If you have a Facebook account and are part of the fans group, you can see the post here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/TxmGhpHdi58WumAX/

(I have no horse in this race being neither a Holmes aficionado nor a purchaser of the earlier volume, but thought folks here might be interested.)

Thank you, abysswalker, for posting it. I am not on Facebook.

>311 abysswalker:

Thank you for sharing this. I'm not on Facebook either, but I would really appreciate a solution to this. It's nice of them that they are trying to find a solution instead of just cutting previous buyers of this off. I'd love to keep collecting the Sherlocks as Essential Editions.

Seems like a happy end? Not the worst thing ever if they need to change paper, prices, etc but it seems like a nice way to do it.

>315 Ragnaroekk: I strongly disagree. I think that if I put Amaranthine’s Sherlock essential edition alongside the Curious King Blade Itself, or Books Illustrated Night Circus it doesn’t appear to be worse in any way.
However given that the market isn’t supporting this endeavour it seems foolhardy to continue with it.

If they sold about 3/4 of the Sherlock edition, and that's what it looks like, then making a smaller print run along the lines of those sold copies sounds like a good solution for everyone. Using the materials originally planned for another edition that already isn't selling well and doesn't need more copies printed to make the hole even deeper, it won't even cost new materials. Again, to me this sounds like a very decent solution for the buyers of the Sherlock Essential Edition and not like a loss to Amaranthine. That would only happen if a large number of the owners of volume 1 don't come back for more and have no interest in completing the set. Since it's a very nice book, I don't see why that should happen. It's one of those books that's better in person than in shop photos. I was very positively impressed, and originally I only came to it for the (excellent) illustrations.

I like very much the Amaranthine books, particularly their bindings and illustrations (Sherlock's illustrations have no parallels among the editions of SH !). But for fat books, they should select thinner paper, like Mohawk..
Even if the printing is fantastic, they take space and are not very handy!

Has anyone received a copy of the Essential Edition of Catch-22 yet? Interested to hear views on the production quality given so many delays and reworking. Also tempted to pick it up at some point but wondering how it reads as a fairly hefty single volume (although nothing like the Mission or Bomber editions which seem truly monstrous).

>320 cyber_naut: I received mine and would thoroughly recommend it. A really superb production all round and I can't fault the production quality at all - they seem to have fully sorted the binding issues in the end. I'm one who really prefers the Essential Editions over the higher tiers - beyond the price, I just find the simpler approach more elegant and refined. So I'm really happy and it's a great companion to Sherlock. It's also not nearly as chunky as the mockup photos on the website show, in fact it's about the same thickness as Sherlock, the paper being a big thinner.

>321 Levin40: Ahh, that’s good to hear as I thought the mockups looked a bit unwieldy and crying out to be split into two volumes.

Sepatately, I see from comments that some useful information is shared on the Amaranthine FB group but how on earth does one get admitted into that?

I’ve never used FB but recently created an account for the sole purpose of following some presses and it seems like the gatekeepers of these groups are very picky about who they admit. I’ve requested to join Amaranthine, CTP, Folio etc and none have been accepted!

>322 cyber_naut: there have been a lot of scammers joining the FB groups recently, so they’ve been trying to be more careful about admitting new members. Brand new FB accounts are a red flag for that vetting process.

Hound of the Baskervilles is confirmed as the next Amaranthine book with pre-orders happening soon. From what it sounds like, they also tried for Jurassic Park and were not given the rights.

Additionally, very big change announced for 2001. They are re-doing all the illustrations. Not sure how I feel about that seeing how many pre-orders are based on quality of illustrations seen at the time.

>324 NotSoSlimShady: That sounds like it could cause issues. Is there anywhere to see the previously commissioned art? The new art is decent, if very much in the "digital paint" school. I'm curious if it's that much of an improvement.

And the Essential Editions will be continuing! That's great news - the Sherlock and Catch-22 EEs are both superb.

Interesting that we're now in the same situation as the CTP Treasure Island, where the 'standard' edition will now have a lower limitation than the deluxe/numbered.

>324 NotSoSlimShady: >325 Shadekeep: For a press that's constantly leaving decisions to public opinion, I'm a little surprised they didn't even run this past collectors. As far as I can tell, purchasers have yet to even be directly informed.

I'd expressed appreciation at the time that they diverged from the recent trend of overly-digital looking illustrations and gone for something more retro and painted looking that plays more with the weirdness of the story, but it seems they threw that out the window and fell right back in the same soulless rut.

Here are a few of the abandoned illustrations:





EDIT: From what I can tell, it looks like the illustrations were literally just "redone" in this new style, so it's not like we're getting another artists interpretation or what they were inspired to illustrate from the story either. See side-by-side:

>327 NathanOv: Thanks. I think I prefer the originals as well. More ethereal.

EDIT: And you appear to be correct about the straight replacement approach. That's disappointing. I suspect the layout was already in place so they wanted art that would sit in the existing slots, rather than truly new stuff that might have to go elsewhere.

