Fine Press Shelfies

It has been a while since we have seen any collection photos. I have an idea about how to do shelfies that are a bit more engaging than just, here: look at my stuff.

I propose the following guidelines, which you can follow or not depending on how civil and agreeable you feel at the moment (I'm not your dad).

1. One shelf, not a whole bookcase, focused on some theme or organizing principle. One shelf makes it easier to see details and also facilitates thinking like a curator.
2. One photo per comment. Make it count. Posting additional comments is fine, but...
3. Wait a day or two before posting another, so we get some nice variety in browsing. Or at least wait until a few others have posted in the interim.
4. No discussions or arguments about what constitutes fine press! Each comment author gets to decide. But if the majority of the titles on your shelfie weren't printed using some relief method, maybe consider your life choices.
5. Annotate or not as per your whim. It's likely we will discover some new titles to add to our wishlists based on this exercise given the variety of interesting member collections.

Here is some template HTML code that will hopefully make posting easier. Just replace the IMGURL text within the link to your image file (this should be a file type such as jpg or png; if it ends in "html" that is probably not what you want).

<img src="IMGURL" width=600 >

If you're looking for a good image host, my current favorite remains postimg.cc

And, to get us started, here's one of mine, theme is poetry.

For some organized chaos, enjoy my shelf of un-shelfable books (yes, there are still some I haven't figured out how to fit in)

Since I just mentioned Pinocchio in another thread, here’s my Tallone foreign-language section, which exemplifies both my reluctance to cut new Brodart and my fear of cleaning vellum.

>3 NathanOv: Well, I see the Red Angel Press, how is the Two Pond Press Island Whale? I have just one from that press that I like but it's a very different book than this one in terms of approach (more about the text and less about the artistic features).

>5 LBShoreBook: I would say it’s very much an artist’s book / object, but one with fine press production values and plenty of text to read which is key for me.

I think the design concept was prioritized too much over readability, at least in the main section of the book, but the text is a truly fascinating compilation with scholarly merit.

>2 abysswalker: What Rilke is that?

>7 Nightcrawl: Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Limited Editions Club, 1981

All the Folio Society's giant limited editions plus the Rotz Atlas from the Roxburghe Club.

Some oversize books, up top of the bookcases.

>10 Chemren: Oh, impressive stuff! I still need to buy my first Ashendene book and want it to be illustrated, so there aren't many options. Tutte le Opere de Dante Alighieri Fiorentino perhaps? 😄 Le Morte d'Arthur is more realistic though.

>11 Lukas1990: Or Daphnis et Chloe. Some nice woodcuts by Gwen Raverat interspersed throughout that one.

Some nice shelves here!

This is mine for tall books on ancient and medieval stuff:

>11 Lukas1990: I am definitely missing the Ashendene D'Arthur on my shelf!

>13 SebRinelli: I didn't realise The Odyssey is THAT thick. Also, I need that Cupid & Psyche (the regular version). I own the Dialogues of Creatures but it is a bit damaged - I am still waiting for a specialist to repair it.

>15 Lukas1990: no, you’re right. It’s a custom made solander to preserve the near fine binding

>13 SebRinelli: I would just like to say that that is a beautiful copy of the Mabinogion… Hoping that someone could make a facsimile at some point in the future

>9 wcarter: Is the red slipcase next to "Holy Land" part of that set?

18: No. I think that is Music for King Henry, another Folio oldie.

Apologies for the sub-standard photo. Some of my smaller, thinner books in no particular order. I have more, but they are not on a shelf, but in archival enclosures.



In case you're wondering, the three black ones on the far left are LECs: Book of Psalms, Vathek and the Rubaiyat. The black one to the left of "The Prince of Peace" is Diary of the Delphic Oracle from La Ginestra, a superb book. And the one on the far right which got partly cut off is a Calliopea Press book, A Tear in the Eye of the Eagle.

>19 supercell: Oh. Thank you.

Here are some of my favourites (as I've admitted elsewhere, I tend to shelve my most favourite books together - easier to stare at them all lovingly, or grab them in case of fire).

>18 PartTimeBookAddict:
>19 supercell: is right, it is Music for King Henry.
See https://www.librarything.com/topic/349609

>23 wcarter: Thanks. It looks like it could be an additional map set.

The main categories on this shelf are smaller Golden Cockerel books on the left, a few Letterpress Shakespeare, and a number of Whittington Press books (shelved spine-inwards on the right; sorry, I know that makes the picture boring).