>327 NathanOv: Surprised there wasn’t even an acknowledgment that what’s getting delivered is different from what was advertised. And yes, looks like they asked the new artist to redraw the previous stuff. Hope it works out for them.

>327 NathanOv: these illustrations are straight from 80s Nintendo game lol

>330 curiousbook: I don't know if that's meant to be a compliment or criticism, but frankly that feels like an appropriate style for 2001.

I like the originals, though the new ones are good too. Wouldn't it be nice if they offered a choice, like No Reply did recently with The Ethics of Ambiguity?

Btw: I don't like to nitpick, but looking at the originals the illumination is inconsistent and wrong. That's one of my pet peeves with space or sky illustrations. Right up there with artists who put stars over the unilluminated part of a crescent moon :-). Maybe that was one of the reasons why they were changed.

I like the new 2001 illustrations and I’m glad the essential edition Sherlocks will continue as the first one is really very nice for the price.

Where do they write that the Essential Editions of Sherlock will be continued? I didn't see anything on their website and didn't get a newsletter, so I suspect Facebook.

I'm really glad that I can continue collecting the Sherlocks in the Essential Editions - a real relief.

>334 SF-72: https://amaranthinebooks.com/amaranthine-odyssey/
Seems like it's not listed on their 'news' page yet, but the link was given on FB, yes.

I prefer the original illustrations. I’m not sure why this change has happened but it seems pretty disrespectful to your customers not to inform them directly and instead rely on a Facebook post to pass on the news

>335 Levin40:

Thank you for the link.

Odd choice, but it is what it is. Don’t mind the new ones, but they’re a bit more legible than I prefer science fiction illustrations to be.

On a related note, I’m realizing they have four paper types used in the edition. Is there really that much of a difference between each? I’m not a paper scientist, so I’m not really sure how they compare. Hopefully the leather one for 2001 is nice enough. I usually determine editions based on how I feel looking at the photos, but maybe I should get a paper tier list going.

Anyone want to speculate why the Crichton estate said "No"?

>339 Inceptic: My best guess is publishing rights are locked up with some other firm especially with global distribution. My other theories are deal size was too low or reputation risk with a newer printer (w/ some mild delivery date slippage already).

I’m actually fairly curious what it costs to get right for titles if anyone has numbers they can share. Like 5-10 dollars a copy? More?

Hello everyone! Marko here, from Amaranthine.

I've been meaning to drop in for a while now so that I could answer any questions that you might have, I hope that no one minds. Occasionally someone would send me a link to the forum, but it always felt "intrusive" to jump into an ongoing discussion. Then again, occasionally stalking the forum is not that much better either. Anyway, if anyone has any questions, just let me know!

Regarding the illustration change for 2001—since our goal is to deliver the most extraordinary book, occasionally that means changing things around in order to achieve this. I believe that our customers already know I will do everything in my power to deliver something better than originally announced and most of them trust my vision. I know not everyone will like it, but so far this change has been met with nothing but praise from our patrons. While I am aware not everyone will appreciate our style, that is kind of the point. We prefer to do things differently and hope our customers are likeminded individuals who are also in an endless pursuit of the extraordinary :)

And as for Crichton estate, just wanted to clarify that they didn't see our concepts. The feedback information we have received is along the lines that they are simply not considering book deals right now (at least as far as I understood). Whether this means they are tied up in some way or something else, I do not know, but the publisher was satisfied with our offer, hence why it was presented to the estate.

The costs per book vary depending on the publisher and author/estate. Usually (or at least from my experience) it's not a fixed rate, but a percentage of the price. With the prices of fine press books being what they are, this can get pretty high per book.

But anyway, we were developing Sherlock along with Jurassic, so when their reply came in we simply made the switch. Perhaps there will be opportunity to do Jurassic at some other point in time, right now I'm just really happy knowing we'll be able to continue with Sherlock essential editions!

>341 marko_amaranthine: Hi Marko - I appreciate you jumping in here and writing such a thoughtful response.

I also appreciate your attention to every part of the publication process, however I'm not sure the interpretation that "so far this change has been met with nothing but praise from our patrons" is very accurate. Outside of the Facebook group, which is of course a "fan group" focused on praise and positive opinions, it seems the change has been generally meant with disappointment and / or confusion.

My personal perspective is that the original art was "something different" as you strive to prioritize, while the new art is more of the same of what we're seeing from most genre presses, but I understand that is subjective.

While upgrades are always welcome, I just worry that the shear number of post-preorder changes made to books lately will make customers a little nervous to be ordering your books so far in advance.

>342 NathanOv: Well, who knows what goes on behind the scenes. You're also basing your response on only two illustrations, both of which have issues in my opinion (see my post above). Perhaps there were even greater issues with the illustrations we haven't seen. Or perhaps the original artist couldn't finish them for some reason. Anyway, it's all speculation and we don't know the details.

ETA: also to add that while the FB group may be a 'fan group' this also means it's more likely to contain members who are actually buying your product. Therefore, as a business this is where it makes sense to focus your attention.