A few other objects of potential note are
(1) my only Nonesuch Press edition—Florio's Montaigne;
(2) my copy of Nomad Letterpress' Coastline, an all-time favourite, and their 2020 Vision;
(3) two treasured Gibbings books—Glory of Life and XIV Engravings on Wood;
and (4) Weeds and Wild Flowers from Two-Horse Press.

>20 Glacierman: is that the pennyroyal Salome on the right?

>26 filox: No, nothing that fancy, I fear. 'Tis but the lowly Heritage Press edition.

There are several No Reply titles, a Petrarch Press book, and several from Sutton Hoo along with those from lesser known presses, etc. And one Cummington Press book.

Trying the instructions for the first time--fingers crossed!

This is a shelf with the fine press books that fit on it--keeping some of the Heavenly Monkey together (but others are too big!).

>28 Flaubie: lovely! Which edition is that Book of Ruth?

>29 abysswalker: Thank you! Ruth is the 1896 Dent edition, with illustrations by William Brown MacDougall. The binding is by Miss C.A.L. MacRae.

A Century for the Century shelf. Apologies for the terrible photo. I will have my artist daughter take subsequent shots.

https://i.postimg.cc/858V6vCM/Century-for-the-Century-shelfie.jpg


Top (horizontal):
Keynes, Geoffrey - "William Blake's Water-Colour Designs for the Poems of Thomas Gray", Trianon Press (1972) - 3 vols

Left to right:
Bowning, Robert - "Men and Women", Doves Press (1908) - 2 vols
Shakespeare, William - "Hamlet", Cranach Press (1930)
Bible - "Cantique des Cantiques de Salomon", Cranach Press (1931)
Homer - "The Iliad", Limited Editions Club (1931)
Homer - "The Odyssey", Limited Editions Club (1931)
Homer - "The Odyssey", Emery Walker, Wilfred Merton and Bruce Rogers (1932)
Hornby, C. H. St. John - "Ashendene Press Bibliography", Ashendene Press (1935)
Joinville, Jean de - "The History of Saint Louis", Gregynog Press (1937)
Hunter, Dard - "Papermaking by Hand in America", Mountain House Press (1950)
Ovid - "Metamorphoses", Limited Editions Club (1958)
Catullus - "Poems", Abattoir Editions (1979)
Merwin, W. S. (tr) - "Robert the Devil", Windhover Press (1981)
Allen, Lewis and Dorothy - "The Allen Press Bibliography", Allen Press (1981)
Hamady, Walter - "Papermaking By Hand", Perishable Press (1982)
Butcher, David - "The Stanbrook Abbey Press, 1956-1990", Whittington Press (1992)

Two of my favorite presses on one shelf. I buy a fair amount of their output and always look forward to their next announcements.



Tudor Black Press and No Reply Press

I always store my books resting horizontally rather than vertically. I know nothing is perfect, but there absolutely is more pressure placed on the bottom of a book than the top when vertical. BUT, again I know there's a lot of factors involved, so I'm not judging anyone, I do think vertically is more convenient :)

>33 astropi: That also saves the neck from craning to find titles! I do it too.

>33 astropi: What do you reckon the pressure is on the bottom book of a horizontal stack relative to the pressure on the bottom of each book in a vertical stack. 🤔

>35 LBShoreBook: The text block is always torquing the spine forward at the top, and the spine reinforcement piece is always finding the flat with the boards, often crushing a little. Horizontally, elements are achieving stasis, and the boards and paper, always moving with the change in humidity are aided by gravity, rather than by the uneven tension of the bookend on a shelf. Dust accrues, if it does, on the top piece only, and not embedding itself in the pages which are hard to clean. These are the reasons I store all my inventory horizontally.

While I see definite advantages to storing books horizontally, it seems to me that they would have to be of the same surface area, or nearly so, within the same stack. Otherwise the accumulative pressure of smaller books on a larger one might cause bowing or concavity in the lower volumes. Perhaps the amount is trivial in small enough stacks, however.

I believe that if books are firmly (not tightly) packed on a shelf, vertical is fine, even with big books, as pressure from adjacent books support the others.
And who amongst us has loosely packed shelves?

>33 astropi: let's have some horizontal pics!

It's also traditional in East Asia to store books in stacks horizontally.

In terms of preservation standards, vertical shelving with good bindings and reasonably close shelving seems to be fine, as is the practice in most rare book libraries and famous historical libraries such as the Samuel Pepys library.

>10 Chemren: Is that a custom box for the Valenti Angelo book? I've never seen a box/slipcase with that volume (assuming it's the 1976 BCC edition).

>40 kronnevik: It is the BCC edition in a custom box.

>10 Chemren: Nice, you've got some beautiful books. Which edition of Thucydides is that? Also am interested in the binding variant for the Ashendene Don Quixote. And how do like your OUP "John Fell"?

>42 Sport1963: the size and proximity to other Ashendene titles leads me to guess Ashendene, in a custom solander. Let's see if I am correct!

>43 abysswalker: You are correct. It is the Ashendene Thucydides.

Re: Quixote bindings - the bibliography states that the 200 paper copies were offered at 14 guineas for full pigskin binding and 10 guineas for linen spine and paper boards. It does not say how many of each were bound up. Mine is the linen spine.

John Fell: I was surprised at how big this thing was when I received it. Evidently, Stanley Morison was researching the material for this book, off and on, for much of his life, and unfortunately he passed away the day before it was released. The first half of the book is about Fell himself and the second half about the types. I found the first half more interesting than the second half, but both held my interest. The book is one of the more reasonably priced Century for a Century volumes.

Here's a more diverse shelf of presses, including quite a few with blank outward facing spines. See if you recognise any.



Presses represented include Old Stile, Incline, Sutton Hoo, No Reply, and Corvus Works.

>45 Shadekeep: Nice to see the English Aesop from Prelo in there!

>45 Shadekeep: which edition of Seneca is that?

>45 Shadekeep: I see La Ginestra's Diary of the Delphic Oracle immediately to the left of Ramsey Campbell's Decorations (Alpenhouse Apparitions/Chad Oness). And Philip Levine's Naming (Sutton Hoo Press) to the left of From the Almanack, 1726. And next to Naming (on the left) is Sweet Geometry by Pamela McClure from Sutton Hoo.

That's all I can ID.

Nice shelf!

>47 abysswalker: It’s the Dana Gioia text published by Aralia Press. A very fine edition!

Here’s a somewhat eclectic shelf:

>50 kermaier: Almost eclectic enough to hide that Chester River Heart of Darkness! What's the other Conrad title if you don't mind me asking?

>51 NathanOv: that one I recognize; The Secret Sharer (LEC).

>52 abysswalker: Correct!
Can anyone guess the 3 books without spine labels? :-)

Hint: 1 story and 2 slim volumes of poetry, all published within the past 5 years.

Well, as instructed, I have waited a few days, and here is another shelf. Random titles, with many different publishers, and totally different to my first post here.

A shelf with mid-size books more or less in order of their publication

I’m loving these shelfies!!

>46 ChestnutPress: >48 Glacierman: Well spotted, gents! As I expected from you both.

>50 kermaier: Great stuff, lots of top-notch No Reply in the mix there as well as other choice titles. What edition of Poe's Masque is that with the cream cover under clear wrap?

I wanted to add my own shelfie here, but looking online it seems that various image hosting websites are a bit dubious to use. Instead, if any of you are interested, I added my shelfie as my profile pic. The only common thread for the books there is that they are larger volumes that don’t fit my other shelves.

>58 ChestnutPress: You can use the Gallery here to host your images. Just upload them like you did with this one and then link them in the post, like so:

<img src="https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/d7/9d/d79dfd24ba06728636d573737674377424c4145_v5.jpg" width="600"/>



Choice titles, by the way! Coveting that Weeds and Wild Flowers from Two-Horse Press especially.

EDIT: And if you want to make the image clickable so that folks can see the original at full size, wrap the img tag in an a (anchor) tag, like so:

<a href="https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/d7/9d/d79dfd24ba06728636d573737674377424c4145_v5.jpg"><img src="https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/d7/9d/d79dfd24ba06728636d573737674377424c4145_v5.jpg" width="600"/></a>

The href value for the a tag should be the same URL as the src value for the img tag. It would be nice if there were a canned way of doing this on LT instead of resorting to HTML code, but there you go.

>59 Shadekeep: Oh quality! Cheers for the info! 👍🏻 Weeds and Wild Flowers is a very fine volume and well worth getting your hands on if funds allow. I do not regret splashing the money out on it!