>343 Levin40: “You’re also basing your response on only two illustrations…”

No, there were quite a few additional illustrations shared, these were just two that I could post because the weren’t as thoroughly purged from everywhere as the others.

I did see your post about illumination, but frankly when you have stars intentionally overlayed on the dark part of the monolith, and multiple cascading celestial bodies, I don’t think that level of realism was or should have been a particular priority in that art style. I'm not saying it's flawless or the be-all end-all of potential 2001 illustrations, but it was different and felt fitting for the story.

It's certainly not “all speculation” if the publisher had shared their reasoning at some length and also solicited responses to the decision.

>344 NathanOv: Well, given that the monolith is the 'star gate' and the book literally contains the line "My god, it's full of stars", I don't think that stars over the monolith are a problem here. For the other celestial bodies, however, it is an issue. For example, on the lunar scene, the sun is clearly below the horizon in the centre of the scene while the earth seems to be illuminated from a source to the lower right. This is quite amateurish in my opinion.

Just going to stick my oar in and say that I don't have an issue with scientific inaccuracies in the original illustrations because to me they are more from the symbolist school than the realist school. A lot of art from the 60s and 70s (a period frequently associated with the novel) prioritise visual composition over verisimilitude, with the emphasis on how the art makes you feel at an emotional level. Taken in that light I find the originals to be preferable.

Of course, I'm also of an age where I remember the heyday of airbrush art. The celestial image with the monolith would look awesome airbrushed onto the side of a van, so that's probably weighing my bias too. ^_^

>341 marko_amaranthine: Thanks for responding in the forum, Marko.

As I mentioned earlier, I quite like the new art, so no worries there. I wonder if you can let us in on any other enhancements we might see in the finished editions? I'm waiting for a Tycho.

>341 marko_amaranthine:

Thank you very much for informing us here. I'm very glad that Sherlock will get an essential edition.

As for 2001, I haven't pre-ordered it (I already have an illustrated edition), but I do like the new illustrations a lot.

Best of luck with Jurassic at some future point. It must be frustrating to not even get a real explanation for why you aren't even taken into consideration.

That's interesting about the percentage. I also would have thought it would be a fixed price.

I'm still trying to figure out how to respond to certain sections of a comment so I'll just "group" my response for now, hope that's okay.

I think I didn't clarify very well when I said that "so far this change has been met with nothing but praise from our patrons", because I was referring to our customers that have sent us emails after the change, not the reactions in the FB group (although the feedback there has, indeed, been positive). Not that this makes it the best decision I have ever made, but I felt that the (email) reactions did justify it.

It was not my intention to necessarily pit one artist against the other, nor to cause direct comparisons. I simply felt that the new illustrations fitted better with the creative concept and overall design of the books. It was an organic process, where I didn't actively seek out the new illustrator, but simply met a person who offered something that (I felt) better fits with what I have originally imagined.

The creative concept for the illustrations was to depict scenes where man-apes/humans interact with some other, non-human intelligence. Also, there is a kind of subtle connection—even reference—between illustrations. Therefore illustrations 1 & 6, 2 & 5, and 3 & 4 are connected, and not just in the similarities of their names. This is why the same scenes were depicted in both cases. I tend to have very strict direction for the illustrator, because I never just go and say "illustrate what you like". It's about having a concept that ties it all together and makes it our own. Granted, most of these things will be clear once people actually get the book in their hands, I'm just trying to use the time creatively and upgrade where I see an opportunity to do so :)

As for the upgrades, there are quite a few! HAL (lettered) Edition and Monolith (RNE) Edition saw the most upgrades, mainly with paper and giclée-printed illustrations. We knew what paper we wanted to use from the get-go, we just didn't announce the specifics until we received confirmations. We are also trying out new leather for Tycho. The hue is almost the same, it's also goatskin leather, but this new one seems more scratch resistant. There are also some interesting upgrades to HAL Edition case, like Discovery being made out of leather and inside of the case laser-cut to look like HAL room.

During the production, sometimes you can squeeze in big upgrades, sometimes small ones, but I believe it is our duty to figure out new stuff along the way. If there is room (and time) to do it, we should. After all, people pay good money for our ideas, so the least that we as a team can do is to continually seek ways to improve the design. Sometimes it might be something almost imperceptible, like how the book was sewn or how we managed to introduce marbling to the area behind the spine of the book (Catch-22).

Oh, and I think I saw it was mentioned somewhere (way earlier) about whether our books were hand-bound or not because it is not always specifically mentioned—all our numbered editions and up are bound by hand. Only essentials binding is semi-automated. That one is my bad, I simply forgot to point it out on a few occasions. I believe I've fixed it on all product pages now, so thanks!

>348 SF-72: Just saw your comment after already posting mine—thanks!

I do hope we'll get to do Jurassic at some point, I really like the direction we have for it. It is a bit frustrating because you never really get the reason, but I also understand they have a lot going on with the new movie coming out. Timing is (often) everything!