Bit of a catch-all shelf with a few loose themes: Venice, music, birds, farming/gardening, Christmas, Sherlock Holmes, poetry, etc.

>58 ChestnutPress: The Psalms of David from Rampant Lion Press leaps out at me currently, having recently bought two copies in the last month. I bought one for myself and just today another arrived for a friend. It’s an unusual concept to be buying brand new books that are forty seven years old!

I would urge any collectors not owning this book to grab one whilst they are still available. In the UK the price is £200 delivered. Here is a short description;

The Psalms of David (1977)
Miles Coverdale’s translation, as used in the Book of Common Prayer. Hand-set in Eric Gill’s Golden Cockerel Roman – the first use of the type at the Rampant Lions Press – and printed on J Green mould-made paper. Bound by George Miller. 280 copies in quarter vellum with specially designed patterned paper boards, in an acetate wrapper.
152 pp. 34 x 23 cm. £200

Here is a link;

https://rampantlionspress.com/

Thanks
Paul

>62 paulm16: It’s a no-brainier of a book to buy, I reckon!

>61 kronnevik: Some very fine volumes, Mr Ronnevik! 👌🏻

>63 ChestnutPress: It feels like one of those rare things called a bargain.
Do you know what the original sale price was by any chance?

>65 paulm16: According to the RLP bibliography, the original price was £150 for standard copies and £225 for the specials bound in full vellum.

I always thought it was a pity that the original idea of a new edition of Eric Gill's Essay on Typography set in Golden Cockerel type was not pursued. Sebastian Carter's take on Gill would have been interesting.

The story is told briefly in the bibliography entry for The Psalms of David and at more length in the somewhat obscure Balancing Act

>55 SebRinelli: Nice! Custom box for the Allen Press Pushkin? Whose “The Lottery” is that?

>57 Shadekeep: it’s the Halcyon Press edition of Poe stories. This is the cover under the dust jacket:



Edit: With wood engravings by J. Buckland Wright :-)

>67 kermaier: That’s the Suntup numbered edition of “The Lottery.”

>67 kermaier:
>69 Nightcrawl: is right. My only Suntup, but a really nice one to have if one accepts digitally printed art in a fine press book.
The Pushkin is indeed in a custom solander. It‘s my favourite Allen Press book, even before Youth and the like.

>68 kermaier: Holy cow, JBW illustrations! This sucker is going on my search list, thanks kindly.

>71 Shadekeep: They’re strongly reminiscent of his illustrations in the Golden Hours Press “Dr Faustus” - i.e., great :-)

>61 kronnevik: I'm delighted to see the two Larkspur editions of Wendell Berry here. Can I ask for more information about the edition of Vegetable Gardening on the left of those beautiful books? I am also a proud owner of An Avian Alphabet, it's a wonderful book.

>73 jbrnewman:

Vegetable Gardening will be the nice little book by John Carey published by Rampant Lions in 1989.

>61 kronnevik:
I see the cloth binding of the Ascensius Press “North of Boston” — not many have a copy of that!

Which editions of the Sonnets are on the right? (One is an old FS with Valenti Angelo decorations?)

>73 jbrnewman: Vegetable Gardening is my favourite book from the Rampant Lions Press. A wonderfully entertaining essay illustrated with the most beautiful Clare Melinsky linocuts. It always pleases me to see it on a collector’s shelf as I think it a hugely underrated little gem of an edition.

>61 kronnevik: Is far left the Old School Press second edition of ‘Venice Approached’, then to the right of ‘Venice Visited (thank you again for finding me a copy!)… is it the Old School Press ‘An Italian Dream’ followed by the Targ Edition of ‘The Four Seasons’? If so, it’s nice to see that, among a few others there, we share a good few in common on our respective shelves!

>72 kermaier: Love his work. I have two of his collections put out by Fleece Press, so gorgeous. I wouldn't mind snagging that Dr Faustus either!

>74 affle: Hard to go wrong with Rampant Lions, superb work across the board. Amazing that some titles are still directly available from Sebastian (https://rampantlionspress.com/list-of-titles/). I quite like The Unknown Masterpiece among those on offer.

>74 affle: >76 ChestnutPress: Thank you both! I will look into that one.

>73 jbrnewman:
Others have informed you correctly regarding Vegetable Gardening. It's indeed a wonderful little book. I enjoy the Larkspur Berrys immensely. Those two are both specials. I have a few more (though by no means all the Berry titles) shelved with smaller books.

>75 kermaier:
IIRC there are only 15 or so cloth copies. That means it's much more valuable than the comparatively ubiquitous (26!) full leather copies, right? ;)

Sonnets L-R are: Acorn Press (1982), Thornwillow (half leather), Heritage Press (not FS, though you're right about Valenti Angelo)

>64 ChestnutPress: >77 ChestnutPress:
Thanks! and correct on all counts. The only Old School Press Venice-related title not there (excluding the first edition of Venice Approached) is Into the Lagoon which, because of its wrap's buttons, is shelved elsewhere. The Targ Four Seasons (one of the many books you introduced me to) is simply a delight--truly amongst a small group of favorites. I've performed the Seasons at least a dozen times since last fall and it's been fun to periodically dip into those pages.

>28 Flaubie:
Those H-Ms are droolworthy. I'd like to just see some of those editions in person.

My least colorful shelf: Full set of LEC Shakespeare and the similarly bound large paper edition of Bruce Rogers' Paragraphs on Printing.

>82 kronnevik: I count at least 14 editions we share, which is pretty good going. We either both have good taste or bad, but I reckon the former! 😁

>55 SebRinelli: Always good to see a copy of LECs ‘The Secret Sharer’ on a shelf. I think this book slides under the radar of a lot of collectors, but it’s a superb volume. And usually available for a great price. The very moving ‘Planting a Sequioa’ is also a great edition (not that any of those shown aren’t!). It’s a fine selection

>54 wcarter: Is the ‘Letters to my Father’ the edition printed by Evergreen Press?

>50 kermaier: There are some excellent volumes there, representing some great presses

>45 Shadekeep: Diverse and wonderful!

>31 Sport1963: Some beautiful editions there!

>22 EdmundRodriguez: That edition of The Man Who Planted Trees is one of my all-time top ten.

Some of my favourites in a horizontal stack...

>90 Dr.Fiddy: Original ‘An Albion in the Antarctic’ or facsimile?

>2 abysswalker: Gotta love a shelf of fine press poetry. Really nice to see one of the Florence Press editions in there. I love the Florence type and it’s a great pity it never got used elsewhere.

>4 ChampagneSVP: what’s a slightly short piece of Mylar between friends! 😁

>91 ChestnutPress: Facsimile. I was too late to get the original...

>94 Dr.Fiddy: Most people were way too late for the original. The facsimile is a superb alternative though, and I am very glad to own one

>95 ChestnutPress: I'm very glad to own one of these too. It's superb indeed; and it's so that I almost can't believe all the efforts you took to digitally re-set and adjust the text of this edition! 🙌

>90 Dr.Fiddy: variation on this theme.



The topmost two aren't so much shelved as temporarily resting.

>92 ChestnutPress: another Florence Press title lurking here.

>97 abysswalker: I see that St Francis of Assisi atop of Bacon’s Essays!

>97 abysswalker: what editions of hamlet and little flowers?

Some of Barbarian Press books printed between 1983 and 2017.

>97 abysswalker:
Sight of Ivan Ilyich and the overcoat on your shelf prompted me to expand and update my prior shelfie:



Ivan only arrived today, I've given it pride of place next to Sylvae on my shelf.

Some more beautiful shelves here 😍

>90 Dr.Fiddy: that‘s really nice cloth for the Gawain Solander. I need to get one made, too.

>84 ChestnutPress: Thanks. I will hopefully add more. Your Instagram is a great source of inspiration. Sadly, many of those editions you feature are hard to come by.

>61 kronnevik: Among the many beautiful books on you shelf I spot 49 Days. I‘ll be hopefully adding this one to my collection this year!

>101 EdmundRodriguez: Wow! Running Rings has been on my search list for quite some time - I had no idea it was that large though.

>90 Dr.Fiddy: Fantastic! Some of the best fine press books from recent years, full stop.

>100 vadim_ca: Impressive! Personally coveting the Inishbream from that lot.

>103 NathanOv: It's in a (bespoke) slipcase shelved inwards (so you're seeing the back of case), which adds quite a bit of thickness, it is tall though (almost 15 inches I think).

>99 PBB: The ‘Little Flowers…’ is the very nice Florence Press edition

>100 vadim_ca: That’s a great selection, and only the second time I have seen the ‘Barbarian’ edition of Blue Roofs of Japan. Saying that, it’s also the only other time I have seen the Spencer too!