>349 marko_amaranthine: What would you say to future illustrators you reach out to for art, who worry that after signing a contract and beginning the work, you’ll find someone else who’s art you prefer again, and ditch them (the original artist)?

>341 marko_amaranthine: Thank you for joining the conversation Marko. It's always brings a special insight to hear directly from a proprietor in these forums. (I regularly lurk the forums and only infrequently post, but I wanted to mention that what I read here, both from other customers and proprietors, heavily influences my purchasing decisions.)

I was very excited to hear that the Sherlock Holmes Essential Editions are continuing. (Thank you >335 Levin40: for the link.) Thank you Marko for making this happen.

I also am very impressed with the new illustrations. I didn't dislike the previous ones that >327 NathanOv: shared above, but viewing the new ones elicits feelings of intensity and immensity (to me), whereas the previous art just felt "nice" at a glance. The discussion on the subjectivity of art appreciation has been discussed many times in these forums and I'm not looking to open up that conversation; it's just my two cents that the redone art is impressive.

That leads me to the idea that brought me to comment today, which is to also put in my two cents on artistic vision, but for that of the book creator, not solely the artist. In >349 marko_amaranthine: Marko, you mentioned both that you "simply felt that the new illustrations fitted better with the creative concept and overall design of the books" and that you "tend to have very strict direction for the illustrator". I appreciate that and also recognize that can lead to decisions that hold a lot of weight. That's actually one of the reasons I highly value your press and is a sentiment that I've heard repeated from other fine press proprietors I support. I don't think any outsider looking in can really do justice to understanding the entire vision during the book-making process. Obviously it's easy for us to critique individual decisions under a lens targeted at specifics, but for us to be able to say at the end, "That's a great book!" instead of just enjoying individual aspects (eg. binding, quality of printing, individual illustrations, etc.), I appreciate that there is a lot that has to come together.

In another thread recently about what constitutes excellent letterpress printing, another proprietor said the following: "Maybe the sign of a quality printer is in achieving the result you want, not just the result you can manage to get." (link here) That was in the context of text imprinting on paper, but taken as a general statement for bookmaking, or in the context of this conversation (art), I think it still holds up. This came to mind here when discussing changes that become necessary to have the result match the vision.

Again, all my two cents, but I enjoy following along for these types of conversations.

Catch-22 (mission edition) arrived yesterday. First impressions are very good. It is a (ridiculously) fat volume but doesn't actually feel too unwieldy or heavy in the hand (I had just been handling the CTP treasure Island though which may have skewed my perceptions!).

I really appreciate the in house team effort putting the book together (as opposed to outsourcing a lot of the production). It makes for a very unique production and is somewhat of a rarity today.

I really like the texture of the paper. It is relatively thin so there is a little more show-through than you might typically expect in fine press books, but is reasonable given the length of the book.

Amaranthine tends to get some criticism on this forum for "gimmicks" - but this is certainly not something I would complain about for this edition, which is a well made, letterpress printed book, with excellent materials and attention to detail.

>351 What_What: That's a valid concern. I would tell them that I definitely do not plan to make a habit out of it and that they would receive full payment regardless, just like Anna did. I see this as an exception, rather than a rule; one that should remain as an option for a myriad of reasons. I.e. creative differences, inability to deliver on time or make simple adjustments (just to name a few) could result in the same decision. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be about anyone’s ego but about creating the best book we can make.

>352 Tuna_Melon: Thanks, it's been long overdue, but I finally managed to find my way here!

That sentiment carries a lot of weight, at least in my opinion. Achieving the results you envision is something I genuinely strive for in my creative process. Redoing the illustrations is just one example of this, as it’s visible publicly since it occurred post-announcement. However, there have been countless times when I’ve reset the entire design, even production, just to start over and get it right. Whether it’s a specific process or design element, I believe you shouldn’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board. After all, once the book is shipped, that’s when it’s truly final—you don’t get a do-over past that point. Until then, everything should be open for discussion.

I simply want to thank you Marko for your openness, be it on here or in your newsletters. I think it’s refreshing.

And I have mad respect for Amaranthine, who try to make everything in-house (apart from the art obviously). You and your team are doing a great job.

>354 marko_amaranthine: Thanks for answering. Definitely not the desired way for things to unfold, but it happens. Wouldn’t be the first time I’m sure that the publisher and illustrator had to part ways.

The new Sherlock (Hound of the Baskervilles) is now up for pre-order for rights holders.

The Elementary Edition is a nice match with the previous short stories collection. I like that the tinting of the illustrations matches the green of the binding although I might have preferred something that would visually distinguish the editions on the shelf (both have the same color quarter cloth binding).

I started ordering the "Hound", but something makes me hesitating!
Everything looks perfect, ... apart from the tipped-in illustrations, which are smaller than the pages.
It really disturbs me! I hope you can still correct that !
And on a paper similar to the text.

>358 Maretzo: Tipped-in illustrations are typically (maybe always) smaller than the pages.

>359 ultrarightist: I look at Suntup, and you may be right! Damned, I have nowhere to go ..!

>357 cyber_naut:

Do you know when the Essential Edition will be available for public sale?

>361 SF-72: November 2, 6:00PM CET

Iam not a big fan of the lettered Edition, even less if you compare it with the phenomenal first Volume of the Series.
I guess Marko will need to make a YouTube unboxing video for this.

Collectors and Numbered Edition are fine 🙂

>361 SF-72: Perhaps I've misunderstood but you mentioned earlier in the thread that you own the essential edition of the previous Sherlock title. If so, you have rights and are eligible to buy the same state right now before public sale.

>358 Maretzo: >359 ultrarightist: I think it feels a little strange with these due to the extra white space in the artwork itself. I’m not used to that in tipped illustrations.

>362 Dr.Fiddy:

Thank you.

>364 cyber_naut:

I do have the essential edition of the first Sherlock, but didn't get an invite to buy. Now that you mentioned this, I logged in and the shop page for the Elementary Edition shows a purchase button, which it didn't before. It's a bit strange, but I guess this means that I'm allowed to buy it after all. Thank you for mentioning this. I thought this was like Suntup where only the higher tiers have purchase rights.

>366 SF-72: Perhaps it took a while for the rights to match up on the website? I didn’t look immediately at launch so can’t compare.

Irrespective, I’m still slightly confused about Amaranthine’s rights system since the FAQs on the website only really mention ‘matching rights’ for higher states.

Not sure if this is an exception for the Sherlock series or if the same applies to essential editions for other titles.

Perhaps >354 marko_amaranthine: could confirm?!

>367 cyber_naut:

I also thought that this was how it worked, and I still don't have an invite several hours after the sale went live.

Maybe there are purchase rights because it's a series, and not unconnected titles, albeit on the same level? Whatever the reason, I'm very happy I could continue the series, and really appreciate that this was made possible after all.

>364 cyber_naut: A sincere thank you from me also for posting this. Like >366 SF-72:, I previously purchased the first Essential Edition Sherlock, but didn't see an email today so I just assumed that maybe I'd have to wait for the public sale. (I knew it was due to release soon, but didn't know that today was the day until I read this thread.) I appreciate that you mentioned that rights exist even on the lowest tier for these since I assumed otherwise. I was also able to purchase by logging in.

All three states look very handsome. As you mentioned earlier in >357 cyber_naut:, the green tinting on the illustrations is a nice touch. Unlike you, however, I have no objection to the spines being nearly identical save for the title. I have a preference for that sort of uniformity. (I suppose the artwork color of the first book could be said to match the spine color, so a green spine could be justified as matching the green artwork from this second book, but I don't think the spine text color would contrast as well as it currently does.) I'm thrilled with the look of this edition; it exceeds expectation and I look forward to receiving it!

I received an email explaining the pre-order process about 8 hours after the sale started, in the middle of the night. Mystery solved then, it just takes a while for all emails to go out.

>370 SF-72: I received my email overnight too. It seems we all jumped the gun yesterday.

Regarding this new Sherlock, for everyone's peace of mind, the email stated:

"It takes a while to send out each and every newsletter, so depending on how fast (or slow) this newsletter is going out, you may see it at a various time. Rest assured that since there is a three day period for private preorders, you won't miss a thing, unless we end up in an undesirable folder, that is."

Additionally:

"Only those who have purchased the previous Sherlock will be able to preorder during the first two days. On the third day, all customers that have purchased 2001: A Space Odyssey will be able to preorder their copy of a corresponding edition."

...and:

"After three days, on November 2, 6:00PM CET, the public preorders will open and everyone will be able to order, should any copies remain."

This all makes sense. There is a more detail in the email, but these are some of the points that clear up the timing of the emails.

First of all, thank you all for the kind words, it really means a lot. Putting a book out is always a stressful affair, so knowing that we did our job (mostly) right is a huge deal.

I've been meaning to jump in here and answer potential questions, but I've been completely swamped with the preorders, so only now manage to find the time, sorry! I'm doing the preorders alone for this one since my colleague who helps with this is on a (well-deserved) vacation, so it's a bit overwhelming.

The newsletter is sometimes *so* slow, it really depends on the day, time etc. I'll send another batch later today, but I figured since there are three days for private preorders, that should be more than enough for everyone to see it.

Now, to answer some questions!
Our matching rights were, indeed, not clear on the essential matching, so I clarified that, thanks! Now it states in the first point that while EEs don't have a designation to "match", a purchase can still be matched, along with the special pricing.

Tipped-on illustrations—I had the same thing worrying me! On one hand, now they will be giclée printed, but on the other hand, that style of illustration really begs for a full page. We might try to use a tipped-in technique instead (like in the lettered edition), but it is more difficult to do, so it might be too time consuming. We're still going to try to figure something out, I just didn't want to promise something we won't be able to do. As for the paper similarity, that is nigh impossible with giclée. I mean, we could use a matte paper, but then we would have to use protective inserts because matte papers don't have the protective coating so there is danger of (eventual) ink transfer. Glossy (coated) papers offer much higher durability and are almost impervious to damage from handling.