LOL I can't figure out how to get image posted in thread, I can open in new tab clicking on the icon above. I guess I like books more than HTML.

>102 SebRinelli: Very glad my Instagram is of use (if sometimes frustrating when trying to obtain copies of what you see). The hunt is part of the allure of fine press and I think my feed at least helps people better see whether an item is something they would like to track down. And as for your comment on 49 Days shown in Kronnevik’s shelfie, I can only humbly urge you to grab a copy sooner rather than later. It’s a very special edition and Greenboathouse editions are notoriously difficult to find once out of print.

>103 NathanOv: Running Rings is certainly a big un! I hope you eventually find a copy as it is jaw-dropping and firmly puts Paul L Kershaw at the absolute forefront of creative letterpress that rather defies what can be done with the process

>100 vadim_ca: Ah, Vadim, you and I are indeed kindred spirits!

>99 PBB: the upper Hamlet is the 1978 Tallone, the lower is the 1920 Julius Schroeder with Sepp Frank illustrations.

More on the Tallone Hamlet here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/331303

>108 LBShoreBook: Is this what you were trying to post?

>110 ChestnutPress: Paul Kershaw’s Grapho Editions are some of my favorite books in my collection! Unfortunately, I missed Running Rings and The Amphibious Place before discovering his work and am yet to track down either.

>111 ChampagneSVP: Couldn't agree with you more - I was very confused there for a moment! LOL

That's a wonderful collection!

>104 Shadekeep: and >107 ChestnutPress: Thank you!

>102 SebRinelli: Yes, it's a beautiful box that was made by Taller Martin Pescador:
Gawain and the Green Knight, from Taller Martin Pescador

>104 Shadekeep: Thanks, and I totally agree, I also think they're some of the best recent fine press books 😊

>85 ChestnutPress:
No, its a Simon Randall limited edition Signed by artist Clare Melinsky No. 48 of 50. Four page facsimile of the original letters in a separate folder.

>113 A.Nobody: that looks familiar, yes

> That is the one I am thinking of, I believe. I think the colophon will say that John Grice printed it?

>114 NathanOv: All of his books are spectacular. I eagerly await the next!!

Given the recent run of "mostly one press" shelves, here's mine of Fleece Press. The two unlabeled slipcases among them are also FP titles, one of them my favorite from the press. Other presses are present as well.

>119 ChestnutPress:
You are, of course, correct. Printed by John Grice of Evergreen Press.

>118 LBShoreBook: Ooh, some gems there! I spot a couple from the Ascensius Press, including another copy of the cloth bound “North of Boston”.
And a nice little selection of Melville, with “The Lightning-Rod Man” and the Indulgence Press “Bartleby”!

Wow, this thread is really putting my wallet at a risk...

>121 Shadekeep: Sensuous Lines is amazing. And still available directly from Simon Lawrence at the Fleece Press.

>125 Chemren: Indeed, and it's a peach of a book!

>123 kermaier: Thanks! You keyed in on my primary collecting interests, Melville and Ascensius Press titles. I just acquired Suntup's Yellow Wallpaper because Scott Vile did the printing. I also own a copy of Song of the Broad-Axe, which is far too large for the shelf in my picture.

>106 ChestnutPress: Thanks. I've looked at it before online but did not recognize it from that angle
>112 abysswalker: Thanks. Tallone books look great but I don't think an unillustrated Hamlet would be the one I'm likely to buy

>128 PBB:

If you’re interested in an illustrated hamlet, large format, printed on beautiful paper, bound in full leather over wooden boards - perhaps the edition with lithographs by Henry Moore?

I love seeing your shelves. It's really nice to see such diverse collections of books. I want to add what is/was my Thornwillow cloth bound shelf. As I inevitably ran out of shelf space I started to add some smaller volumes horizontally in front of them, since there was some space left. That got slightly out of hand over the last year(s) and now the Thornwillows are almost invisible in the back.

>130 c_schelle:

That’s an intriguing looking assortment. I’m curious, what are the 3 (& more)volumes stacked above “the little prince” ?

My Joyce shelfie, minus the new TW Ulysses I've got to make room for. There's a couple more Joyce editions in random places about the house, ha ha.

>131 sanvito: above the Little Prince are the English version of Prelo Prints Aesop's Fables, Per Sephone by No Reply Press (bound in cave paper) and Old Men in Cloth Caps by Gordon Thomson published by Gillian Stewart (Juju books). In the left stack in the black solander is Fahrenheit 451 published by super terrain. It's quite gimmicky as it's printed on heat sensitive paper and can only be read when hot, e.g. by holding a lighter directly to the page.