I was thinking about doing the thematic green foil stamping for the spine(s) in EE, but wasn't really satisfied with how it turned out in testing. If we find one that would suit it nicely, we might "upgrade" to that, but having it in brown would offer a really nice consistency when books are lined up on the shelf. The NEs will have a nice thematic colouring with the patches of colourful suede leather, which was our aim from the inception of this series.

I had a feeling people might expect a more "ambitious" LE after the previous Sherlock :) This time around my attempt was to keep the production in-house as much as possible. Last time we had to rely on outside production a lot because we simply don't have the necessary tools (yet; we do plan to get a LOT of specialised stuff over time). So this time I wanted to create something simplistic in nature. Something that will not take away too much attention from the book itself. If you don't account for materials, the whole thing will be produced and assembled in house, from printing and sewing, to marbling and hand-painted museum glass.

If I missed on any questions, please feel free to tag me (again)! Or if you have any additional ones, just let me know.

>372 marko_amaranthine: Thank you, Marko. I really hope the sales of Hounds is a success so you can continue the series!

>372 marko_amaranthine: thanks for sharing all these insights.
Just a heads up, on the website when I click on "The hound is here", it brings me to Catch 22 Bomber edition.

>373 cyber_naut: Thank you! I would be thrilled to finish this series. If this proves to be a successful entry, we'll probably fast-track publishing of the other books in order to finish the series as soon as possible.

>374 David_Mauduit: Uh-oh, seems I forgot to update the link on mobile. Thanks for pointing that out, it's fixed now!

>375 marko_amaranthine: do you have any sense of if you’ll do all the novels first or intersperse with further short stories collections?

I guess covering the whole canon (4 novels and 56 stories) would require another 3 standalone editions and maybe 3 or 4 story collections?

>375 marko_amaranthine:

I very much hope Sherlock will be finished. These editions are so beautiful and original, especially the illustrations - just perfect for the topic and something different. Fast-tracking it would be just perfect.

>376 cyber_naut: The focus will be on the novels, but it’s entirely possible that we’ll slip in the ‘second’ part of the initial collection at some point. When we first created Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of a Dozen Favourites, the idea was to follow it up with another collection titled Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Other Favourites. This collection would feature the remaining seven stories Doyle listed as his favourites, plus three stories selected by customers who solved the detective hunt. There was one additional reward, but as not everyone has cracked the case, I’m keeping that a secret for now :)

Following that, I would continue producing collections if there’s sufficient interest. However, my main focus remains on all of the novels and Doyle’s favourite stories (+3 fan favourites).

>377 SF-72: Thank you, that's the goal! Manuel Šumberac is extremely talented and I can't imagine anyone else doing better job at this illustrations than him.

The new edition looks nice, after being on team “elementary edition” earlier in the thread, I wanted to note that I did actually buy a copy.

>378 marko_amaranthine:

Your plans sound really good. I must say that I would really enjoy getting a complete Sherlock collection from you, though, as in more story collections. It sounds like that could be done with one or at the most two extra books. I hope there will be sufficient interest. Personally, I hesitated so long to buy the first book because it looked like the first collection might be all there would be, and bought it when it became clear that there would be more titles. The illustrations had pulled me in from the start, I was just unhappy with the thought of then having to complete a collection with lesser editions than yours. So fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

>378 marko_amaranthine: Great to see you posting on here Marko. I am reading Sherlock now and love it. I am not doing so well on finding the clues. I probably need to use the magnifying glass more!

>379 ensuen: Thanks!

>380 SF-72: Absolutely, I see what you mean. I would be thrilled if I could publish the entire Sherlock series, as this design lends itself to various creative applications, resulting in a (literally) colourful collection. While it may not be as ‘extraordinary’ as some of our other editions, the complete series could very well be our magnum opus. Thanks!

>381 Pendrainllwyn: The clues are subtle but present. They can easily go unnoticed if one isn’t paying close attention. We didn’t want to ‘desecrate’ the marked books, so we had to be exceptionally subtle with the clues :)

>382 marko_amaranthine:
We were supposed to sent the solved riddle back to the Amaranthine HQ ?

>383 Ragnaroekk: If you’ve solved the riddle, there should be a form available where you can submit your entry for the other collection ;)

>382 marko_amaranthine:

Magnum Opus is a very nice and fitting term for it, and I really like the idea of the colourful collection. I hadn't expected the change from brown to green (maybe for the outside, but certainly not the illustrations), but now that I've seen it, it's really perfect, a beautiful variation. Going on like this would be very enjoyable. I'm already imagining other colour schemes.

>384 marko_amaranthine:
😳
I redo it again I assume

>385 SF-72: Thanks! I’ve been looking forward to revealing the thematic colours for almost two years now, so I’m thrilled to hear that it resonates.

>386 Ragnaroekk: Keep looking ;) And if you need any hints, just let me know!

I also posted this in a separate topic/thread.

I received my copy of the Essential Edition of Amaranthine's Catch-22. I noticed that random text throughout the book is printed in bold font. Has anyone else noticed this in their copy (of any of the Amaranthine editions)? I checked a few instances of bold font text against my Folio Society copy of Catch-22, and none of the same text in the latter is bold. Examples of the bold font text are on pages 216, 244, 316, and 352. There are others. I'm wondering if the bold font text corresponds to the illustrations?

Also, many of the pages in my book are wavy. Does anyone else's copy have wavy paper?

>388 ultrarightist: I can answer that! The bold text highlights which parts of the text directly inspired the illustrations. Out of the 22 illustrations, 21 depict moments where logic breaks down and the conversations delve into those classic Catch-22 scenarios.

Regarding the waviness, that does sound unusual, especially since all the books were pressed before being shrink-wrapped. It’s possible that some moisture was trapped and caused the waviness after being shrink-wrapped, but it should flatten out over time. If it doesn’t, please send us an email so we can arrange a replacement. If you’d prefer not to wait, we can initiate the replacement process right away. I’ll look into it regardless, but my best guess is moisture.

>389 marko_amaranthine: Thanks for the reply and info. I like the concept of the bold text inspiring the illustrations, although a brief editorial note at the beginning of the book explaining that would have been helpful.

I'll contact you about the paper waviness.

>390 ultrarightist: I see what you mean, and that makes sense. I usually like to include a few unexplained details in the book so there’s always something new to discover, but perhaps this should have been explained with a note rather than left open for interpretation. We’re shifting away from this approach with 2001: A Space Odyssey, so no more bold text.

My Catch 22 Essential Edition has the wavy paper too. It doesn't particularly bother me, but I did note it on arrival. Here are a couple of pictures that hopefully capture the situation. It is more apparent in person.





The waviness that almost looks like a dent in the pages that you see near the gutter in the Wintergreen picture runs through about 2/3 of the book. The more general wavy page (and still with dent) you see in the other picture is not as prevalent, but not hard to find examples if you flip through the pages.

>392 Chemren: I’m assuming no, but Catch-22 wasn’t printed on dampened paper was it? Often waviness can be a result of this method of letterpress printing, and is therefore not considered a problem, but on the contrary, a sign of high quality craftsmanship.

>393 Nightcrawl: I don't believe the Essential Edition is printed letterpress. It doesn't look like the paper has been systematically dampened during printing. What I called the dent in post 392 looks more like an artifact of the binding process than the printing process to me. It is in the exact same spot through long runs of pages. I am guessing that if Marko pulls another Essential Edition off the shelves and looks at it, he will see the exact same phenomenon.

I don't think the waviness in the paper harms the readibility and I probably would not have brought it up if Marko hadn't indicated that he considers it a flaw in post 389 above. More in the interest of future quality control. I don't think the "dent" was caused by moisture. And I don't think it is likely to flatten out in the future.

>394 Chemren: I don't believe the Essential Edition is printed letterpress.

The Amaranthine website states "The Essential Edition is a letterpress printed edition of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and it is limited to 400 copies."

>395 Pendrainllwyn: Thanks for the correction. Maybe Marko can answer if it was printed on dampened paper.

>392 Chemren: That is how mine looks. All of the waviness in my copy is near the top or in the top half of the book. If you look at the closed text block from the top edge, you can see the waviness. If you look at it from the bottom edge, you cannot. I have many books that were printed with dampened handmade and mould-made paper, and any waviness resulting from that is relatively uniform throughout the book, and extends from top to bottom. I have never heard of dampening machine-made paper for printing, so I believe you are correct that it is a binding issue.

I can confirm that all editions of Catch-22 have been printed letterpress, back to back. All of our books have been printed letterpress since the first Sherlock collection, except for the illustrations in some editions.

Regarding the waviness, I didn’t mean to imply it was a flaw but noted that it is unusual and might self-correct over time based on the description. However, if anyone is unsatisfied with their copy, they are welcome to return it. I would much rather ensure everyone is completely satisfied with their purchase, which is why I suggested a replacement if they don’t want to wait for it to potentially even out.

In my experience, any trapped moisture in the pages usually evens out over time. Based on the pictures posted by >392 Chemren: it does look like moisture, but I am not completely sure, so I would like to check with the rest of the team first. I haven’t noticed this issue myself, but I’ll look into it tomorrow and discuss it internally, the others might have more insight. I'll report back as soon as I know more!

>398 marko_amaranthine: For what it’s worth, no waviness in my copy! Not sure if that helps at all with figuring out what “batch” this occurred during.

My copy of catch-22 has the same warping, in the same location. Initially wasn’t sure whether to bring it up since it’s possible it may resolve over time, but now that others are reporting the same glad I flagged it.