>130 c_schelle: Lovely stuff, and somewhat appropriate to see No Reply in front of Thornwillow, given Griffin's past association with Luke. Also good to see another shelf with the Prelo Aesop!

>135 Sport1963:

These are beautiful. Paper specimen books are some of my favourite. I don’t yet have any of the great Dard Hunter tomes. But I’d be curious from your own collection, if any single work on fine papers particularly stands out to you?

>133 c_schelle: thank you. I quite like less typical smaller bindings, and the cave paper looks very attractive. As for Fahrenheit 451, I hadn’t heard of the edition until reading your reply - it actually looks quite interesting at least from the pictures online - I wonder, does the text only stay visible whilst heated, or is it a one time process? (& of course, have you ”burnt/read” your book yet ?)

>136 sanvito: Dard Hunter Jr.'s two volume work "The Life Work of Dard Hunter" is my favorite. Hunter was a fascinating man. I would like to add his "Primitive Papermaking" (1927) to my collection one day.

The papermaking book I really covet is Thomas Tindale's "The Handmade Papers of Japan" (1952), with all its specimens, some of which date back to the eighth century. I had a chance to peruse it at the April book fair in Manhattan. It was quite a treat.

>129 sanvito: Looks like a very impressive book, can't find too many pictures of the illustrations online so don't know if it would be the one for me. There would also have to be 10 times more copies on the market than there are now for me to afford a copy.

The books in the bottom left of your picture are more realistic for me. I've been trying to decide on Nonesuch vs 1933 vs 1950 LEC Don Quixote and think I will go with the Nonesuch.

>139 PBB: Have you checked out the 1930s LEC?

I forget the exact year.

>140 SDB2012: >139 PBB: between the 2 LECs I much prefer the 1930s edition. Marvelous and quite unique paper, nice translation (I forget if the LECs both use the same translation, but I know the 1930s one is good).

>140 SDB2012:
>141 abysswalker:
I like the look of the 1933 LEC, and on the George Macy Devotees page others have recommended it. The case seems poorly made and any available copies don't have it in acceptable condition.
Still leaning towards the Nonesuch over the other two. I'd be willing to buy that one without the slipcase.

>142 PBB: >142 PBB: the Nonesuch Don Quixote is one of my favourite books. The handmade paper is unique, it has the qualities of the best western handmade papers, and the lightness of the kind of papers normally only found in the eastern tradition. In addition, the Nonesuch Don Quixote has illustrations which are probably my favourite of any illustrated 20th century book (indeed, even more than the Cranach Hamlet). The typography is simple but flawless, the drop caps are gorgeous. And in addition to all that, the book happens to be actually readable - sometimes an unusual thing for a fine press book. The translation is pleasant, the binding is excellent, beautiful, simple, and strong.

>139 PBB: I was lucky to get a copy of the Moore Hamlet for a fraction of the usual price. But I suppose all of us book lovers can reluctantly benefit from living in a time when neither books nor Shakespeare are overly valued, so that these things do turn up quite randomly at more affordable prices. Personally I like the illustrations, perhaps because I like Henry Moore. The Typography is nothing show stopping, but very nicely done.

>138 Sport1963: the Tindale volume looks wonderful. I don’t have it, but I have a few Japanese specimen books, and the variety & quality of eastern handmade papers is endless. One unusual book I love is the Nelson Stevens specimen book from the early-mid 20th century. It’s unusually affordable most of the time, and showcases the gamut of beautiful papers available commercially at the period when it was made, and with interesting typography by the likes of Bruce Rogers, Van Krimpen, Mardersteig, etc.

>143 sanvito: that's a strong rec!

>142 PBB: I bought one with the idea of rebinding because the insides are in great shape but the covers- ouch. But I acquired one that was already rebound so I have one available for anyone looking for a project.

>134 Shadekeep: Definetly fitting to combine Thornwillow and No Reply Press. I just wish I had enough space to display them all properly. I wish I was early enough to get the german version of Aesop, but I'm definetly happy with the english version. I'm looking forward to their new project with more of the small booklets.

>137 sanvito: It stays only visible while hot/warm. You could put it in the oven to be readable, but as soon as it cools down it is black again. It's definetly not a reading copy.