Just checked my copy. There is a tiny amount on a few pages. But it is barely noticeable - in fact, I wouldn't have noticed it but for the posts here. Certainly not something I'd seek a replacement for.

My copy has the same waviness that has been reported by others

>397 ultrarightist: Good way to see it. Bottom text block looks totally normal. Top text block shows the waviness. I’ll post some more pictures when my daughter gets off my computer.

top page block:


bottom page block:

>404 Chemren: My copy looks just like yours; and there is a slight waviness on those pages. The last two pages seem like they were bent with a resulting small ridge running diagonally along the lower right of the page; this is noticeable, but not as bad as it sounds, and not worth a replacement for me.

Okay, I had a sit-down with both my team and the bindery responsible for the Essential Editions (only the Limited Edition and Numbered Edition are bound in-house). We reviewed the entire process, from trimming to binding, and concluded that the cause is two-fold and that the waviness should resolve itself over time.

1. The top of the book block had slightly less trimming compared to the bottom, meaning the top edge of the page was closer to the fold.
2. Some book blocks were initially bound in covers that were later deemed unsatisfactory (since we had to redo foil stamping a couple of times), so they had to be removed and rebound after we realised they didn’t meet our standards.

This second factor introduced extra moisture from the glue, which, when combined with the shorter trimming at the top, led to waviness after the book was shrink-wrapped post-binding. Temperature changes during shipping can exacerbate this, making waviness more noticeable. As mentioned, this should gradually resolve as the moisture dissipates from the paper, especially given its 20% cotton and 20% fibre composition.

However, if you’re unsure about waiting for it to flatten out, please reach out to us at hello@amaranthinebooks.com so we can arrange a replacement. While the issue should resolve itself, I want to ensure everyone is fully satisfied with their purchase. We put tremendous effort into these books, and I want everyone to enjoy them without any doubts.

Also, a quick update regarding the tipped-on illustrations in the Numbered Edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles (THotB). We are considering sewing the illustrations in, rather than tipping them on. Although sewing isn’t as seamless as tipping in (which is done in the Lettered Edition), it allows us to include full-page giclée illustrations. We need to conduct some tests first, but it’s looking promising. Once confirmed, I’ll provide an official update—just wanted to give you a heads-up on this topic since it was discussed earlier :)

>406 marko_amaranthine: Thank you for the update. Do you have any particular recommendation for how to dry the book out, so to speak? Leave it out of its slipcase? Text block open or closed? Also, do you have a rough idea about how long it will take to dry and iron out the waviness?

Has anyone started reading their essential edition yet? I started today and have just realised that part of one of the bombs on the cover has came away revealing the cloth behind (my hand was holding this). Just be aware that you need to be extra careful when handling the book.

>408 DMulvee: I have not and now I'm scared to

I should say it is only a tiny amount (a couple of mm squared), and I read just over 250 pages in one sitting. I should have used a book pillow!

>410 DMulvee: Did you contact Amaranthine about that and, if so, what did they say if you don't mind me asking? Book pillow or not, I'd expect the cover design to stand up to normal use.

>407 ultrarightist: You're most welcome! Depends entirely on humidity, temperature, but if you want to expedite the process, taking it out and leaving it laying on the side should let it "breathe" better than inside of a slipcase. Some people like to add another book on top as to prevent dust and add some weight on the paper, but I don't think it's necessary (can't hurt, though).

>408 DMulvee: When something like this happens, please do not hesitate to take some picture and email us. If any part of the foil stamping fell off, we need to replace that book ASAP. I have handled the new covers a lot, especially since we had to redo them a few times, but this time the foil stamping held (and I carried one book around a LOT). I suppose there could be some spoiled eggs in a batch of 400 books, but if so, we need to replace them and investigate.

Please, do not be afraid to enjoy the book you receive from us. Either it's a made well and you'll enjoy it or there is a defect and we need to replace it. If you don't enjoy the book, there's no way to tell, and no way for us to address the issue :)

I just finished Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of a Dozen Favourites (numbered edition). 'Twas wonderful to read of Holmes' exploits after a very long time. I was very happy with the selected stories, illustrations, and I loved the overall design and reading experience. One of my favourite books. I will definitely read again.

I am no expert but it seemed to me that there was more variability in the amount of ink that was on some pages than I have witnessed in other (much shorter) letterpress books. Maybe that's down to it being Amaranthine's first letterpress edition or maybe it's harder to get consistency in such a long book (380 pages). Not a major irritant but maybe something Amaranthine will seek to refine in future volumes.

>413 Pendrainllwyn: I did notice the fading in the ink, although I also see it in just about every of my Hand & Eye printed books, so I think it comes down less to experience and more the threshold the printer sets for when they need to re-ink.

Another one of those areas where there's a fine line between leaning into the artefacts and little variations of fine press books and letting them become distracting.

2001 has slipped into Q1 2025 due to Amaranthine having to move into their new offices early.

Would have been nice to get it before the new year but hopefully the move means future delays can be minimized.